One modern home decor design trend that some designers say is going out of style is the concept of the painted accent wall. Intended to break up the monotony that results from a single paint tone in a room, designers once recommended painting an accent wall two shades darker than the color of the other walls in a room. Even more bold, a stark white room with contrasting color accent wall can make a dramatic statement, but it is hard to pull off in most interiors.

When featuring an accent color, often a modern home decor design styist will carry out that paint scheme across an open floor plan, with the darker shade being added to all walls facing the same way. While this is one of the most popular trends in home decor from the early 2000s, many designers say it is time to move on from the painted accent wall and explore other ways to draw the eye in.

Instead of featuring one wall as the focal point of a room, new trends in interior design aim to make a greater impact by sticking with one paint color in a room that is complimented by interesting home décor, colorful furnishings, and surprising finishes. For instance, new home design trends show an oversized painting or vertical garden makes a much more thought-provoking statement than a painted wall in a room. It seems like such a simple design concept; how did we not think of it before?

Modern Home Decor Design Ideas for 2021

1. Retro Appliances: This design trick works best in the kitchen, but can be replicated in other rooms with items like a lamp or table. You can instantly add flair and personality to your space by incorporating a new small appliance that mimics the retro style of the 1950s and 60s. These appliances are modern-day replicas of old-fashioned home appliance styles and are designed in eye-popping colors like teal and red. When added minimally to a modern home decor design, these items make an impressive impact on the space and oftentimes become the focal point of a room. Pair these items with a single trending down-played paint color, and no one will even notice the accent wall went away.

2. Rekindle the Fire: If you have a fireplace and mantle, it’s likely that it’s already making a statement of its own, but you can make it even more meaningful by featuring it as a designated accent piece. If you have a brick over mantle, consider painting the bricks white. This is a simple way to make a stunning statement, particularly if the surrounding walls are significantly darker. If you do not have a brick fireplace but your over-mantel is built out from the wall, you can add a break overlay and completely change the face of your fireplace, thus, creating a powerful effect. And bricks aren’t the only acceptable medium you can use to get this effect. There are countless modern home decor design ideas for resurfacing your fireplace, mantle, or over-mantel by incorporating tiles, stones, patterns, or by just simply hanging an oversized mirror in the empty space above the fireplace.

3. Add Texture: This trick works great as a backsplash or behind the range alternative but can also be used in a bathroom, a dining room, or other rooms in your home. Introducing a new texture to your room design that partially covers the wall will add character and depth to your modern home decor design. For instance, metals are popular accent textures such as tin, copper, stainless steel, or brushed nickel finishes. An arrangement of tiles on a blank wall can instantly become the feature point of a room. Designers are also incorporating antique metal ceiling tiles as featured design elements. These additions to an otherwise stark wall can instantly inspire personality within a room.

4. Vertical Gardens: This whimsical design element grew out of the need for city dwellers and small space inhabitants to bring a bit of nature indoors, whether it be for aesthetic purposes or more practical reasons such as growing herbs or other small vegetables indoors. The designs of vertical planters are incredible and really inject a playful vibe into a space where you’re seemingly walking on a perpendicular plane that contradicts the everyday path between the realms of earth and sky.

5. Geometric Components: If you want an undeniably modern space, accent your feature wall with a full or partial geometric patterned overlay. This could be by way of honeycomb pattern stickers or transfer art, wall art, picture frames, stencils, or patterned wallpaper. There are so many ways this concept can be implemented. For instance, use a stenciled geometric pattern over a bed to make a faux headboard or use honeycomb sticker transfers to offset an off-center couch.

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