How to Create an Ombré Accent Wall

After weeks of planning and Pinteresting and changing my mind approximately one million times, I finally completed my daughter’s ombre accent wall! ::happy dancing all over my house::

I’m not going to lie, I did a lot of research on different techniques and ended up just kind of winging it when it was go time. So, here’s how I did it in case you would like to create your own ombre wall.

Before we get started, here’s a good “before“ picture. We painted all the walls a soft white a few days prior. (Little One is always on the move.)

Supplies:

•  6 or 7 sample size paint colors

  • I chose ones within the same paint swatch, so they would be easier to blend. Also, I already had the white that was painted on all the other walls, so I used that for my middle color. Note: my wall was relatively small, so I purchased sample paint cans. If you are working on a larger scale, you’ll need more paint.

• 6 or 7 mini rollers and paint trays

• Multiple paint brushes

• Old (clean) rags

• A friend (or sister or some other partner in crime) to help

STEP 1: Map out your wall

After painting all the walls white, I picked out the wall that I wanted to accented with color. I had looked at some tutorials that measured and taped off different sections of the wall, but this is not what I had in mind. I wanted my wall to look more whimsical and organic so I just kind of mapped out the plan in my own head.

STEP 2: Start with your darkest color on the top

Using my darkest pink, I rolled out the top section using the little roller. My sister followed along behind me and edged the walls and ceiling.

STEP 3: Roll on the next colors

Using a new paint tray and a new roller, I rolled out the second lightest pink color. I overlapped the existing dark color in kind of an x motion going up and down at an angle. Then I repeated the process with the lightest pink.

While my sister continued edging the colors I had already painted, I went to the bottom of the wall and repeated the process. I started with the darkest blue and worked my way to the lightest blue, overlapping the colors with the mini roller.

STEP 4: Blend the colors using a paint brush

Using a paint brush, I started from the top and added a bit more dark pink paint using an x motion. Sometimes I would use my hand to kind of rub the color in if it started to look to streaky or if you could see the brush strokes.

Then I went in with the second darkest shade of pink and brushed both over the darker sections and down to the lighter section.

Repeat the process with all the colors, stepping back to see how everything is blending.

STEP 5: Add the middle white paint

At the end of the project, I could have continued blending the middle colors until they created a purplish color, but I wanted to have some white separating them. So, I grabbed a little bit of my white that matched the rest of the walls and blended it in using the same x motion.

Final thoughts

Although a bit pricey, this is a project that anyone can do. So, if this is something that you have been wanting to try, I would say, “Go for it, girl! It’s just paint so if you mess up, wait for it to dry then paint over it!”

The whole process took about 3 hours and I am super proud that I attempted something new and I know that my 2-year-old absolutely adores it.

Happy painting!