Whimsical walls

Homeowners say goodbye to plain white walls, opting for original murals to fill rooms on a grand scale

By Liz Kellar

Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, March 29, 2007
Story appeared in INTERIORS section, Page G2

Forget painting just one wall an accent color. These days, more people are covering entire walls with murals.

Murals have gained popularity as a unique way to decorate your home. The artwork doesn't just hang on your wall -- it is your wall.

Stephanie Robello calls the three murals in her Lincoln home "the spice" that blends the look of the home together.

She has three in her home -- two Italian vineyard scenes and one in the dining room that makes it appear as if the viewer is standing on a patio of a home in the Italian city of Positano, looking down on the sea.

"I wanted it to seem like we were outside with nature," Robello said.

Robello, who interviewed three muralists before hiring Kent Peterson, was very clear on what she wanted.

"This was a house we knew we were going to stay in for a long time, so we knew something permanent was what we wanted," she said. "All the homes we've owned have been brand new, but we kept the walls white, no character, no warmth."

This time around, Robello said, "I knew I wanted something more personal. I think (before) I was just too afraid to do something something creative and more permanent . You kind of get to the point where you say, this is it, and I want to make it mine."

Peterson added a lot of faux painting throughout the Robello home as well, giving the walls an Old World finish with faux cracks. The ceilings were painted with golds and deep browns to give them what Robello calls "an aged-foil look."

"A lot of the homes today have larger walls or a curved wall or a niche, and the perfect thing to put there is a mural," Peterson said. "It's also a way of creating an open feeling. You can create a false window with a trompe l'oeil mural, to open up a closed room."

Peterson said murals are affordable, pointing out that having a home repainted would cost an average of $4,000 to $5,000.

The cost of a mural depends on the complexity and the length of time required to complete the design. Peterson charges approximately $800 to $900 for a simple design and $5,000 for an entire room.

A sense of whimsy

Woodland resident Frances Moreno was so happy with her first mural that she recently rehired muralist Valerie Krist to paint a second one. The first, for 3-year-old Macie, featured a giant garden of flowers complete with adorable bugs.

The newest mural, for 1-1/2-year-old Emily, features butterflies.

"She's amazing," said Moreno of Krist, who specializes in children's murals. "She's very creative and comes up with a lot of cool ideas. My kids are very original so they needed something original."

After the first mural was painted, she said, Macie's bedroom became her daughters' favorite room.

"Now that Emily has her room (painted), that's the room they want to play in," Moreno said. "Even their little friends love it."

Moreno hasn't ruled out expanding the murals to other rooms.

"It's something special, and it's something no one else is going to have," she said.

Krist studied animation and illustration at San Jose State University and worked in commercial print design before turning to murals as a way to integrate painting into her work.

She painted her first mural for her niece and word of mouth propelled her business from there.

"Most people who contact me are new mothers, and they want something more whimsical, for a baby or a kid's room," she said.

She has done more representational murals as well, however, including a very urban-feeling skateboard mural, complete with graffiti.

Because so much of her client base request children's murals, Krist has had to get used to the idea of having someone repainting her work.

"In the beginning, it was really hard," she said, with a laugh."Now it's part of my selling technique. I tell (the parents) they're going to want something new in a couple of years, so don't be afraid to do what you want."

Krist tries to work within her clients' budget and sets her minimum price at $400. She will charge $800 to $1,000 for a full wall design.

"I sketch out in detail what it's going to look like," she said. "Once I get the sketch up on the wall in pencil or chalk, I try to bring the (clients) in at specific stages so they're not shocked. Sometimes it's hard for me to realize other people aren't visualizing what I am seeing. Drawing it out is easier than trying to explain it."

Inspired by Tuscany

Judy Padilla was looking for a painting to fit into a niche in her home and ended up hiring muralist Lisa Vincent to paint a Tuscan scene to fit into the space.

In a twist suggested by Vincent, Padilla chose to have the scene painted on a piece of canvas that fits perfectly into the niche but can be removed.

Padilla, who describes herself as "pretty traditional," was emboldened by the end result and asked Vincent to create a second, permanent piece of art, a grapevine running high up on one of her walls.

"I'm really jumping out doing this," Padilla said. "It probably is trendy but that's how house décor is. Almost every house I go into has faux painting of some sort."

Many of Vincent's designs have been of the perennially popular Tuscan hillside variety.

"Everybody does have the Mediterranean home out here (in Placer County), with stucco and tile," she said. "So it's natural to want to complement that look with a Tuscan-inspired mural."

The small size of most new-home yards plays into the appeal, Vincent said.

"If you have a tiny yard, you can imagine you're living in the Italian countryside," she said.

The sheer size of the walls in many new homes also is a factor.

"I see less groupings of small pictures," Vincent said. "People like drama. And they want the art to be part of the home."

Vincent stressed that a mural doesn't have to be a big-ticket item.

"I can work to anyone's budget," she said. "I can do a $500 job in one day, if it's the right design. Simple is not bad."

- March 29, 2007