The information in this article applies to:

QUESTION

I want to change the color of just one wall in my room to create an accent wall, but when I use the Material Painter  (spray can) tool in a 3D view, it changes the color or material of all the walls in my room!  How can I change the color of just a single wall?

ANSWER

Changing the color, or material, of a single wall is easy to accomplish in its Specification dialog.
 

To change the color of an entire wall

1. First, use the Select Objects  tool to select the wall and click on the Open Object  edit tool to display the Wall Specification dialog.
   
   Note: You can select a Wall in either a 2D floor plan view, or in a 3D camera view, to open its specification dialog. If you are in a 3D camera view, and the entire room highlights first, click on the Next edit button, or press the Tab key on your keyboard, to select just the individual wall.
   
   
   
2. Go to the Materials panel, select the Wall Surface you want to change, and click on the Select Material button to display the Select Material dialog.
   
     
   
   
   
3. Navigate to the material or color you want to apply to the wall.  
   
   
   
   Notice that a display of the selected Material displays to the right in the Select Material dialog if you have the Preview and Selection panes active.  
   
   
   
4. Once you have the Material that you want to use selected, click OK to close the Select Material dialog.  
   
   
   
5. Click OK again in the Wall Specification dialog to apply the change in material or color to the wall.
   

In some cases, such as when an exterior wall runs the length of several rooms, you may not want to change the material of the entire wall. Alternately, you may want to apply different colors to several different sections of the same wall to create a striped effect.


If you are in a 3D camera view, return to your 2D floor plan view for the following steps.

To change the color of a section of wall vertically

1. To apply a different color of material to just a section of a wall,  you will first need to place Wall Breaks on either side of the section  that you want to change.  
   
   
   
2. To use the Break Wall tool, select Build> Wall> Break Wall  and click where you want one of the edges of the differing material to be to place the wall break.  
   
   
   
3. Follow the same procedure to place a break on the other side.  
   
   The Break Wall tool remains active, so you can continue to place breaks in walls. When you are finished, select a different tool.  
   
   
   
4. After you have used the Break Wall tool on either side of the section of wall you want to change, use the  instructions above to change the material on just that section of the  wall.  
   
      
   
   Note: The 'Break Wall'  tool  applies a break in a wall. Once a wall is broken, the two wall segments  are separate walls that can be modified independent of each other.  
   
   

   • If a wall break is placed near the intersection of two walls, the break is positioned at the center of the intersection. 

   
   

   • Walls separated by a break can be rejoined. Select one of the segments, then click on the end edit handle located at the break and drag it a few plan inches (mm) away from the break.