Working on a child's room is perhaps the most fun work of all! Children have excellent ideas and it is not only important, but I feel IMPERATIVE for them to have input on a mural for their room.
This recent mural was done for a dear friend's daughter. It was designed around several key elements she requested: yellow hills, grass, flowers, butterflies, and a vine around her alcove. Lydia's parents worked with her and selected the paint chips for the sky and base for the land. They even applied the two background paint colors themselves. It was a great starting point from which to work.
Because of their hard work ahead of time, my sister Ruth and I were able to complete the artistic portion of the mural in half a day. I think the creamy pallet and the room's existing furnishings work well together.
Another wall in the room features a cherry blossom tree, a country road, and some greenery. You'll notice we wanted the dominant color in our scheme to be yellow, so we used that as the earth color. The sky comes down the wall somewhat. I believe it makes for a far more interesting horizon line, than if we had dissected the wall in half height-wise.
Several times, we brought Lydia in to ask her if she liked the work we had done and she said she did. She's a very thoughtful girl, with a definite vision, and we all wanted to make sure she approved!
Maya and Sammy couldn't resist playing with Lydia's toys once Lydia had settled into her room.
This flower detail was placed just above the height of a dresser. This was possible because the yellow hillside was composed of several layers of hills. This would be lost if it were down near the baseboard. Several similar simple flower details were added around the room, even behind where current furniture items were placed. This ensures future arrangements won't leave blank gaps in the landscape.
I think this mural breaks the mold in two key ways: it is primarily landscape based rather than the more common trend and often age-based themes like a popular tv show for preschoolers, or mid elementary school. Though very feminine, there is minimal use of pink. Should Lydia decide to change her bedspread and accessories, she'll have everything from buttery yellow, earthy greens, sky blues, and even purples to choose from. Let's hope it lasts her at least into her "tween" years!
Details of a mural done by Deb Skinner, Ruth Seagraves and Lydia's father, Russ.
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