The Interior Design Trend That's Replacing Outdated Accent Walls

Are accent walls outdated? If you have one shiplap-covered wall in every single room, or you've painted a bold color behind every headboard in the house, it's likely that your spaces are looking a little dated. Although unexpected textures and bold murals are among the accent wall ideas you'll see everywhere in 2025, basic accent walls are becoming passé according to House Digest's interior design expert. Erika Dale, founder of Erika Dale Interior Design, thinks that color drenching, adding architectural details, and using wallpaper to play with scale are among the interior design trends that are replacing outdated accent walls.

"Basic, run-of-the-mill painted accent walls have seen their day," Dale told us in an exclusive interview. "While accent walls with more pattern or architectural interest, such as wallpaper or molding details, are holding on stronger than simple painted accent walls, the design is far more impactful to go all-in with the look, wrapping all walls instead of just one." The interior design expert is a big fan of the color drenching painting trend, which involves using the same color paint on an entire room. "One of my favorite ways to create a space with serious wow-factor is to cover all walls, ceilings, and trim in the same hue," she told us, adding that it creates a look that is "enveloping, cozy, and elegant." Dale said the color drenching approach can work with either deep or soft colors, but recommends using muted tones instead of saturated ones.

Many of the best accent wall ideas to liven up your home rely on paint, but according to interior design expert Erika Dale, you can also use wallpaper to achieve an aesthetic that feels fresh instead of outdated. "For a similar color-drenching effect with pattern, wrap all four walls in wallpaper to really commit to the look," she said during her exclusive interview with House Digest. Matching drapes, shower curtains, or pillows can up the drama. But although she recommends coating your ceiling to achieve the color-drenched look with paint, wallpapering both the walls and ceiling can quickly become overwhelming. "Using wallpaper on just the ceiling with paint below, however, is an unexpectedly charming accent 'wall' I can absolutely get behind," Dale said enthusiastically.

Painting or wallpapering an entire room can be much more expensive and time-consuming than decorating a single accent wall. But according to Dale, it's time well spent if you want to create rooms that feel inviting. "By wrapping the space with color or pattern, you blur the lines of the room, causing it to lose the defined physical barriers our eyes are used to seeing," she explained. "Therefore, the space seems somehow larger but more cozy at the same time. Add in the ceiling and trim, and the effect becomes even more effective at creating a warm, attractive cocoon of ambiance that feels like a welcome hug."

During her exclusive interview with House Digest, we asked Erika Dale for some tips that would help our readers create a well-designed space if they decided to replace outdated accent walls by covering all four walls of a room with the same color or pattern. "The trick is to avoid anything too saturated for fear of eye strain and growing tired of the hue," she explained. "Go with a more muted tone to keep things soothing and sophisticated." Our interior design expert said the effect can be beautiful whether you decide to go with light colors or dark ones, as long as you keep things desaturated.

"When it comes to wallpaper, wrapping the entire space in pattern is truly immersive and transformative," Dale said. Choosing the right wallpaper for your space can be tricky, but both small- and large-scale prints can work well. "Just be one hundred percent sure you absolutely love it and understand how the pattern will look on the wall before you paste it on every wall," she cautioned. Before settling on a wallpaper design, Dale recommends ordering full-scale samples. Carefully researching the pattern repeat can help you avoid ordering and installation mistakes. Dale told us you should also study photos of your wallpaper choice installed in actual rooms so you can better visualize what it will look like in your own home.