Planning your baby's nursery is an exciting time for any parent. You've probably already considered nursery decor ideas and maximising your space if you've got a small room to work with. You may even be taking serious inspiration from Olivia Bowen’s gender-neutral nursery and started thinking about how to create a nursery mural in your own baby's room.
And we don't blame you! A mural is a truly spectacular wall statement that has recently been growing in popularity.
"I love decorating children's bedrooms. It is definitely a room where you can be more adventurous with your ideas and to have some fun on the walls," says Justyna Korczynska, senior designer at Crown.
The possibilities and themes are endless when it comes to nursery murals, very much like kids' imaginations.
Tips on creating a nursery mural
"Murals generally work best in large, uncluttered spaces. If the space is limited, go for one based on simple geometric free-hand shapes. It will still work well providing a high impact," suggest Justyna.
In kids' bedrooms, almost everything goes – bright colours, patterns, murals. And you don't need to be an artist to be able to create a nursery mural for your tot. There are many easy ways to do it.
Mountain mural nursery
One of the simplest, yet effective ideas is a mountainscape. "All you need is just two paint colours and a bit of masking tape. You can create simple triangular mountain shapes for the bottom half of the wall and paint it in a contrasting shade," says Justyna. "To add some more layers just paint more triangle shapes in another colour. The created mountainscape could be kept very simple as a main wall feature or as a background for some more painted details or stencils."
Cloudscape
"Another easy idea for a kids' room mural is creating a simple cloudscape by using a darker colour at the top and a freehand painted cloud-shaped section for the bottom half of the wall," suggests Justyna. "And like before, it could be kept very simple or as a background for stencils. You can easily turn it into a night sky mural, by painting the top section in a dark navy shade and adding some stars and the moon."
How to create a nursery mural with stencils
When you want to add a pattern to your mural, stencils are a great tool for that, enabling you to create more complicated shapes easily.
"For quick and colourful walls, you can use stencils all over the room, but if you are looking for a mural effect, it is better to provide a larger shape as a background, like the mentioned mountain or cloudscape," says Justyna. "But it could be any shape really, like a large semicircle or a freehand shape in another colour. It will provide a nice stronger background for the stencils, help to set a colour theme to the room and add a bit of a punch to the final effect."
Get a professional in
We've all seen Mrs Hinch’s son's farm-themed bedroom and that breathtaking farmyard mural handpainted by artist Chris Westall. Although it won't be cheap, booking a professional painter is certainly one way of ensuring your baby has a unique nursery.
Cheat with wallpaper...
There's no blame here! Pregnancy is exhausting and if neither you nor your partner fancy getting the paintbrush out and you want to save money instead of hiring someone else, there are some incredible mural wallpaper options out there which will save you a lot of time and effort. Hey, even Olivia Bowen did it!
...Or decals!
Yep, that's right, you can instantly transform your spare room and create a mural by using wall stickers like these ones from Not On The High Street. This also means that should you decide to redecorate, you can easily remove the decals.
Nursery mural ideas
Social media is full of gorgeous nursery mural ideas. Here are just a few of our favourites to give you some inspiration...
Jungle or safari mural
It's no surprise that animal-themed nursery ideas are one of the most popular choices - they're adorable! Make yours stand out from the rest with a hand-painted mural.
Colourful town mural
Although this mural has been painted in a school, we reckon it would work just as well in your baby's nursery.
Dark woods mural
Don't feel like you have to go colourful if you don't want to. We love the effect of these atmospheric and smokey woods.
Underwater mural
Remember that thing Sebastian from The Little Mermaid sang? "Darlin' it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from me." Well if you agree, what about an underwater mural? With so much sealife to choose from, you'll be spoilt for choice.
Map of the world mural
Broaden your baby's mind by including a map of the world mural in their nursery. We love that this one which features lots of cute animals too.
Rainbow mural
We don't know about you but looking at a rainbow can instantly make us feel brighter and that's certainly the case with this rainbow mural from artist Emma.
Solar system mural
Help send your baby off to sleep by incorporating a spectacular solar system mural in their nursery. Or for something a little simpler, why not stick to the stars and moon?