The Quickest Way to Paint an Accent Wall

This post is sponsored by The Wagner Company.

In today’s post I am going to share with my trick to quickly and easily paint an accent wall. In less than an hour you can completely and totally change the look of your room using the Wagner Smart Roller. Accent walls typically make a bold statement so you will also need a deeply saturated paint color, in this space I used one of the most popular paint colors right now, Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze.

I have been talking about the transition we made from my light, feminine office to a moodier workspace for my husband. I wanted him to not only have a quiet space (with a professional background for his WebEx calls) but also for the space to reflect him and be a comfortable room for him to spend all day working in. He gives me free reign to do what I want with the decor in our home so this time it was fun to make design choices based almost completely on his taste.

To start the transition from my girly office to his new office I removed most of the furniture in the room, with the exception of this console (I made this over years ago in this post here). It is too heavy to move around our house and it provides great storage so I left it in the room for him to use.

The key to painting quickly (and I mean seriously fast, like less than an hour fast) is to use a Wagner Smart Roller. Even using a deeply saturated paint, I was able to knock each coat out in a couple of minutes. It took me longer to tape up the edges of the wall then it did to actually paint it. I did take the time to tape the edges carefully since I was using contrasting dark paint against a white wall as I wanted to ensure I had a clean line.

I went back and forth when selecting the paint color for the wall. Originally I was thinking I’d use one of my favorite dark grays, Kendall Charcoal (you can see it in this room in our last home here). In the end, I went with a color that is getting a lot of hype right now for good reason, the “color of the year”, Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze. This has a warmer, dark green undertone and is a deep grayish brown color. It looks perfectly organic and natural, which I knew would appeal to my outdoor and nature loving husband. I left the walls as-is for now, which is a cream with a gray undertone from our builder (I don’t have the color).

Painting an Accent Wall with (SW) Urbane Bronze Paint Color

Be sure to pop on over to our Instagram to see how fast I painted the wall, I created a time lapse just so you could see how easy it was (the video also will play automatically below). The Smart Roller eliminates the mess of a using paint tray, refilling it with paint, and constantly rolling the paint on, reapplying and so forth. You simply suck a generous amount of paint up directly from the paint can into the paint roller handle then start to paint. Applying gentle pressure keeps the paint flowing into the roller for perfect coverage on your walls.

The Smart Roller also works as an extender, the long roller handle allows you to reach almost to the ceiling. We have 9′ ceilings in this room so I did need to use a ladder to reach the very top but it was so much easier than climbing up and down to do the top half of the walls, as is usually the case.

I quickly painted on the first coat, cut in around the ceiling and corners with a brush, let it dry and came back and rolled on a second coat. I was done before I knew it and the room was completely transformed. I went back and forth on painting the whole room this color vs painting just one wall, but in the end I went with just the accent wall–for now at least. I really love the moodiness the dark color adds in here.

One small note, be sure to use a drop cloth when you paint with the Smart Roller as it may drip a little if you are overzealous with the pressure you need to keep the paint flowing. I typically use the inexpensive plastic ones and just roll them up and toss them when the project is complete.

I already shared about the desk we selected (and the other options) in my last post, but finally all the pieces arrived for the room and we pulled it together this weekend.

I owe my thanks to Studio McGee for launching their spring line at Target just in time for this space makeover. I picked up several items from their collection on launch day to use in here, I’ll list all the sources for the room in a follow up post in a few days. I do still have to swap out the light fixture, the crystal tear drop chandelier is one of my favorites but definitely doesn’t fit the vibe of the room now.

While I will miss my blush pink office, I won’t miss having my husband taking conference calls at the kitchen table. I love how this space turned out and I think he appreciates having a space of his own.

This was a great project to knock out one Saturday afternoon, and one that someone with no previous painting or DIY experience can handle, I promise. Even the clean up is simple thanks to the intelligent engineering they used to create the Smart Roller so be sure to grab one for your next painting project, you can order one HERE. (I also recommend ordering extra roller covers, you can clean and reuse them but it will save you time at clean up if you opt not to).

Stay tuned for a follow up post with all the room resources and the full details on how I installed the wall sconces.

For more information on the Wagner Smart Roller, you can visit their website HERE.