Forget Single Painted Accent Walls: This Stunning Trend Is Taking Over

Accent walls can help you add instant personality to a room without spending a lot of extra time or money. This interior design trend took off in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and it has always benefited from being an easy DIY project you can do in a weekend. Now, though, accent walls may be fading in favor of more striking styles — such as layered finishes. "The trend of single accent walls is losing its charm, with clients now opting for more dramatic approaches," interior designer Sally O'Connor tells Forbes. "The focus will shift toward softer finishes like limewash and polished plaster, moving away from flat matte paints for a more refined aesthetic."

This sentiment is echoed in Floor & Decor's 2026 Design Trends Forecast (via PR Newswire). "Natural influence is taking a more textural, tonal form," the brand explains. "Colors drawn from earth, sand, and sky are interpreted through layered finishes and pronounced surfaces, adding richness and dimension to interiors with material-driven spaces with an emphasis on depth and organic continuity."

And it seems layered finishes are a hit on social media, too. "I know limewashing can look weird before it looks wow but trust the process," interior decorator alexandragater posted on Instagram, "the results are so worth it!" On that post, one commenter replied, "It truly looks incredible," while another simply said: "Absolutely obsessed!!" Meanwhile, on TikTok, @bellovenetian demonstrated how to install polished plaster, which is otherwise known as Venetian plaster. "Oh my God...." wrote one commenter. "There is nothing I want more in the world than this!!!

If there really is nothing you want more in the world than layered finishes on your walls, then you may want to know how you can make it happen. The good news is that limewashing is easy to do yourself. An old-school technique that uses paint made from limestone, water, and pigments, limewashing gives walls that chalky, slightly cloudy, two-tone look that people truly love. There are plenty of limewashing how-to paint tutorials out there, too: On TikTok, @thewoodenpalate used it to create an ethereal effect in her bedrooms. She employed a cloud technique, painting in a figure-eight pattern to merge the "clouds." The trick is to work fast, she explains, leaving a wet edge as you blend sections together since the paint dries quickly.

Polished — or Venetian — plaster is also lime-based, but it's made from putty, marble dust, and pigments. It also creates a thicker, more textured effect since it's applied in thin layers with a trowel. On Instagram, prairiestylehome explains that she was told Venetian plaster should only be done by a professional, but added: "They said the same about plumbing and electrical, and look how good I was at that." She created a faux fireplace mantel using this technique to "make the fireplace look more real." According to The Decora Co., polished plaster requires sanding and priming beforehand, and it takes two to three times longer than the time it takes to paint a room. While it costs approximately $15 to $30 per square foot installed, the company says that it can add 5% to 10% to perceived resale value.