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Entryway Wall Version 4.0 — Dark Purple Accent Wall With A Greek Key Border

I have a new accent wall in my entryway — a dark purple wall with a Greek key border.

Now if you’re thinking to yourself, “Wait. What just happened? I could have sworn there was grasscloth there,” then that means you missed this post on Instagram. Unfortunately, there was no fixing it. And the more I tried, the worse it got.

So rather than dwell on it, I just got busy. I ripped down the wallpaper, made some minor repairs to the drywall, primed those repaired areas, and then wondered what the heck I was going to do.

I still had my heart set on an accent wall, and after searching through Instagram and Pinterest for an idea, I kept going back to this one.

via Rain on a Tin Roof

I’ve had that picture in my “inspiring ideas” file for quite some time, so my entryway seemed like the perfect place for it. But I also tossed around the idea of doing a faux grasscloth paint technique (which I tried out a while back in this post).

So I debated the two options. I could do a faux grasscloth in a teal, or I could do a solid painted wall with a border.

But here was my thinking. The solid wall with the border looked very similar to my draperies.

So if I did a border design, then I’d want to do the whole Greek key design in order to carry that design element onto that wall as well. But if I did that, then the wall would have to be purple in order to look like I’m intentionally repeating a design element. Because if I put a border with a Greek key design on a teal wall in the same room where I have purple draperies with a Greek key border, it wouldn’t look like a cohesive repeat of a design element. It would look more like, “Wow! She really likes to put Greek keys on everything!”

So it had to be purple. But in order for the green credenza to look good against it, it also had to be darker than the draperies. I don’t have a color name or formula for you, because I started with Shadow from Benjamin Moore and had them lighten it, and then I brought it home and lightened it even more. (Yes, believe it or not, this is lightened considerably from the original purple.)

To do this wall, I started by painting two coats of white (Behr Polar Bear, the color that I wanted the border and Greek key design) around the edges of the wall, and then I let that dry for several hours overnight. Then I used wide painters tape (about 2 inches wide) specified for delicate surfaces (like freshly painted walls) and marked off the border of the accent wall. I just used a scrap piece of 1″ x 6″ lumber to measure and mark all the way around the wall.

Just inside that border, I used that same wide tape as a spacer, and then placed a border of narrower tape (about 1 inch wide) just inside that. Then I removed the wide tape spacer and had this…

Just inside that narrower tape border, I added a spacer using the narrow tape again, and then I began the inside border with the Greek key design.

The process for creating the Greek key corners using painters tape is almost identical to the process that I used for creating the Greek key design on the draperies using twill tape. Here’s a video I made showing how it’s done…

The main difference is that with twill tape, the corners have to be neatly folded. When using painters tape, nothing has to be folded, and the corners don’t have to be neat initially. You can just put the tape on in individual pieces, and at first it might look something like this…

But then you can go back and clean up all of the corners with a straight edge and an X-acto knife or a utility knife with a new, sharp blade in it, and then it looks like this…

With the whole design taped off, I painted over the tape with one more coat of white to seal the edges of the tape. This prevents the purple from bleeding under the tape and messing up the white borders. When that was dry, I painted over the whole wall (everything inside the outermost tape border) with two coats of the purple.

As soon as I had the entire second coat painted on, and while the paint was still wet, I removed all of the tape. I did have a few small areas that needed some touchups, so I waited until the wall was completely dry and then did those touchups with a small, flat artist brush.

After the wall was completely dry, I went back and taped off the outer edge of the purple and painted the edges of the wall in the same color as the rest of the room — Benjamin Moore Classic Gray. And yes, I finally did get those baseboards painted. 🙂

It’s pretty bold compared to the grasscloth…

But I actually think I like it more. I definitely like that it covers more of the wall. The grasscloth area was smaller because I was too cheap to pay for an additional roll of wallpaper. But with paint, I could make it as large as I wanted it.

So that was a bit of a setback, but it’s fixed and I can move on. There’s no use crying over spilled paint, even if it did ruin my grasscloth.

 

 

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101 Comments

  1. Well – that looks splendid! I much prefer it to the teal grasscloth both in size and color, and reprising the design of the drapes was inspired. Sad about the paint spill but the “repair” is wonderful.

  2. I can’t think of anything to say except WOW! WOW!! WOW!!! You definitely made lemonade from lemons. I love the look. I saw the Instagram post the day you posted it and I just said scoot something in front of that quick and forget it! LOL! I absolutely love what you did with it. I always liked the color of the grasscloth, but I didn’t like grasscloth anyway. You are so talented which is why I love your blog.

  3. I’m surprised – I like it better than the grasscloth. It looks more like you. And your paintings look great with it, too. Good job.

  4. I’ve just got to say, I like this SO much better than the grasscloth! The previous accent wall always made me think of a classroom bulletin board. I think your dog deserves an extra treat for his design help! 😉

  5. I liked your grass cloth, but agree this look is better. I think the purple paint is more complimentary with your painting. And I agree, the larger painted area works better on the wall. I saw your Instagram post and wondered what your solution was going to be. You’ve done an amazing job on your home. I love following your blog/instagram.

  6. I absolutely LOVE this! I’m not a huge fan of grass cloth anyway, and I think this whole look fits the style of your home so well. It’s bold, but all of the elements complement each other so well thanks to your artwork!

  7. Oh Kristi, this is beautiful! I loved the grasscloth, but this injects a lot more color into the room. You know I am always looking for colorful Kristi. This is it! I love how it makes your paintings pop even more and the green on the credenza looks even better than before. It looks like it was meant to be in this color combination. Love it!

    Were you able to save the unstained part of the grasscloth to use it somewhere else?

    1. No, it ripped all apart as I pulled it from the wall. I do have a small piece left over from the original project, so I can use that on something small. I’ll wait and see if inspiration strikes.

  8. I remember when you were toying around with the idea of purple in your décor! Guess you’re enjoying it more than you originally thought you would! LOL! You’ve done a beautiful job with it, too. Loving this stage of the process with all the pretties! [By the by, you have a missing link in the middle of your post where it says- here….]

  9. I prefer it too! Never would have had this opportunity without the pups enthusiasm…Haha. Big lesson here about embracing life as it comes… Life is just weird isn’t it.

  10. Your home is stunning! I really enjoyed all the pictures showing the new wall with the other areas and how it ties in. Now my wheels are turning. I need an accent wall.

  11. This is so beautiful! I likes the grasscloth wall ok, but his is just fabulous! Well done – amazing how accidents can sometimes improve things.

  12. So much better than the grasscloth (and I liked the grasscloth). Put those pictures side by side and I suspect very few would select the grasscloth over this treatment. I thought the paintings kind of blended in TOO MUCH with the teal. They absolutely POP on this purple. Love it.

  13. OMG!!! You outdid yourself. I love this!!! Your artwork just pops on this wall. I have to find a wall in my house so I can copy. It is just perfect.

  14. I love the new look! I’d say Cooper did you a favor. (I also loved the bird mural you originally had in this room and hope you’ll eventually decide to resurrect it somewhere else in your house).

  15. The grasscloth is definitely a sad loss, BUT I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! I love that you brought the purple on this wall. I think it’s the perfect amount of purple for the room, and helps bring in the other purples. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!

  16. LOVE IT! I do believe if you up and change this again I will have to quit reading 😉 because this is absolutely GORGEOUS and makes such a statement in your front area! WOW! All things happen for a reason and while I know the expense and frustration was great….this is incredible!

  17. Looks great! Would you possibly have enough grass cloth left to use in the backs of your bookcases in the music room?
    I know you said you were going to put doors on the bottom of those, so maybe there might be enough. That way you could still use your beautiful teal grass cloth. Just a thought. Really nice job on the forced redo. Way to turn that around.

  18. I love it! The color is great and the proportion on your wall really is better. I did love the texture of the grass cloth though. Sorry about the setback, but definitely came up with a great alternative!

  19. That’s so funny because one of the pics the other I saw- I had a tiny voice that says- the previous grass cloth panel (which was still very nice) just didn’t “go” anymore, color, visual weight and scale, etc. lol Boom- there ya go changing it. I love it! I find it interesting. I label myself the most indecisive non-decorating capable person. Yet- I have to have some base design instinct if I get these feelings about your design because usually within a few days you make changes. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve followed you for so long, but something is starting to resonate. Thanks for sharing your decorating journey.

  20. Now that’s taking lemons, bypassing the lemonade, and making some margaritas instead. I think it looks great. But I can’t help notice the baseboard on the other wall under the picture gallery still needs touching up.

    1. It does. 😃 I got all of the baseboards touched up (or so I thought), washed my brush, closed up the can, and then realized I had overlooked that area. 😕

  21. I think this actually works much better not just because it carries the design to the other side of the room but also because it carries the purple over too. Plus the larger painted area looks much better. Congrats!

  22. I would call it a happy accident. The grass cloth was soooo… BLA next to all the vibrant colors in your paintings and lamp. There was a sour note on that wall. But now, with more vibrant background (the purple) it’s all so much more harmonious. I don’t care for the orange in your lamp that much, but now it’s perfectly suited to this scene. I want to sit in that room now…… Except your fire place. That color you have it painted… Well, it’s a sour note in what else would be a perfectly tuned orchestra. But I don’t know what would fix it. Just looks not right. Don’t mean to be negative. Just being honest.
    And now about that picture in the music room. I didn’t think I would like it. I would never do it. But now that it is hung… Another harmonious note in your symphony indeed! Brilliant!

  23. I love it!! I like it more than the grass cloth. I especially like how it ties in with your window treatments – plus purple is my favorite color.

  24. WOW! I was bummer for you because I loved the grass cloth, but this is fantastic!!! Talk about making lemonade from lemons! I love your creativity!!

  25. I really liked the grasscloth. This however, THIS IS PERFECT! The purple wall, green cabinet and orange lamp makes my eyes happy! And I love how the birdprints on the other wall pop in your photo. Now a beautiful teal sofa and some orange side chairs!Ohhhhh, I can nearly wait to see what is next!

  26. I absolutely loved the teal, but not a fan of the seams in grasscloth for some reason? I do like this though…and yes, I always have to put my pups in another room while painting projects are going on…Oh the love of our pupperoos!!

  27. Aw, I miss the color and texture of the grasscloth (not a purple fan, and you already have so many painted surfaces). But I applaud your ability to move on and am glad you are so happy with it in YOUR home!

  28. I opened my email, saw that picture and thought “Well now, that is just stunning!” One of your best transformations yet! I wonder if you could find a straight sided lamp base you could cover with grass cloth? Or of course you could always build one.

  29. I love it! As others have mentioned, it really does make the artwork and dresser pop. That deep purple is beautiful. I do like the full wall treatment better. The grass cloth looked so big and bold until I saw this!

    There’s only one minor detail that seems to not work for me…. the dresser hardware. Perhaps white would look better for the handles? It’s one of those things may look better in person than photos because we’re only seeing one wall and not everything else in the room.

    1. I think, for me, something is off about the color of the credenza was the issue but maybe it is the hardware as you pointed out. I sorta wonder if painting it teal might be what it needs, but if she loves it like it is, then it’s perfect just as it is!

    2. They don’t look better in person. 😀 I keep thinking I’ll look for new pulls and knobs for it, but then I forget every time I head out. I need to actually add it to my list so I won’t forget. I’d like something a little simpler and more streamlined in style, but not sure exactly what. I’m sure I”ll know it when I see it…if I ever remember to actually look. 😀

      1. Haha! You mean those handles aren’t at the top of your list? Gee, you’d think you had something more pressing like a brand new carport or something! 🤔😉

        I agree that a more straight edged set of hardware would compliment the greek key corners.

        I love your blog and have been following it for a couple of years now. You’re my hero!

  30. So, so, so much better than that non-matching, non-coordinating green of the grasscloth against the green buffet/bureau. Especially like the Greek key motif being re-used. Thank your dog!

  31. Perfect! Maybe Cooper is a stylist. In any event, i liked the teal, not a fan of grasscloth but you made it lovely. I do like the change in color very much and it gives a zing!

  32. I thought my favorite look for this wall was the birds on branches, but this wall is stunning.
    I love it. I’d love to see a montage of of all the looks you’ve done on this one wall, you are so creatively talented.

  33. I thought my favorite look for this wall was the birds on branches, but this wall is stunning.
    I love it. I’d love to see a montage of of all the looks you’ve done on this one wall, you are so creatively talented.

  34. I tho’t the grasscloth was different & very nice. But this looks terrific too. Love what you’re doing to your house.

  35. I love this SO MUCH MORE! I never cared for the grass cloth – as you said, it was too small. It just looked awkward with the mounding around it. If you had papered the entire wall and not used a border of mounding, I would have liked it much better. But, just like on “Say Yes to the Dress” — your opinion was the only one that mattered. Now the entire wall is the focus rather than the small area of paper. The darker color also sets off your paintings so much more as there is more contrast. So, . . . kudos to your smart puppy; and while it always takes you a while to get there, you have again knocked it out of the park!!

  36. I really liked the grasscloth but then I see this new wall and i ABSOLUTELY LOVE the new wall!! It’s perfect in that room! I love how you picked up the color of the drapes and the Greek key pattern. Excellent!!

  37. And boy woman!!! Do you LOVE color!! Have a wonderful day – this may have come out of a mistake but it’s the best mistake ever!!!

  38. I wasn’t crazy about color of grass cloth but thought maybe it’s just the picture. This is you perfect color picks up color in tryptic and balances the wall out perfectly .AMAZING transformation

  39. You are sure a worker bee. I wish I could accomplish all that you do. And so beautifully. The purple really makes your art pop much better. I think repeating a design element really helps to make the space cohesive. Very nicely done.

  40. I’m so bummed for you that the grasscloth got ruined. I know how hard (and expensive) that whole thing was to get right.

    However, I really like the purple with the Greek key, personally!

  41. Look fabulous!!!! Another out of the park “had to be redone” project by you! You amaze me woman!!!

  42. I like that much better than the grasscloth. But…. now I think the dresser seems to be a more saturated color. Maybe Teal. Or Emerald Green. That green seems rather washed out next to the bold colors in the art and the purple wall.

    1. That’s exactly what I was thinking. Now the credenza needs a deeper color because it looks washed out.

  43. I liked the before and I’m sorry it was damaged, but I think the after is stunning! Just such a wow pop and I love how you combined the greek key design into it. Pulls it together I think.

    Fabulous!

    Mark

  44. Kristi! This is just one of the reasons why I (and many, many others) just LOVE you! You pick your self up, dust yourself off, and come up with something even more amazing than than before. Once again, Bravo! As so many others have said, it is even better than the grass cloth…and the grass cloth was teriffic!

    1. I am one of KATHIEB’s “many others” who are impressed with your attitude about what to do when things go wrong. Good for you!

  45. Kristi

    I love it – it looks fantastic so much better than the grasscloth. And, the furniture is great in green. You really nailed it.

    JoAnne

  46. Love, love, love it!! The wall art just pops off the wall and love that green buffet. Looks so rich and awesome!

  47. Love this better than the grasscloth. The teal color was not working for me but it was your home. I may have missed it in a previous post but is the planter going to remain. That does not look like a “Kristi” planter. You are very colorful and I love it. 🙂

  48. I was all ready to be the seemingly only person that liked the grasscloth color better. But then I took a good, long look at the grasscloth photo and this greek key photo, and decided I am on board with the change after all. It is more cohesive with all that is going on in the room. It makes the paintings you did look totally different – in a good way. But I do agree there is something about the credenza now, and it may very well be the hardware. I also wonder if it needs a bit of a tiny shadow line around the “frames” on the drawer boxes. I will wait to see the hardware when you get to that, but it seems a bit one-note now. You are a smart cookie to come up with matching the key on the opposing wall!

  49. Kristi, I LOVED the grasscloth wall because it was beautiful, the color is one of my personal favs, and I know how much time and effort and expense the entire wall cost, especially because it had been redone a couple times already. It was elegant and lovely. That said, I am loving this purple Greek key wall, it’s just gorgeous! I love the way it ties in with your drapery panels. Actually, I have loved every single iteration of this wall that you’ve designed, which is why I have such a difficult time deciding on decorating or designs for my own home, I just like too many of them!

  50. This whole wall effect is so cohesive and balanced now: the larger area painted that rich purple bordered by the Greek-key design changed it dramatically. Something bothered me before the happy accident, but I couldn’t pin what. The grass cloth. It is stunning now, Kristi. Your art work and the candles are perfect. I love almost everything you have now with two exceptions: the hardware (as you say, you’ll know when you see the right thing) and the planter basket. The texture of it adds a needed element, but hmmm? Maybe it is placed a little too close to the credenza. Seeing in person might change my perception, though.

    If Cooper wants to be part of the process, he had better learn to paint!

  51. I liked, but wasn’t “wowed” by the grasscloth. I LOVE the purple … pops both the credenza and paintings so much more! Hmmm … lol … 2 smaller paintings on each side vertically?! The Greek Key is pure genius!

  52. Kristi, The dog did you a favor cause this is gorgeous. I love it! I know it was a lot of work but its such an improvement. Who knew? Way to go, Cooper!

  53. Looks Fabulous! I wouldn’t change the credenza color…the green goes so well with the green in your paintings.

  54. I’d love to see a pic as this accent wall relates to the fireplace wall. I thought the grass cloth balanced out the teal on the fireplace and made everything cohesive. I also really loved the texture and color of it. Based on the comments, I’m in the extreme minority because I don’t love this but I think it’s because I’m having trouble visualizing what it looks like with the rest of the room.

    If I could offer one additional critique, your 6 prints between the music room and kitchen opening look too high to me. I think it would look more balanced if there were an equal amount of wall space above and below the grouping of prints. I noticed an electrical outlet underneath so I figured that’s why you hung them higher.

  55. LOVE, love this new wall and color. But I have loved dark eggplant colors for ever.
    I do think the buffet needs a new paint job to go with this. How about a faux wood finish? Something fabulous like tortoise shell or maybe a new colored stain.
    I just got blue for my kitchen island.

  56. Oh my goodness, this looks A-MAZ-ING………I really liked the grasscloth in the frame, but this color with the Greek key design has taken your entryway wall to a whole new level of WOW. It makes your entryway pop, it makes your artwork pop even more, the wall looks so much larger, it just looks absolutely stunning and so you. Perfection!!!!!!

  57. Wow Kristi! Way to take lemons and make lemonade. The wall looks fabulous!! Love the color combo AND love the color of that chest. You should sell your formula to a paint company. 🙂

  58. This accent wall is now an ACCENT wall. With the natural light coming from your entrance door I’m loving it! Considering the ceiling light your lamp light was more balanced when you had it placed on the right of the credenza. Love your blog, your progress is incredible 🙂

  59. Wow, you are one talented person. Your work is perfection and your creativity off the charts. I so look forward to all of your posts.

  60. I know you said the color of the dresser is different from your sofa. Have you thought about using the color of the sofa instead? I see that color in the triptych, I think. Of course, it’d mean repainting the dresser…again!!! I really love what you’ve done with this wall…maybe this will be the keeper!

  61. I really like it. I loved the grasscloth but the size of this one is much better. The colors are perfect with your paintings pulling it all together. What a great statement your entryway makes – so welcoming and beautiful.