Wallnutz

Wall murals are the oldest form of human artistic expression, used in prehistoric cave paintings at least 30,000 years ago. The oldest examples of wall mural painting are the caves of Lascaux, France. Wall murals are large scale paintings that are applied to indoor or outdoor large, flat surfaces and portray a complex scene.

Murals have been used throughout the ages for ceremonial and celebration purposes in Egypt, Greece, Rome and India. Both ancient and recent wall murals are found in Tibetan culture called “mandalas”, which are geometric designs symbolic of the universe and they are used in Buddhist meditative practices. Among other famous religious murals are those ceiling murals painted from 1508 to 1511 by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, commissioned by Pope Julius II.

Wall murals also provide a forum for political expression, popularized in the 1930’s and 1940’s in the United States and Mexico. The New Deal and the Works Progress Administration in the mid 1930’s funded the creation of over 2,500 wall murals in hospitals, schools and other public arenas. In both the U.S. and Mexico, the subject of these wall murals focused on workers and daily life, a departure from the religious murals of the Renaissance and the Middle Ages.

Depicting common life in wall murals in public spaces naturally led to the use of wall murals for advertising and commercial purposes, the precursor to the modern day billboard advertisements.

While not often considered a positive art form because of the location of the painting, graffiti is another style of mural, with the paint typically applied by spray can. Graffiti wall murals can be found in urban areas, displays of rebellion and frustration felt by disenfranchised city youth. Some graffiti artists are quite accomplished, however, and produce high quality works of art in sprayed on wall mural form.

Wall murals are also being used to rejuvenate cities and towns by beautifying business districts. Lake Placid, Florida is one community where wall murals have imbued residents with a sense of their town’s history, painted in 31 colorful murals found on the sides of downtown businesses, as well as improving business through tourism.

Wall murals have also become a popular style of home décor beginning in the 1990’s and continuing today. Hand painted wall murals can be found in the wine cellars of high end homes, as well as do-it-yourself wall mural projects completed by parents in their children’s bedrooms and playrooms.

Walls and ceilings provide wide open canvasses for artistic expression, advertisement and communication of values and beliefs. The popularity of wall murals will continue as it has throughout the history of humankind, ever changing to reflect and define the societies they serve.

Sources:
Walls That Talk: In the Short North, the painting’s on the wall. January 2005, Kaizaad Kotwal
What is the History of Mural Painting? Wise Geek
New Deal Cultural Programs: Experiments in Cultural Democracy. 2006, Don Adam and Arlene Goldbard
A History in Murals. Thomas Murphy, AmericanProfile.com.

What is more comforting than a sweet home garden scene! A garden theme will add beauty and smiles to any girls room.

Walls
Paint all walls a light blue, then use the WallNutz Flower Garden Mural Kit to paint a picket fence and flower garden scene. Add bees, butterflies, ladybugs and dragonflies throughout the room in surprise places with a Mini Mural Kit. You can also add special new deer friends with the Wallcandy Deerly Beloved Wall Decal Murals.
Or instead of painting a mural, buy wooden picket fence slats from a lumber store and cut them to the desired height. Paint white and attach to the wall with carpenter nails.

Windows
For window treatments, make a valance with cotton eyelet fabric. You need a strip of fabric 16″ wide and double the length of the window. Hem the fabric edges and fold and press top edge over 4″ with right sides out. Sew a 5/8″ seam from the bottom of the fold, then another seam 2″ from the top. Place the curtain rod through the bottom tube of fabric, leaving the top tube to ruffle as the fabric bunches on the rod. Hang.

Make some window boxes for added decor. Build or purchase unfinished wood boxes that fit under the window(s). Paint white and let dry, then attach to the wall with nails. Once the boxes are hung, fill boxes with oasis (florists’ foam) and secure in place with hot glue gun or simply stuff edges with newspaper. Spray with adhesive and cover with dry florists’ moss. Stick silk gerber daisies or other silk flowers and greenery into oasis.

Accessories
Look for hand painted knobs to use as drawer pulls and on closet doors.
Mobiles can be a fun decoration, no matter what age your child is. Take a set of plastic or wooden cross bars and hang the blossom part of silk flowers or laminated pictures of flowers from each bar’s end. Hang cross bars from a tack in the ceiling in the corner of the room or from a musical motor. Make sure to place any mobile out of baby’s reach and remove from crib when child can pull self into sitting position.

Article copyright WallNutz LLC, all rights reserved.

So you want to decorate your child’s room, but you aren’t Martha Stewart, an interior decorator isn’t in the budget and ordering an entire room out of Pottery Barn Kids isn’t feasible either. There are plenty of unique and inexpensive ways to decorate an exciting room for your child, and the first step in your planning is to pick a theme.

Theme
While determining the theme seems like the easy part, it is worth taking some time to think about. Selecting characters like Power Rangers are fine, but consider that three months from now your child may demand Scooby Doo and you’ll have an ongoing battle about how you just redecorated. Three months is forever to a young child! If you choose a specific character, consider wall stickers or wall decals that can easily be replaced.
Think about decorating kids’ rooms using color palettes as a theme, rather than specific characters. “Primary colors” can be a theme, with wall hangings, curtains and comforters to match. Or try a topic that can grow with your child. For examples, a room done in a “Jungle” theme can work all the way from a nursery into a room for a 9-year-old child.

Walls
Once your theme is chosen, it’s time to start decorating. The four walls of kids’ bedrooms are empty canvases for your creativity. Some simple but impressive decorating techniques can turn plain walls into works of art.
A solid color of paint can go a long way in changing a blah white room into a cheery environment. Remember that small hands leave prints and these will be much easier to clean off if you use a semi-gloss paint rather than flat.
Be brave with paint! Try doing some faux finishing on your child’s walls. It’s easy to paint a base color, then dampen a natural sponge, dip into the second color of paint and dab lightly on the walls. And hey, if you don’t like it, just paint over the top! Our Cloudwash Kit makes it simple to finish walls like a pro and take the same amount of time as painting a room in a solid color. All you need is one kit for a standard size room if you already have white or off-white walls.
Chalkboard paint is a great option to inexpensively add modern creativity and activity to a room. Our favorite idea is to paint some of the images in the Wallnutz paint by number mural kits with chalkboard paint. For example, in the On the Move Mural Kit you can use the chalkboard paint for the car or the road while still having colors in the other parts. You can also use the paint on a section of a room and use a high gloss paint to paint a protective border around the edges and to add dimension.
In addition to painting, wood accents can add a nice touch to a wall. For example, wainscoting or plate rails are easy to install. Paint the wood white or match other trim in the room, then nail into place with carpenter’s nails. Plate rails are also functional; they make a wonderful display area for pictures or to store children’s books.
Or consider hanging a magnetic strip around the room instead of a plate rail; this will make a fabulous “art gallery” for all those special pieces your child brings home from school.

Furniture
Children’s furniture is the most expensive part of a child’s room decor, and it can be easier on your pocketbook if you plan ahead. For example, bunkbeds are a great option for people who are short on space and need children to share rooms. But consider that many kids outgrow twin sized beds by their teen years, so maybe a full or even queen sized bed is a better buy if you are able to accomodate it in the space.
Storage is also a concern, and there are some space saving options here as well. Trundle drawers that slide under beds are a fantastic way to store clothing or other treasures. Look for flatter, plastic storage bins that slide under beds as well for items that don’t need to be accessed on a daily basis.
Don’t overlook garage sales in your search for furniture. Often you can spot a real find in an old chest of drawers. Paint the chest with a high gloss paint and replace the hardware with some cute handles found at your local hardware store.
Also, look for dual function in furniture pieces. Instead of a changing table, find a dresser that is about waist high. Buy a changing pad to adhere on top (less than $20) and fill the top drawers with your diapering necessities. The dresser will convert to a functional chest of drawers once your child is out of diapers.

Window Treatments
Now window treatments are a place where you can really save money by doing the work yourself. Here are some options:

Secure attractive curtain rods and holders to the wall, then drape loosely with sheer fabric. The fabric can be secured with a coordinating color of ribbon or simply wrapped several times around the curtain rod to prevent slipping. Sheer fabrics are available in many colors and even prints, so watch for sales at your local fabric store.
Another inexpensive way to make curtains is to use twin sheets for the fabric, since sheets often go on sale. (This method is also helpful if you can’t find any curtains to match a store bought comforter.) You do need an iron and sewing machine, but only need to know how to sew in a straight line. Just cut the sheet in half horizontally and hem raw edges of each piece. Fold over the tops (side you just hemmed) by 4″, then iron to form crease. Sew a seam 1″ from top all the way across. Then sew a second seam 5/8″ from the bottom of the folded section. Repeat process for second piece of fabric. Slip a curtain rod through the pockets you’ve created and bunch the fabric together so that both pieces fit on one rod. Tie the fabric in the middle with a bow made from 1″ or larger ribbon.

Article copyright 2006 to 2008, WallNutz LLC. All rights reserved.