Building an Accent wall to level up your home

I recently was asked to create an accent wall for My cousin. They just got done building a GORGEOUS dream home, and now that they are all moved in, and the outside painting is done, she wanted to add some character to different rooms within the house. I was so flattered to be asked. Here is the room we started with.

It was a good sized room, with great tall ceilings. This is going to be their new babies room. My cousin is an electrician, and specifically wired this room to have nightstands flanking a queen bed along with twin lamps someday. So while designing this accent wall we wanted it to be timeless, and something that would grow with him as he grows up.

While thinking about it, I knew that an accent wall with trim was going to be the best option to achieve this.

I went through lots of different ideas on what it would look like. I didn’t want something that was too trendy as that would go out of style within 5 years. I was drawn to traditional moulding style.

I am now going to go over the steps and materials that you will need to create a look like this for yourself. I ended up re-doing the entire nursery, including all of the decor elements. I will go over some of the other items I did for it in other posts. For this post I will stick to just the accent wall. Here are the materials you will need.

Materials

Trim. I purchased this stuff from Home Depot
A miter saw, or Trim miter sheers. More on this later.
Caulk
Caulk Gun
Spackle
Fine grit sandpaper 100- 120.
Paint in whatever color you would like, Here is the color I got.
Foam roller, and roller handle, & paint tray. I got mine HERE.
Small angled brush. These are my FAVORITE.
Dropcloth
Level, or laser level
Air compressor
Brad nailer
Nail gun
Liquid Nails (optional)

Step 1: Make a plan

The first step is the step that took me the longest by FAR. It included a lot of math, and that is something that I have always struggled with. I decided that the pattern I would be making would be symmetrical, so it needed to be perfect. I drew out the plan on paper with measurements that matched the wall. I found the center of the wall, and then measured each side. I then divided up that space to the number of rectangles I could fit in there. Then I added gaps in between each of the rectangles subtracting the spacing from each one to make sure the measurements added up. Like I said, it took some trial and error, and it messed with brain a little here and there trying to get the math to end up perfect, and not have numbers that were crazy to work with. For the most part I ended up with whole numbers in the important places.

Step 2: Cutting the Trim

I ended up getting all of the trim for the project at Home depot. I wasn’t 100 % sure what style of trim profile I wanted to I just went to the store and looked around until I found something I liked. I wanted something smaller, but also affordable. I couldn’t find any styles I liked in actual wood, so I ended up going with an extruded PVC. It is for exterior trim around fascia and gutters, so I knew it would be durable, and also paintable. I got it in 12ft. length, at $5.58 ea. My project ended up needing 33 of them.

I also purchased some trim that would be the chair rail instead of just the rectangles, to divide between the shapes. This was about $15 between the two pieces.

have

new

favorite

tool.

I have never used one of these miter sheers for cutting trim before, and I am hooked. It has an angle guide right on it, and made the cuts go so fast. The only thing that sucks, is they are ONLY for miter cuts, NOT joining cuts that would be done on a diagonal to put two pieces of trim together for a seamless look. I ended up using my smaller miter saw for these cuts. I only really had to do it in a couple of spots where the trim I purchased was not available in 12ft. lengths ( which the wall was 12′ wide) so I ended up purchasing two 8′ pieces, and splicing them together.

Using these sheers was so much less messy than using a miter saw too. It didn’t leave ANY sawdust, or smaller pieces behind, and gave clean sharp cuts every time. They are small enough too I put them in my pocket while hanging the trim and made adjustments if I was off anywhere.

I cut all of the trim in bulk according to the measurements that I had made on my plan in the beginning. I sorted them into piles by size so that I wouldn’t get mixed up.

For the next several hours it will be cut, cut, cut.

Step 3: Hanging the trim

In the next step I started hanging the trim on the wall. I put the chair rail up first at the measurement I decided.

Then I started from the bottom of the wall and worked my way up. I found the center of the wall, and hung the first bottom rectangle there. I used my brad nailer with the air compressor set to about 60 PSI. At first I had it higher, but the brad nails were shooting right through the trim into the drywall.

I didn’t use liquid nails on this trim. I considered using it at first, but honestly it is just so messy to cleanup any places that leak out of the edges, and the brad nails hold everything just fine.

So I say liquid nails is optional. But thats just me.

I worked my way out from the middle and built up as I went. I made sure it was level on each piece so that nothing was off.

I also built memory sticks. These act like spacers so that you just use them in between the trim pieces to make sure the spacing is the same every time, and you don’t have to measure. These sped up the process a ton.

Step 4: Spackle, spackle, spackle.

This step is TIME CONSUMING but you have to do it. I just used my finger, and put spackle over the holes that the brad nails made. Sometimes you have to do this step twice. Even if the container says non-shrinking, it will contract just a little after it dries. It just will, I haven’t found one that doesn’t. So put it over the holes, let it dry, add another layer if it shrunk a little, and let it dry again. After all of the spackled holes have dried, and are not sunken in, use a fine grit sandpaper to lightly sand over the holes or joints, or wherever you put the spackle.

Sometimes I use a damp cloth instead of sandpaper if the dust is a worry. It wasn’t here, as I had already put down the drop cloth, but that is an option too.

Step 5: Caulk, caulk, caulk

Are you sensing a theme here? It is a lot of repetitive movement. The more trim, the more cutting, spackle, and caulk there will be. Unlike the spackle, which is for the brad nails, the caulk is for the edges of the trim, and the corner joints.

After cutting the tip off of the tube of caulk, and puncturing the inner seal of the tube, its time to start caulking. Make sure to cut the tip in a small angle that will rest nicely against the wall.

Place the tip of the caulk tube against the corner where the trim and wall meet. Squeeze as you move down, creating a continuous line of caulk. After a long line has been created, its time to smooth it!

I smooth it differently then a lot of other people, and there are PLENTY of great ways to do it. I have tried all the tools, and even baby wipes like some other people, but I found what works for me, so I just stick to it. I like to use water. Yep just good ol’ H2O. I use my finger, wet it with the water, and smooth my finger down the caulk line. Then I wipe any extra on the edge of the water container. This creates an easy way to also wash my finger between swipes. I use the extra caulk I wiped on the edge of the container in other places like the corner seams, so almost no caulk gets wasted. Try it and let me know. I have never heard of someone else doing it this way, but I have for years, and have had great results.

Tip/ disclaimer: Don’t use to much water on your finger. Just a little to prevent sticking. Too much water can make it drip, and honestly I have no idea what it would do to the curing properties and longevity of the caulk…

Also keep a towel handy, to dry between swipes. This makes it so that your finger never gets too wet. I don’t know if this is a great way to do it on really big jobs. I painted and prepped a 5,000 sq. ft. house a couple of summers ago for a job, and about halfway through caulking my gazillonth window and door casing, my fingertips were cracked and bleeding. I wore gloves the rest of the time to prevent the cracking, but it was a pain. In the end I had to resort to a tool, because my fingers were so sore. But anyways it worked great for this project. Story time over…

Let the caulk try completely before attempting to paint. Usually at least 24 hours.

Step 6: Painting

Now the fun part! Painting. I ended up using valspar paint on this project and it was amazing. It had great coverage, and adhesion. It was a paint and primer in one, so it didn’t prime the wall. If you are doing this right over drywall, make sure you prime the wall well, with a drywall sealing primer before you paint, or the paint will just soak into the drywall mud, wasting it, and needing more layers. It will also leave you with some spots that soak in more and than others, leaving dry and dull patches…

So if the wall is already painted a primer and paint in one is great. If not… Use a drywall sealing primer first.

I used the color wilderness. I loved this color. They were out of the paint swatch at lowes, but I had already looked up the color online before I went into the store, so I knew what I wanted.

After stirring the paint, I poured a medium sized amount into the paint tray.

I then used my angled brush, and dipped it in the paint tray. I cut in my corners, edges along the walls and ceiling, and all of the places that the roller would be too big for. I did one coat of this to start.

Then I used a small foam roller to paint in all of the rest. I chose this roller because I didn’t want any texture on the wall from a roller knap, and spraying wasn’t an option in here. I also liked the smaller roller to get into the tighter places. I use these foam rollers on all of my projects big and little, and love them!

Another option for no brush marks is to use a paint additive like Floetrol. It makes the paint self level, and prevents any brush marks. Oil based paint does this too, but the clean up is messy and the dry time takes forever. Latex based paint is great. BUT if not careful you can get brush marks. A paint additive prevents this from happening. I didn’t use it on this project as the foam roller didn’t leave any marks, and I painted over the edge of where I cut in with a brush.

Another tip is using a synthetic bristle paintbrush. They are usually finer bristles, and create a smoother finish.