Skip Traditional Accent Walls — This Budget-Friendly Alternative Looks High-End

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Traditional one-color accent walls had their moment. Particularly popular in the early 2000s, these often took the form of a single wall, painted with a bold color. As is typical of trends, this type of accent wall eventually felt outdated, and we started to look for something with more personality and polish. Enter stenciling: a budget-friendly, DIY accent wall project you can do in a weekend without the mess or stress of wallpapering. Using a stencil and your paint of choice, create an accent wall that mimics the high-end look of wallpaper or a gorgeous mural, but with a more forgiving and affordable DIY process.

This can be a tedious project since you'll have to paint over each stencil, but it's worthwhile for the patterned wow-factor. Plus, it's not like wallpapering is an easy task either! Using a stencil can be much more forgiving. If you mess up, you just need to repaint the area rather than replace entire sections of wallpaper. Since you just need the stencil and a can or two of paint, stencilling also tends to be more affordable. Best of all, it's highly customizable. You choose the design, pattern spacing, and colors to create a one-of-a-kind look. So, if you're in search of ways to decorate a blank wall, this is a creative option that you can personalize.

The sky's the limit when it comes to stencil accent wall options, as there are so many designs available. To highlight a few examples, there's the Cutting Edge Stencils Turkish Poppy Wall Stencil, designed to create a bold floral pattern. It's also possible to create more geometric designs, like the Cutting Edge Stencils Tea House Trellis Allover Stencil. Simpler designs, like the Rick Rack Ribbon Stripe Stencil, work well if you want a simpler, but still eye-catching, accent wall.

Selecting your stencil is just the first step: then you have to choose your pattern spacing and colors. You don't need to stick with one color either. In this video from @momlifewitholivia, they show how they use several hues to paint colorful flowers with green stems. This level of personalization is simply not possible with wallpaper. You can even choose the same color but play with shinier or matte paints. Or use spackle to create the pattern, a clever design trick that will transform your walls and add texture.