Accent walls in Charlotte
An accent wall is one wall in a room built up with a pattern of trim or cladding, such as shiplap, board and batten, vertical slats, fluted panels or picture-frame moulding, then painted or stained. It is finish carpentry on a small scale, usually a one or two day job. MDO Contracting builds accent walls across Charlotte, NC.
A feature wall lives or dies on layout. The battens have to land evenly around the outlets and the window, and the top rail has to sit at a height that makes sense from the doorway.
What the job involves
- Board and batten, shiplap, tongue and groove, vertical slat walls and fluted panels
- Picture-frame moulding and half-wall wainscot treatments
- Layout planned around windows, doors, outlets and switches
- Outlet boxes extended, caulk and fill, prime and paint or stain
- Bedroom headboard walls, dining rooms, entryways, home offices and media walls
How the work runs
- 01
Lay it out
Spacing is worked out on the actual wall so the pattern ends evenly at both corners.
- 02
Build
Battens, boards or panels go up, nailed to studs where possible and glued where not.
- 03
Fill and caulk
Nail holes filled, every joint caulked, so it reads as one surface.
- 04
Paint
Primer and two coats, or stain and seal for wood slat walls.
Accent walls questions
- How long does an accent wall take?
- Most are one or two days including paint, depending on the pattern and how many outlets and windows sit in the wall.
- Board and batten or shiplap?
- Board and batten reads more traditional and suits dining rooms and entries. Shiplap reads more relaxed. Slat walls suit offices and media rooms and help a little with sound.
- Does the wall need to be perfectly flat?
- No. Trim is forgiving of small waves. A badly bowed wall gets shimmed so the pattern still reads straight.
- Can you match existing trim?
- Yes. The new work is sized and profiled to sit correctly against the baseboard and casing already in the room.
- Can the whole room be done?
- Yes, though one wall is usually the point. A full-room treatment is really wainscoting, which is its own page.
Accent walls across the Charlotte area
MDO Contracting works Charlotte and roughly 50 miles out from it.