WHY A MURAL?

     Babies are fascinated with the bright colors and contrasting images of a wall mural.  There was nothing more satisfying than bringing my newborn daughter, Corinne, into her bedroom for the first time and watching her stare cross-eyed at the fish and coral that I had so lovingly painted for her in my second trimester of my pregnancy (often muttering things like “I sure hope this kid appreciates all this!”).  Now that she’s a few months older and can focus her eyes better, she likes to slap at the small star fish on the wall by her changing table and stare at the coral that she can see from her crib. It keeps her occupied long enough to change her diapers and seems to entertain her when I put her to bed before she’s ready to sleep- we hear her babbling happily away through the baby monitor.  My friend Diane reports that she once found a brown liquid dripping down the walls in her daughter Maeve’s room.  It seems that Maeve tried to share her bottle of chocolate milk with the giraffe and zebra painted on the wall near her crib.  She also kisses them goodnight each night.

                        A mural sparks a kid’s imagination.  It takes them to visit a fantasy world that they might not otherwise be inspired to visit.  It transforms their room into a fun place where they are happy to be, instead of being surrounded by four boring walls (Beware: A mural may ruin the effectiveness of the “go to your room!” punishment).  I have no scientific evidence to support it, but my theory is that my daughter will have a livelier imagination later on because of the stimulating room that she is growing up in now.  I hope she’ll make up stories and have names for her fish.  I want her to be able to amuse herself on a boring rainy afternoon by pretending to be a lion or an astronaut or a doctor (or a scuba diver), instead of wasting away in front of the TV or a video game.

     No mural is too big or too small.  Your mural can be an entire theme room, just one or two walls, a small scene above the bed, a single character over the changing table, or small accents throughout the room. The mural can be designed entirely based on your vision, or I am happy to give you some ideas to start from, or create a design from scratch.  You can choose a specific color scheme or include every color of the rainbow.  I can match the mural to your existing bedding and décor or start with a clean slate.  I can even personalize your mural by including family pets, your child’s name, even simple caricatures of family members. The possibilities are endless.

     Live in an apartment or can't afford a mural?  Looking for a great gift for an expecting mom, a child's birthday or holiday?  I now paint on just about anything made of wood.  I can custom paint a storage or toy box, rocking chair, night table, wall hanging, or whatever else you can come up with.  Contact me for details.

(Site last updated: November 30, 2006)