Decorative wall murals can add an awesome accent to any room, but what if you’re not artistically inclined? No worries my friend, here’s how to add any design to a wall, it’s as simple as coloring!
Easy Wall Murals- How to add any Design to a Wall
My wife and I are expecting a girl. She found a giraffe mural in a magazine that we decided to try. It requires what some might call basic art skills like tracing and painting in the lines.
Supplies:
Picture of the image to be painted on the wall
Overhead transparency
Marker
Lamp
Cardboard box
Tape
Colored chalk or Pencil
Paint
Paintbrush 1.5″ or 2″ inches wide
Small paintbrushes – the artsy kind
Wall
1 Choosing the Design Image
My wife found this picture in a catalog. The photo is actually just a picture of the catalog itself. Other design ideas that would work well include coloring books, children’s books, etc.
2 Tracing the Image
Trace your chosen image onto an overhead transparency.
3 Design Projection
Create a simple makeshift projector using a box, a lamp, and some tape. Project the transparency onto the wall. I found that using a light bulb without the “frosting” on the inside made for a clearer picture.
4 Tracing the Projection/Design
Trace the projected image on the wall with chalk. I used pink chalk since white chalk didn’t show up at all and the color I wanted to paint was pink. You can barely see the pink chalk in the attached photo. Looking at the photo I realize you can’t see it all. Take my word for it, there’s a chalk outline of the mural.
In hindsight, a pencil would have worked just as well and could easily be erased if needed.
5 Painting the Mural
Now that that the picture is drawn on the wall in chalk, paint. Just don’t go outside the lines. This is the hard part. It takes a steady hand and patience. When doing touch-ups, I found these two things made a world of difference:
1) Solid lines with smooth edges
2) A solid coat that does not allow the background color through.
6Finishing the Mural
Finish painting and when the paint dries, wipe the wall down lightly with a clean rag. This will remove the chalk left behind from before. Now step back and marvel at your artistry.
by mmelville3
If you’re not ready to commit to painting directly on the wall, you can use removable vinyl decals to achieve a similar effect. They come in a variety of designs, and you can mix and match them to create your own custom mural. Plus, they’re easy to remove or rearrange.
For a fun and interactive mural, use chalkboard paint in certain sections of your design. It allows you or your kids to draw directly on the mural with chalk and change the artwork whenever you want.
Did this in my niece’s room with a flower design—used a projector and some leftover paint samples. It looks AMAZING and cost me under $10. Who needs wallpaper?