26 Wood Slat Wall Ideas for a Modern Home Interior or Exterior

Add visual interest and stylish texture to your space with designer wood slat wall applications.

Published April 3, 2023
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Wood slats are popping up everywhere in home and garden trends. Join the wood slat wall club in a timeless and tasteful way that still looks stylish as trends come and go. These interior and exterior wood slat wall ideas will give your home a modern style feature that's classic and versatile.

Put a Wood Slat Wall Behind Your Bed

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If you want to embrace the wood slat wall trend but aren't sure how you feel about having it in your living spaces, a feature wall in your bedroom is the perfect way to introduce the style to your home. Create a slat wall behind your bed and see how the texture and movement transform your ordinary bedroom. Upholstered headboards look chic against this modern accent feature.

Coordinate With Other Wood Features

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You may already have a few wooden pieces in your home that you absolutely love. Consider your wood slat stain or color carefully regarding those pieces. If you aren't able to match the pieces perfectly or you're already working with a collection of various colors, create additional contrast with your stain selection. Otherwise, choose a stain color or wood shade that matches the items you already have in the room.

Paint Slats Black for a Dramatic Look

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The texture and height of slat walls are already quite striking. If you're looking to add even more drama to your space, paint your slat walls black. This deep color will create depth and plenty of visual interest for a modern style.

Use Slats in an Alcove

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Whether you're adding interest to a hallway, entry, or bedroom, an alcove sporting slat details will certainly capture attention in the right way. Because of the small space, this slat wall project is the perfect way to add design detail to your home without blowing your design budget.

Add a Slat Wall to Your Garden

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Your garden gets a modern upgrade with the slat wall trend. Add one to your outdoor space to create an ideal spot for climbing vines to thrive.

Define & Divide Rooms

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Slat wall extensions are a stylish way to create effortless definition in your home. Define your space or divide a large room with a strategically placed slat wall that adds plenty of architectural detail to your interior.

Try a Coastal Look

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Wood details can easily enhance a coastal interior style. Use wood slats with light or gray-tinted stains for a driftwood effect. Pair a slat wall with blue interior details for a cozy coastal look. Combine your slats with other coastal style textures and prints for a perfectly cohesive look.

Create a Modern Home Exterior

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Wood slats walls are a wonderful way to update your interiors, but adding them to the exterior of your home brings a whole new meaning to leveling up your style. The wood details create a beautiful contrast with metal, stone, or concrete materials. Tall slats make your home feel larger and more streamlined. This exterior design detail will certainly make your home stand out.

Update Your Kitchen Island

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Wooden slats aren't just for your walls. They can be an easy and designer way to turn your average kitchen island into a stylish accent feature. Use wood slats on the outer side of your kitchen island, or even a peninsula, to draw the eye and create dimension in the heart of your home.

Combine Wood Slats With Sleek Decor

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The key to making wood slat walls work for your home is to pair them with intentional design details that contrast them well. Sleek decor will help the texture of your wood slats stand out in the best way. Use glass, metal, marble, silk, and ceramic to contrast your slat walls with contemporary style features.

Hang Plants on Garden Slat Walls

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Though a slat wall has plenty of character to stand on its own, it's also the perfect backdrop for your garden's beautiful blooms. Hang potted plants on a wood slat wall in your garden to bring some of the style of your home's interior to the exterior oasis in your backyard.

Accent With One Small Section of Wall

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An accent wall doesn't have to be entirely covered by the feature detail to qualify as an accent. You can add slats to one side or even on a small section of your wall for a modern style feature. A bit of asymmetry in your space will create balance and visual interest in your home.

Contrast Slat Walls With White Inteirors

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If you want to shine the spotlight on the design, texture, or color of your slat wall, then creating intentional contrast will help. Draw attention to the details of your feature wall with mostly white or light-colored interiors. Walls, carpet, and furniture pieces in light shades or bright white will help your slat wall take center stage.

Leave Wide Spaces Between Slats

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If your room has a long wall you're desperately trying to decorate, wide-spaced slats will help your space feel intentional and designer. Wide-spaced slats make the most of your wall's expanse and create a classic and balanced stripe illusion on the wall. With wide-spaced slats, you can skip other wall decor since this feature wall style adds plenty of visual interest on its own.

Use a Slat Wall Behind Your TV

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If you want to draw attention away from your TV and back to the designer details of your space, a trendy feature should do the trick. If you hang your TV on a slat wall, your eyes will naturally move toward the textural interest rather than the TV itself. Now your TV placement looks intentional and professional in your bedroom, family room, or living room.

Use Reclaimed Slats in a Garden

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For a rustic vibe in your garden or backyard area, reclaimed wood slats make the perfect feature wall. Whether you're looking to close in the space or add a backdrop for climbing vines, a reclaimed slat wall elevates your outdoor space.

Carry Slats to the Ceiling

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For a dramatic room feature or to create the illusion of higher ceilings, carry your wood slats up and overhead. This extension of your slat accent wall looks high end and designer in a bedroom, hallway, or office.

Mix & Match Slat Sizes

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For added visual interest, mix up the width of your wood slats. Varying the sizes of your slats will add balance to a particularly long wall and create more of a transitional interior style.

Make a Pattern With Your Slats

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If simple vertical slats aren't your style, you might love the look of a wood slat pattern. Diagonal placement, a herringbone pattern, or a checkered look will help your slat wall truly stand out. With a feature wall this chic, you can choose minimalist decor details for a perfectly balanced space.

Create Privacy on a Patio

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If you want the perfect backdrop for all your summer entertaining or you're looking for a bit more privacy on your patio, a wood slat wall is the way to go. You can paint your slats to match your home exterior or choose a stain color similar to your deck or patio.

Choose Small Slats for a Small Space

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For a short wall or just a smaller space, thin slats will help create the illusion of a larger room. Your eye will perceive the large number of slats as a large expanse on the wall. Small slats placed close together also allow you to hang decorative elements on the wall without creating clutter.

Paint Walls Behind Your Slats

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To create an ultra-modern look with beautiful contrast, prep your walls with dark paint before adding the slats. Charcoal, navy, deep shades of green, and matte black all add the perfect moody touch as the color peeks out between the slats.

Mix Vertical & Horizontal Slats

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Add tons of dimension and an unexpected twist to your wood slat walls. Combing horizontal and vertical slats in one room adds a designer touch and shows off your interior styling skills.

Build a Half Wall for a Walkway

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If you have a garden that regularly calls you for a stroll, add a designer boundary along the walkway. A half wood slat wall featuring horizontal or vertical slats will help your garden feel more contemporary and make your daily walks feel balanced and beautiful.

Add Interest to an Archway

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Talk about architectural detail! Wood slats lining an archway in your home look modern, elegant, and expensive. This interior style hack adds tons of detail to an otherwise simple space in your interior and feels luxurious, even though the project itself won't break the bank.

Make Your Wall Feel Like Art

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Level up your slat wall feature so it feels like a true display of art. With contrasting colors, various sizes and applications, and complementing details like light and texture, your accent wall is the star of your home in an artistic way.

Bring a Beloved Designer Accent to Your Home

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There's a reason designers and homeowners are loving the wood slat trend on walls. This sophisticated update on the traditional accent wall works as well for rustic homes as it does for modern applications. With the right approach to slat walls, your home will look like a professionally designed space.

26 Wood Slat Wall Ideas for a Modern Home Interior or Exterior