36 Wood Slat Accent Wall Ideas for a Stylish Focal Point in Any Room

Wood slat walls were a hallmark of midcentury modern interiors that have come back into style in recent years, making them look fresh and contemporary for those who missed it the first time around.

You can change the look of a wood slat accent wall with your choice of thickness, wood stain, or paint finish, as well as how tightly or loosely you space the boards. For a divider wall, space slats with gaps wide enough to allow air and light to circulate. For a fireplace wall or bedroom wall, feel free to line up the boards closely together, or apply thin wood slats to a solid surface for a purely decorative wood slat accent that will add dimension to a blank wall.

If you are thinking of installing a DIY wood slat accent wall and wondering how to incorporate it into your bedroom, living room, or any other room in your home, check out these wood slat wall ideas in a range of spaces and styles for inspiration on how to make this nostalgic feature work in any interior.

Integrate With Woodwork

In this remodeled Los Angeles home renovated by architect Alan Koch and designer Karen Spector of the firm Lovers Unite, a honey-toned wood slat wall helps to define space and filter light. Every fifth vertical slat is carried up onto the cross beam for an integrated look that add a visual rhythm to the design.

Wrap the Ceiling

Use slat wood to create dimension in a transitional space like a corridor. Cathie Hong Interiors clad opposite walls and the ceiling in golden wood slats in this spacious Northern California home.

Paint It Black

A black finish on wood slat walls creates a contemporary mood in this black-and-white living room from Brophy Interiors. The white modern fireplace is flanked with walls clad in vertical black wood slats, with chunky black floating shelves on one side to display objects.

Incorporate a Hidden Door

Create a seamless look with a hidden door that is covered in the same wood slats as the surrounding walls, like this hallway powder room from Cathie Hong Interiors.

Mix Open and Closed Slats

In this basement kitchen and dining room from Studio Peake, a natural wood slat staircase wall with wide gaps allows light and air to flow through, while a closed wood slat clad detail at the bottom of the stairs creates cohesion.

Warm Up the Bathroom

Arbor & Co. cladded the walls and corner shelving of this bathroom with wood slat detailing to add warmth to this inviting bathroom that is finished with traditional terracotta floor tiles.

Decorate With Colorful Art

Hang a colorful piece of framed modern art on wood slat walls to add contrast, like this open-plan living room from Michelle Boudreau Design that includes a pair of hanging bubble chairs.

Pair With White Built-Ins

Add contrast in a neutral space by anchoring floating modern white built-ins with a wood slat wall. This living room from Michelle Berwick Design features a wood slat wall layered with a mix of closed storage and open display shelving. The wood slats add enough texture to stand alone, or can be decorated with anything from a large-scale photograph or painting to a mirror or other wall decor.

Paint It White

Paint your wood slats white and pair with mixed materials for a modern feel. In this blue-and-white bedroom from Michelle Boudreau Design, white painted wood slat walls are mixed with vertical channel tufted panels that act as a headboard, while pleated white curtains add another variation of vertical lines to the vibrant space.

Decorate the Fireplace Wall

Add texture to a neutral fireplace wall with vertical wood slats. This space from Arbor & Co. includes a painted white brick fireplace with a simple light wood mantel for a clean, modern look that is enhanced with a wall of vertical wood slats in a similar tone. A black-framed round mirror and geometric tile on the hearth energizes the neutral space.

Build a Backrest

A partial wall made from sturdy wall slats runs from floor to ceiling in this renovated midcentury modern dining nook from Jessica Nelson Design. The slats are spaced generously to allow light to pass through, while providing a backrest for wood bench seating that makes the space feel inviting and cozy.

Try a Wood Slat Accent Wall

For a twist on vertical wood slats, install a wood slat accent wall in a chevron pattern to add warmth to a neutral bedroom, like this space from Mindy Gayer Design Co.

Tip

You can also add variation to a standard vertical wood slat accent wall with a horizontal layout, or by choosing a chevron pattern for an updated look.

Clad a Double Fireplace

The floor-to-ceiling double-sided fireplace in this Hamptons home from Michelle Gerson Interiors is covered in wood slats that add texture and warmth to the airy white-walled room, and act as a room divider between seating areas. The firebox is trimmed with a recessed frame with a slightly worn patina that adds contrast with the wood slat fireplace wall.

Contrast With Dark Paint

Add drama by continuing a wood slat headboard up onto the ceiling like in this bedroom from Michelle Boudreau Design. The pale wood slats add contrast with the forest green walls while complementing a pair of warm wood nightstands.

Decorate the Home Bar

Wood slat cladding on the wall and the island around this home bar from Brophy Interiors adds a warm feel that is contrasted with stone countertops and modern lighting.

Try Color Blocking

Use wood slats in varied finishes, layouts, and shapes to create a modern accent wall. Ann Living mixed black wood slats in a chevron pattern with dark brown vertical wood slats with a rounded edge to create a neutral color-blocked wall detail that personalizes the space.

Structure an Entryway

Help to structure a large entryway with a wood slat wall, like this space from Brophy Interiors. The large, widely spaced wood slats allow light and air to pass through and complement the glass and wood floating staircase and white brick painted walls.

Create a Feature Wall

Create a feature wall of built-ins that includes open and closed storage and display space, like this light-flooded living room from Atelier Davis. The warm wood tones complement furniture and decor elements in bright shades of blue and coral.

Fill a Blank Space

Michelle Boudreau Design filled the gap between the top of the kitchen peninsula and the ceiling with a vertical wood slat insert that helps to delineate the space from the entryway while maintaining and open and airy feel. Coral wall paint complements the warm wood tones.

DIY a Wood Slat Headboard

If you want to add warmth to a neutral bedroom, consider adding a simple wall-to-wall horizontal slatwood headboard, like this cozy space from Arbor & Co.. The wall can double as a ledge to display framed art and plants,

Try a Backsplash Wall

Use wood slat wall details throughout a modern, white-walled space to add warmth and continuity, like the wood slat backsplash on this home bar from Cathie Hong Interiors that complements an adjacent full wall of the same slat wood.

Create a Backdrop Wall

Michelle Boudreau Design created a backdrop for the dining area with a wood slat wall that contrasts with a painted white shiplap ceiling. A modern mirror hanging on the wood slat wall reflects the matching wood slat wall on the living area opposite in the open-plan space.

Warm Up a Mini Mudroom

A small mudroom bench is clad with warm slat wood fitted with small wall hooks to hang up jackets in this space from Cathie Hong Interiors.

Break Up a Painted Wall

Add a mini accent wall in a dark painted bedroom with wood slats on one side of the bed that will add contrast and warmth without a major makeover or renovation, like this space from Michelle Berwick Design.

Add Privacy to a Loft

Use wood slats to add partial privacy to a loft bedroom without blocking air and light. The long stay Zoku apartments designed by interior design firm Concrete use signature horizontal wood slat door paneling that looks like shutters to unite multi-functional walls and conceal the sleeping spaces. It's a smart design solution for delineating living and working zones in studio spaces.

Unite an Open-Plan Space

Use a series of wood slat walls throughout an open-plan space to create a cohesive feel. Michelle Boudreau Design used wood slat walls in a warm honey tone to unite various zones of this open plan space, from the hallway to the open kitchen, dining, and seating areas.

Paint It Gray

A painted gray wood slat wall is contrasted with natural wood on the stairs and handrail of the semi-open staircase in this home from Tyler Karu Design + Interiors. The wood slats cast shadows on the white wall opposite during certain times of day, depending on the light.

Detail With Wood Slats

Add interest to a built-in wall niche with wood slat detailing on storage doors, like this contemporary space from Sissy + Marley Interior Design that features a place to display books and objects.

Wood Slat Headboard Wall

Ashley Webb Interiors used floor-to-ceiling wood slats to create a dramatic, space-saving headboard in this light neutral bedroom.

Lighten Up the Hallway

Wood slats create a lighter feel in a hallway, dividing space without totally blocking off light or views, like this space from Tyler Karu Design + Interiors.

Add Privacy in the Bathroom

Add partial privacy without blocking light or air flow in a bathroom with a wood slat dividing wall like this space from Michelle Boudreau Design. The warm wood slats complement the sink vanity and add contrast with blue-and-white star patterned tiles for a retro modern look.

Divide the Dining Area

Wood slats create a semi-transparent wall that separates the staircase from the dining area in this Maine home from Tyler Karu Design + Interiors.

Pair With Wallpaper

Pair a wood slat wall with wallpaper for a varied look, like this corner dining area from Brophy Interiors that mixes warm and cool tones and finishes for an inviting feel.

Make It Contemporary

Black wood slats add texture to this linear fireplace wall in a living room from Brophy Interiors. The slats are spaced and applied to the solid fireplace wall in a purely decorative fashion for a dimensional look.

Combine With Light Wood

Decorate a black vertical wood slat wall with horizontal light wood floating shelves to add contrast, like this contemporary fireplace wall from Brophy Interiors.

Slatwood Headboard

For a less permanent solution, try a wood slat headboard wall that is wider than the mattress to make room for built-in nightstands, like this bright bedroom from Brophy Interiors. Use a horizontal layout to make the bed seem wider and the room more expansive.

Are wood slat walls still in style?

Wood slat walls are still in style. Because slat wood walls were a popular midcentury modern trend that has come back into fashion in recent years, those with midecentury modern interiors might argue that they never went out of style. On the other hand, those who grew up with them and associate them with the past might consider them out of date. There are plenty of modern ways to embrace the current trend for wood slat walls, from wood stain to paint to decor and styling.

Are slat walls a modern look?

Because everything old eventually is new again, slat walls that were a hallmark of many midcentury modern interiors can look fresh and contemporary for those who didn’t experience them the first time around. You can use wood slat walls as decor accents, room dividers, or to add texture to blank walls for a modern look. Mix natural wood tones with painted white, black, or gray slats for a contemporary mix.

Read the original article on The Spruce.