How do you choose and paint a feature wall?

Pick the wall your eye lands on first, and skip the window wall

The right feature wall is the one people already look at when they walk in. Dulux says to choose an area you want to draw attention to, such as an alcove or fireplace. Wattyl says it's usually the wall behind the bed, the sofa or a standout space.

Dulux asks one question first. Do you want to draw out something in the room, like a bookcase? Or do you want to mark out zones? Dulux puts it as defining different zones. In an open-plan room, that might be the dining end. Your answer points to the wall.

Avoid the window wall. Dulux says not to pick a wall with windows that gives the room its natural light, because the two focal points may clash.

A quick test: stand in the doorway and notice where you look first. If that's a blank wall with the bed or sofa against it, you've probably found it. If it's the view out the window, pick a different wall.

Small rooms usually look better without a feature wall

In a small room, one colour everywhere tends to work better than a feature wall. Haymes Paint says to stick to a simple palette with a minimal number of colours on the walls and ceilings, and to avoid feature walls in small rooms. It also says strong bold colours absorb light and draw your eye towards them, which is the opposite of what a tight room needs.

What to do instead. Haymes says that in a very small space you can carry the wall colour up onto the ceiling to make the room look bigger. If you want some colour without darkening the room, it suggests cool colours like pastel blues, greens and greys, which make walls visually recede.

Dulux offers another option: two-tone walls. It says they can make a room appear bigger if you're short on space. Dulux's own examples are shades of the same hue, or two complementary colours.

Choose the feature colour from what's already in the room

The safest feature colour comes from something you already own. Dulux suggests a shade that complements the other colours in the space, such as a piece of art, a rug or a statement piece of furniture. Pull the colour from the sofa or the print on the wall, and the feature wall looks planned rather than random.

Use a triple chip. Dulux's triple-colour chips show either tonal variations of one colour or the same colour at three strengths. Dulux says you might use the top or middle colour as the feature wall, and the bottom one as the main wall colour or trim through the rest of the room. That gives you a feature and main walls from the same family, so they belong together.

Warm or cool. Dulux says warmer colours draw attention, while cooler colours appear to recede. Going by that, a terracotta or red feature wall should pull the eye harder than a blue-green one of the same depth. Dulux also says cooler colours can help balance brighter light, which suits north and west-facing rooms.

Before you buy, paint a sample on the actual wall. Dulux says to look at it at different times of day and under your lights at night, and to leave samples up for at least three days.

Darker is optional: use LRV to set how much it stands out

A feature wall needs enough contrast with the walls around it, and it can be lighter or darker. LRV is the easiest way to judge that. Taubmans describes LRV as a value from 0 to 100, and the Dulux colour pages in the table below each list one. The bigger the gap between the feature wall's LRV and the other walls, the more it stands out. Taubmans even has a calculator that compares two LRVs and works out the luminance contrast.

Going the other way works too. Dulux says a bold or deep colour from one colour family paired with a lighter colour from another can be quite striking. So a dark room can carry a pale feature wall. Wattyl even shows a crisp white feature wall against brick and greenery outdoors. LRV only measures lightness, though. Two colours with close numbers can still clash on undertone, which is why the sample test still matters.

Keep the sheen the same as the other walls in most rooms

In most rooms, give the feature wall the same sheen as the walls beside it, so the only change is colour. Dulux's own feature wall shopping list uses Wash&Wear Low Sheen.

Sheen changes how a colour reads. Dulux says higher gloss paints can make colours look lighter than the same colour in low sheen or matt. So if you test a sample in one sheen and paint the wall in another, the result may not match what you picked.

Sheen also changes how much of the wall you see. Dulux says low sheen hides surface imperfections better than gloss. It recommends matt to soften glare in rooms with large windows. So if the wall has patches and dents, a shinier finish won't help hide them.

Our guide to interior paint finishes compares matt, low sheen and semi gloss room by room, if you're weighing up a different finish for the feature.

Getting crisp edges at corners and the ceiling line

A feature wall lives or dies on its edges. The line where the feature colour meets the next wall and the ceiling is the first thing people notice, so take your time there. Here's the order, pulled from the Wattyl, Haymes and Taubmans guides:

1. Prep the wall. Wattyl says to clean it, sand it and prime if needed. Dulux lists 1Step Prep on its feature wall shopping list.
2. Tape the edges. Wattyl says to use painter's tape for clean lines. Dulux lists its Professional Washi Tape for the job. Run it along the ceiling, the corner of the next wall and the skirting.
3. Cut in with a brush. Taubmans says to hold the brush like a pencil and start slightly away from the edge, so the bristles spread, which helps avoid drips. Haymes says to start 10mm off the edge and work into the corner, then smooth it over with one long stroke.
4. Roll the middle. Fill in the open wall with a roller. Our guide on how to paint a room covers rolling without lap marks.
5. Two coats. Wattyl says to apply two coats for the best result.
6. Pull the tape. The makers differ here. Haymes says to remove tape before the paint dries completely. Taubmans says to carefully remove it once the second coat is dry. Check the instructions for the paint you're using.

Limewash and texture are feature finishes too

Limewash and effect paints are another way to finish a feature wall. They give one wall depth and movement that a flat colour doesn't have. That suits a feature wall, because it's the wall people look at closely.

Limewash inside needs an interior product. Porter's Paints says its standard Lime Wash isn't suitable for interiors, and points to Porter's Interno Lime Wash for inside walls. Porter's says Interno is designed for interior use, and the lime blooms through the paint to create soft tone variations. It can go on most suitably prepared plasterboard, plaster, masonry and previously painted surfaces. Porter's gives coverage of about 8 square metres per litre and says to apply it with a lime wash or specialty brush. For a wipeable finish, Porter's says it can be over-coated with Matt Wall Sealer.

Effect paints. Dulux says its Specialty Effects collection can create a statement wall or highlight an architectural feature. The range includes a concrete effect, metallic finishes and texture coatings.

Our limewash paint guide explains how limewash behaves on masonry, how it wears and why it takes longer than acrylic.

When to hand the feature wall to a painter

One feature wall is a fair DIY job. Dulux calls it an easy first project for anyone new to DIY. Bring in a painter when the wall is tall, a deep colour has to look even under strong light, or you want a limewash or effect finish done right first time.

In Queensland, the QBCC says anyone contracting for building work valued over $3,300 must hold a QBCC licence. If the feature wall is part of a bigger repaint over that amount, check the painter's licence on the QBCC register before you book.

We're QBCC licensed (licence 1281728) and we've painted Sunshine Coast homes since 1985. Our interior house painters cover suburbs across the Sunshine Coast, including Buderim and Noosa. For limewash, effect finishes and detailed work, see our high-end project painters.