I was recently talking with a real estate agent about painting kids’ room murals and she mentioned that while it was a great idea, it seemed difficult to justify the spend for something that would only last a couple of years! This got me digging through some old photos, as well as taking some updated shots…
Mia’s Mural in progress in 2003 (with Mia’s Mom and Mia on the way!)
Mia (now 16), her Mom and the mural in 2020
The rest of Mia’s mural
Mia, a good book and her Mallard
Beck (4) and Mia (6) with Beck’s undersea mural in 2009
Beck (14) and Mia (16) with Beck’s mural in 2020
Beck on the move and his turtle in 2009
Beck and his turtle today
The murals in the pictures above have been loved for over 16 years (Mia’s sky mural) and over 10 years (Beck’s undersea mural).
When considering a mural for kids’ rooms, there are two main questions:
1) What is the value of doing a mural in the first place? - and
2) How do you make it last (like these did!)?
To answer question #1, I decided to ask Mia and Beck for their first-hand experience…
They shared that when they were little, they felt their room was “cool” and “special” and they loved bringing friends to show them the murals. They always felt comfortable in their rooms and saw them as a “happy” space. Mia thought of the birds in her mural as actual birds, and used to saying goodnight to them every night, while Beck shared that he used to give the sea creatures in his room personalities. In addition to this alone time and time shared with friends, the murals also played role in the time they spent with each other - as one of their favorite games was to run back and forth between the rooms to “travel” from sky to undersea and back again!
Moving on to question #2 about making a mural last, Mia and Beck gave some good insight here as well. Mia said she would never paint over her mural because it is part of her memories as a kid, but also because the meaning of the mural has become more and more important to her. When the mural was painted, each bird stood for important people, including the crow, who stood for her grandfather and the finch who stood for her father’s best friend Randy. Unfortunately, both her grandfather and Randy died before Mia was born – so Mia likes to look at the birds and think about the stories she has heard about these special people.
So – the key to making a mural that will be cherished AND will last? Make it special! Unlike wallpaper or stick-on decals, painting a mural offers the opportunity to customize the space you create for your children. With some thought and planning, your children can be excited and inspired by their happy space for many years to come.
As a staring point in this planning process, following is a link to a list of 5 things to consider that I first published back in 2015: https://www.blackbeakstudios.com/blog/2015/8/3/5-things-to-consider-when-planning-a-kids-room-mural
Most importantly, bring your love and personality to the project and both you and your kids are bound to enjoy it while you watch them grow up (way too fast).
Enjoy!
Jason