Below is a guest post about over sized wall murals and how they can be used to make a statement in your home.  I recently used a wonderful full size (10′ high x 7′ wide) wall mural graphic in a client’s guest house casita.  They wanted a tropical feeling so the mural depicted a beach scene.  So a plain wall became reminiscent of the Caribbean beach in no time at all.   These murals are quite a bit less expensive than having  an artist paint a custom mural on a wall.  Many companies will be able to use your own photography to create a customized graphic for you.  Imagine a life-size picture from your last vacation spot, or your wedding photo……..

Giant Graphics are Ideal for the Home

Creating a certain ambiance in your home can be achieved in many ways, but a very trendy, very artsy way to do this is to utilize full wall graphics with custom printed wallpaper. There are particular things to keep in mind as you decide what photo or art piece to use and where it will go. Keep in mind that you want this wall to be a focal point in the room, not the entire room being the wall.

Pick your Shot

Even amateur photographers can have fun with this decorating tool as long as there is one favorite shot to be chosen from a collection. If you had gone on vacation to tour the castles in Europe or just captured the perfect beam of light on your favorite lake in the mountains, you are able to transform that masterpiece into a sizeable work of art. Be sure to carefully measure the wall you are working with to get the correct dimensions. Nothing is worse than having to improvise after receiving the wrong measurements back (and it is your fault).

Where to put it?

Now, you may be wondering, what wall is the best wall to use? Well, it is pretty simple. You want people to notice this amazing piece of art, correct? So if you walk into the room you are dressing up, what wall do you see first? If that one has a window, is there another that might work better? Perhaps you have a short wall, like a wide column that has no function at all. Make that one the statue you snapped a picture of in Cancun, just on a much more impressive, more pleasing to the eye version. Scan that award-winning painting you have stored away and upload it. Avoid using areas that people will naturally turn their back on or never see, unless it is done for your pleasure only. And a real window can ruin the effect a mural has on a wall. Unless it will incorporate your window into the picture, choose a different area. It will cut into the graphic and make it look incomplete. Imagine looking at the sunset on the beach and missing one-third of it. No, just pick a wall that is free and clear of obstacles like doors and windows.

Color…

Color or black and white? That is completely up to your preferences. Personally, I prefer black and whites for personal photos, family shots, if the original colors were rich enough to make the shades vary enough for some depth. Scenery, I prefer to leave in color. They are very pleasing to the eye when they host an array of colors and can provoke emotions when they feel tangible. One of the main reasons people will put a mural up is to make a vacation or favorite place immortal to them…unchanging.

Décor

Now, when incorporating a large graphic such as this, don’t forget that it is a part of your home and decorate the room as such. Unless it is a useless wall that you are coating for effect, place furniture in front of it. I’m not saying to stack bookshelves right through the middle, but a nice ensemble of couch, loveseat and tables that complement the theme of the photo will do wonders for y our sanctuary. It then makes it a part of what is going on and less like a museum artifact. Many put graphics up on staircases because they are so difficult to decorate unless you just do a “gallery” of family photos that no one can see unless they go up your stairs. Something like this can be seen, even in a semi-open concept plan, from the main level and will be the conversation starter for the night.

Be bold when it comes to the bones of your home. If you set the bar with your walls in bright, lively, or serene fashions, the rest of your décor will follow.  Your guests will love the atmosphere you have created because they will feel how much you love being there.

Chris Garrett is a large format printing expert and online publisher for the customized wallpaper expert http://www.megaprint.com/wallpaper.php.  He frequently blogs on the topics of design, printing, and photography.