How to Paint a Mini Wall Mural

Hello Friends,

Welcome to the One Room Challenge Week 3.

And how to paint a mini wall mural.

How to Paint a Mini Wall Mural

True confession. When I started playing around with the paint and tape for this mini wall mural, I never thought I’d use it for a Fall ORC weekly post. I was just trying to quickly fix an awkward spot where artwork had failed.

After all, this room was part of the Spring ORC and I now had my eyes set on finishing the media room. Yes, these two rooms are adjacent, but still.

Then one day, on a whim, I posted this photo to Instagram.

And the response was overwhelming. So….it got me thinking….well what the hey.

Is this not a DIY blog that lives to inspire people to find resolutions to their decorating problems?

Why yes. Yes, it is.

And is this not inspiration to resolve a decorating problem?

Why yes. yes, it is.

So like I said…. what the hey.

Here goes.

Artwork Issues

When we last saw this room, the gray and black wall was swallowed by an oversized piece of artwork that did nothing to elevate the space.

And after weeks and weeks and weeks of looking for something else…..I was done.

Pieces were either too small, too large, too this, or too that.

But none of them would take the room where it needed to go.

Inspiration Number One

Then came Racheal.

If you saw yesterday’s post, you met fellow ORCer Racheal (and her blog) and were introduced to her uber amazing mural skills. Trust me, it never occurred to me that I could create something on her level, but I was absolutely inspired to try something simple.

After all, it’s only paint. What did I have to lose?

Getting Started

So imagine, if you will, the expansion of the black paint up the left side of the wall and the addition of a circle.

I knew I wanted more black paint and more movement in the room. So I painted the left side of the wall black and held up one of the orange pillows against the wall to eyeball the size of the circle.

Then I cut an 18-inch round template and stuck it to the wall to confirm the size and location.

To paint the circle, I traced the circle size onto the wall using a #2 pencil. Then used an artist brush to paint in the edges and a regular paint brush to fill in the circle.

I wish…..oh how I wish….I had snapped some photos, but alas….I did not.

So I’ll do my best to describe the process. But, if you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.

Inspiration Number Two

At this point, I was kinda stuck. I knew that with the black paint expansion and the black circle, I was finally on the right track…..but still kinda stuck, too.

Then low and behold, this photo floated by on Instagram.

NO JOKE. 

I was like……..WHAAAAAAAT?

Source www.art.com

So I closed my computer and got back to work. I wanted my own unique version of this photo based on the inspiration, but not THIS photo exactly.

Adding the Lines

Soon…. lines began to appear.

By randomly taping and painting, lines began to appear.

I just kept eyeballing the piece on the wall. More white here. More black there.

It took several days because I had to wait for the paint to dry and cure…at least a little. 

I was working with black paint and white paint, but both are semi-gloss. And this paint takes longer to dry between painting sessions. But it also means that the paint will bounce more light, making the piece more fluid.

So after a few days of taping and painting, the mini-mural that I was seeing in my mind was finally on the wall.

And just like that, the big artwork problem in this room was solved.

A full room reveal will be included in the Week 6 ORC reveal of the media room.

In the meantime, to save this post for later, please PIN the image below.

Learn to paint crisp, clean lines with tips from this post.

One Room Challenge Previous Posts

Week 1 – Media Room Makeover Plan

Week 2 – How to Buy and Install a Staircase Runner

Week 3 – You are here

Weeks 4 – 5 and 6 – Coming

Our Hosts

And as always, we extend a special thanks to our gracious hosts, Linda at Calling It Home , One Room Challenge and Better Homes and Gardens. And invite you to enjoy over 200 more room renovations,  click One Room Challenge. #oneroomchallenge #ORC #betterhomesandgardens #bhgorc

#homeimprovement #homedecor #fusionmineralpaint #mediaroom #mediaroommakeover #miniwallmural