Guides Decorating
Wallpaper or paint for an accent wall?
Four ways to make one wall the focus of a room, how they compare on cost and wear, and how to choose.
Updated September 2026
Quick answer
For an accent wall in a Naperville home, paint is cheapest and easiest to change, wallpaper gives pattern and texture paint cannot, board and batten adds real depth, and specialty finishes like limewash or Venetian plaster give a luxurious surface. The right choice depends on the room's use, your budget and how long you plan to keep the look.
Painted accent walls
A single wall in a deeper or contrasting color is the quickest and cheapest way to add focus to a room, and it is easy to change later. Painted stripes, color blocks, arches behind a bed and stencils go further, adding pattern without the seams of wallpaper.
The limits are texture and depth: paint is flat. And bold colors need large samples in the room's own light, because a wall of color looks very different from a two-inch chip. See accent walls and decorative painting.
Wallpaper
Wallpaper does what paint cannot: detailed pattern, murals, and the natural texture of grasscloth or textured vinyl. Non-woven paste-the-wall papers are easy to hang and later strip dry; peel-and-stick is quick to remove but needs a very smooth, primed wall.
Paper costs more than paint per square foot and takes longer to install, because the wall is skimmed, primed and sized first and seams are laid out before hanging. It is also more work to change later. See wallpaper installation.
Board and batten and molding walls
Board and batten, picture-frame molding and paneled walls add real three-dimensional depth. Primed MDF strips are fixed to the wall, filled, caulked and painted in one color, which gives a built-in look that paint or paper alone cannot match.
They suit dining rooms, entries, stairways and bedrooms, and work especially well in the large, plain rooms of many 1990s Naperville homes. They take a day to install and are more permanent than paint, though they can be removed and the wall patched.
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Call (630) 389-8505Specialty finishes
Limewash gives a soft, cloudy, matte surface; Venetian plaster gives polished, stone-like depth; metallic and glaze finishes add shimmer. These are applied by hand in layers, so each wall is a little different, which is much of their appeal.
They cost more than paint and suit rooms where the wall is seen more than touched. See faux and specialty finishes for how each is sampled and applied.
How the room's use changes the answer
Kids' rooms, mudrooms and hallways take knocks and hands, so a scrubbable painted wall or board and batten in a satin finish holds up best. Powder rooms and dining rooms, which are seen more than handled, are where wallpaper and specialty finishes shine.
Bathrooms with showers need care: vinyl or non-woven paper with a mildew-resistant paste works in a powder room, but not on a wall that gets wet. Paint in a satin or semi-gloss finish is the safe choice there.
Sampling before you commit
Whatever you choose, see it in the room first. For paint, that means large painted samples; for paper, a full-width sample taped at eye level; for specialty finishes, a sample board in the actual finish and color. Look at them in morning and evening light.
If you are removing old paper to make way for a new accent wall, see wallpaper removal, since the wall usually needs repair and skimming before anything new goes on.
FAQ
Questions homeowners ask
Paint, by a wide margin, and it is the easiest to change.
Yes, on a smooth, primed wall. It is easy to remove later, which suits rentals and kids' rooms.
It adds character and is popular with buyers, especially in dining rooms and entries.
In a powder room, yes. In a full bath, only suitable papers and never on walls that get wet.
Paint is usually a few hours to a day; paper and board and batten one to two days.
Usually the one you see first on entering, or the wall behind the bed or sofa.
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