Create an attractive mural

Are you planning to paint your bedroom, living room or home office? A decorative mural is an original way to jazz up a plain wall and turn it into a true work of art. This pattern, with its striking arabesque designs, is easy to create and complements all styles of decor – contemporary, country, or classical.
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Preparation
1. Make the templates
2. Assemble your pattern
3. Trace the pattern onto the wall
4. Paint the pattern

Preparation

To achieve the desired effect, it is essential to work on a clean, smooth surface. Take the time to prepare the wall properly. First clean the wall and fill in any holes or cracks, then apply a base coat followed by a coat of the paint colour you have chosen. Your mural can be painted in a contrasting colour to that of the wall, or you could opt for a tone-on-tone effect, using two different shades of the same colour.

You don’t have to be an artist to create an attractive mural. Cardboard, paintbrushes, paint and a little patience are all you need to create a decorative piece of contemporary art that will liven up an otherwise plain-looking corner. You can achieve fabulous results if you take the time to play with different arrangements of shapes, trace the pattern properly, and paint it carefully. Have your brushes at the ready!

1. Make the templates

Print out your chosen motifs on your home printer. Use a photocopier to enlarge them by at least 250%-300%, in proportion to the size of the wall to be decorated; the bigger the wall, the larger the pattern should be. You can use as many or as few of the motifs as you like, or you may want to repeat a single motif (i.e. the same page) in several places – it’s up to you.

2. Assemble your pattern

Cut the shapes out of the paper using the X-Acto knife. Arrange all the shapes on a large piece of cardboard to assemble the final pattern. When you are happy with the overall design, stick each one down with masking tape, so you can then easily trace their outlines onto the card. Cut the pattern in the cardboard using the X-Acto knife.

3. Trace the pattern onto the wall

Position the cardboard on the wall and hold it in place with masking tape. Trace the design onto the wall using a lead pencil. Remove the cardboard to look at the overall pattern. Make any corrections freehand, if necessary.

4. Paint the pattern

Paint around the inside border of each shape using a small brush to obtain clean lines. Repeat this step for all the surfaces you are decorating. Paint the remaining area in each shape using a slightly larger brush or small roller. Use a fine-tipped brush to touch up all the edges of the pattern. Leave to dry.
Stencil technique
You can use the stencilling technique for this project if you are more familiar with that method. The results may not be quite as accurate, since the paint has a tendency to run behind the cardboard, but you can always touch up any imperfections afterwards using a small brush and paint of the same colour as that of the background wall.


You may download the PDF document for this project in order to print the design.
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