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6.24.2013

Navy & White Herringbone Accent Wall Reveal

Okay. I’ve stepped outside of my comfort zone big time with our recent accent wall project. Like I am maybe even in a new country if my previous comfort zone was the United States. Like maybe, I don’t know, my new comfort zone is in Guatemala or something.

I wonder how the Guatemalan locals feel about navy and white herringbone walls.

herringbone accent wall (3)

I felt terrified of them. (Herringbone walls, not Guatemalan locals.) I am a vanilla sort of decorator. Safe, safe. But we plunged ahead and there is no going back now. I like that it’s quirky but just a little less modern than its cousin Chevron.

herringbone accent wall (2)

Rick has also put up new trim AND gorgeous crown moulding in the entire room. He is my hero and seriously deserves an award for all of the work he is doing around the house. He also deserves an award for the most vocabulary learned in one project. He learned the word herringbone. I learned no new vocabulary.

herringbone accent wall

Creating the herringbone pattern itself took us approximately six hours from start to finish, with obvious breaks for food eating and cat petting.

DSC_1563

As for how we did it: I started typing up the tutorial and anticipate that writing it will also take at least six hours of my time, for two main reasons.

  1. The whole thing initially made my brain hurt like I’d just swallowed a gallon of ice cream in 4.7 seconds time, and I need to figure out a way to explain the process without inflicting physical harm on anyone who reads about it. I am in no position to be sued for damages. And, actually, I am in Guatemala…so good luck finding me to deliver the subpoena. Full speed ahead with a mind-numbing tutorial. (I am all about getting people to come back to my blog.)
  2. We finished the wall over a month ago and these days I’m doing this new trick where I say “Hey Rick” and then by the time he says “What” I have forgotten the pressing matter with which I began the conversation. So basically I will work on summoning my month-old memories and post the full step-by-step tutorial later this week, complete with pictures and diagrams.

There are only a few herringbone tutorials out there, and because of the tape we used, the process we personally ended up with is (I think) a little less complicated than the tutorials I looked at. We shall see.

herringbone accent wall

What’s your favorite pattern these days? Do you have any accent walls in your home? Who’s ready to have their mind numbed?

Update: here’s the full tutorial!

25 comments:

  1. It looks so incredible! I love it. :)

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  2. Wow, it looks incredible. Also, before and after = hilarious.

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  3. That wall looks amazing!

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  4. you shock me. SERIOUSLY. this is YOUR HOUSE?! it looks perfect!

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  5. LOVE that! It's going to be baby-hypnotizing, in all the best ways. Guaranteed to make her drift right back to sleep every time she wakes up. Good call. :)

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    1. haha I will just wave her around in front of it until she snoozes. It's probably foolproof. :P

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  6. GORGEOUS!!!!! I'm in love with it!! :)

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  7. Anonymous6/24/2013

    That has got to be the most amazing wall I've ever seen. Your Rick is DEFINATELY more DIY talented than my Rick. My Rick is a salesman and would probably talk someone else into doing that wall for him - like me for instance...

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  8. this looks wonderful! i asked adam if we could do a wall like this in the nursery months ago and he said, "id rather not..." can we hire rick? ;) so awesome you guys did this--really looks amazing! maybe after showing this to adam and saying, "see..they are in the exact same boat as we are and they did great! we can too!" :) have a good week erin and thanks for sharing, really love it!

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  9. That looks amazing! I love it!

    Can't wait to see the tutorial because now I totally want to try this somewhere in my house! Like maybe a closet ;)

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  10. So so pretty!!! love love love it! I apparently like it so much I feel the need to repeat words! haha. I think I may have to replicate this somewhere.

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    1. You mean replicate replicate? (See what I did there?) ;)

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  11. When I first looked at the picture, I thought it was wallpaper!! Can't believe you taped and painted that whole thing. The geometry alone is making me dizzy. it's awesome!! What room is this? I hope it's not your master bedroom. I don't know if I could sleep with all that math behind my head.

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    1. It's not our bedroom, but it is the room right next to our bedroom. ;) The math actually wasn't as terrifying as I thought it would be, thank goodness! No geometry required, only addition!

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  12. this is SOSOSO cool. love it!!

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  13. Ooo, this is fun. Rick does good work. You have a great ideas. I must acknowledge both important sides!

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  14. Yay for going out of your comfort zone! I have been to Guatemala, and I think the locals would love this ;)
    The nursery is going to be SO cute!

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  15. Anonymous6/26/2013

    That is absolutely gorgeous!

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  16. This looks amazing! I love that your ideas for your home are truly creative and new. Nothing like I've seen before. This is no exception. Awesome job!

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  17. Oh my gosh, this is a STUNNING accent wall! My boyfriend is going to hate you for planting this idea in my head...

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  18. I like chevron ... sometimes ... it's a bit overused these days. But I LOVE herringbone. Your wall looks gorgeous. I know what you mean about writing a detailed tutorial, but I look forward to reading it once you can get your head wrapped around, and your fingers to type, all the steps.

    I have a feature wall project in my mind as well, but I have to figure out how to create the unusual pattern, so I'm procrastinating about that for a while!

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  19. LOVE these! Seriously!!!!!!!!! You go girl! I am totally pinning them! Thanks so much for the inspiration!

    Happy day to you!
    karianne

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  20. I hope you realize that wall is going to blow up all over Pinterest. :) It's Awesome. Yep. Capital "A". I happen to LOVE herringbone, naturally because of that whole cousin thing. I've been looking at a few herringbone rugs for a while, none of which I have yet to grace my home with, but a girl can dream.

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