Feature Wall Ideas
A feature wall should feel inevitable, not arbitrary.
A good feature wall follows the room. Dulux's advice is to take your cue from the architecture that draws your eye as you walk in: a chimney breast, alcoves, the wall behind the bed or sofa. It's a way to use a stronger colour without committing the whole room, or to define a zone in an open-plan space. Here's how to choose the wall, the colour and the technique, and when to drench the room instead.
At a glance
- Pick the natural focal point: fireplace, bed wall or sofa wall, not just the biggest wall.
- A feature wall lets you try a stronger colour without painting the whole room.
- Link the colour to your art, textiles or furniture so it feels part of the room.
- Colour blocks, two-tone walls and painted arches are all feature walls too.
- If a feature wall would fight the room for attention, drench it instead.
Which wall should be the feature wall?
Follow the focal point. A chimney breast highlights a fireplace; darker alcoves add depth and frame shelving or art. Behind a sofa, a feature wall anchors the seating, which is especially useful in open-plan rooms. Behind a bed, it frames the headboard. Choose a wall connected to how the room is used, rather than a spare wall that happens to be empty.
Choosing a feature wall colour
Pick up a colour from your artwork, cushions or furniture. Choose a tonal shade, a deeper version of your other walls, for a quieter result, or a contrasting one for emphasis. Then sample it beside the neighbouring wall colour and look at the pair in your own light, morning and evening.
These are some of the stronger colours from our palette that we think make confident feature walls. Each has its own guide if you want to go deeper.
Colour blocks, two-tone walls and arches
Colour blocking: tape out a rectangle or shape to frame a desk, shelving or a reading corner, and repeat a colour from the room’s furnishings so it feels connected.
Two-tone walls: place the dividing line in relation to something real, such as a dado rail, the top of the bed or the back of the sofa, not automatically halfway. Paint the lower colour, let it dry, mark a level line, mask, then paint the upper colour.
Arches: mark the two vertical sides, find the centre of the curve and use a taut string and pencil as a compass. Cut in the curve with a brush, then roll the inside.
When a feature wall is the wrong idea
A feature wall works when it emphasises something. It's less convincing when it creates a competing focal point or breaks up a small space that would feel better with continuity, and designers specifically caution against adding one to a hallway just to manufacture interest. In those rooms, consider colour drenching: one colour across walls and woodwork for a calm, enveloping whole.
Sample it the way we would
Step 1
Paint your peel-and-sticks
Each £5.99 sample comes with three paintable peel-and-sticks. Give them two coats and let them dry fully.
Step 2
Stick them around the room
Put them on two or three walls, including the wall opposite the window, at eye level and lower down.
Step 3
Live with them for a day or two
Look in the morning, the afternoon and under your evening lamps. Move them around until you are sure.
Your questions, answered
Which wall should be a feature wall?
The natural focal wall: usually the fireplace, sofa or bed wall, not automatically the largest one.
Should I paint the chimney breast or the alcoves?
Either. Painting the chimney breast emphasises the fireplace; painting the alcoves frames shelves and storage and adds depth.
Does a feature wall have to be dark?
No. A two-tone wall, a block of colour or a soft contrasting shade can create emphasis just as well.
Can I paint just part of a wall?
Yes. An arch or a block of colour can frame a bed, desk or seating area beautifully.
Feature wall or colour drenching?
Choose a feature wall for focus or to define a zone; choose drenching for all-over continuity and calm.
Colour drenching guide