When deciding which color to paint her dining room accent wall, Jenn Osias turned to Instagram. “Honestly, Clare has so many beautiful colors and I love the color green, so it was pretty hard to pick. I browsed the #shareyourclare hashtag to see other examples of people using the green shades in their homes. I was thinking Dirty Martini, Grayish, and Current Mood were options at one point. Then Clare released Daily Greens and it was back to the drawing board,” she says. Lost on which color to choose, she narrowed it down to four and the voters decided. “Money Moves was the clear fan favorite,” she says. 

Embrace an experimental mindset

Jenn’s DIY projects began in 2020 when, like so many of us, she spent more time at home and began experimenting in her own space. “It started small, like hanging a pendant or repainting a dresser,” she says. “Then I dialed it to a 10 and started doing things like installing a fireplace I salvaged off of Craigslist.” Soon enough, she was completing her own One Room Challenge – by completely redesigning her living room. “Like I said, it escalated quickly,” she jokes. 

Tackle challenges one by one

One of her most challenging spaces was the awkwardly-placed dining room situated between her kitchen, living room, and main hallway. For a while, the room sat practically unused. “I joke that this was my garage but it’s not entirely untrue,” she says. “While I got the rest of my home together, this became a dumping ground. It held storage boxes, exercise equipment, power tools, random decorations, art, even potting soil. I had this cute office, a gorgeous living room, but to get past it you had to look past these stacks of moving boxes.” 

Turn your L's into lessons

The apartment, located in a prewar building, has all the charming touches of the era: large windows, parquet floors, bright and airy light. The dining room accent wall was a prime spot to highlight those details. There was, however, another big challenge. “I’m a renter so every change I make can’t be permanent,” Jenn explains. Despite not being able to renovate, she transformed the space with a mix of modern and traditional decor – including a wallpapered feature with a large mirror that reflects light. In a smart move for the small space, she installed heavy curtains to quickly hide her built-in shelving. By using classical decor and lighter colors – Money Moves on the dining room accent wall and Whipped on the trim and ceiling – Jenn made the most of the apartment’s details. 

The power of a painting a dining room accent wall

The transformed space, complete with plenty of storage and a classical-meets-modern feel, is now used mainly for entertaining. Still, Jenn loves to work there, proving that a great accent wall can lift your spirits in multiple ways. “The soft green of the walls is really good for inspiring new ideas,” she says. There’s no better way to live your best life than with a space the shade of crisp dollar bills.

Next: 7 beautiful dining rooms you'll want to hang out in all day.