How to design a wall mural with wow factor

Walls don't have to be devoid of personality. Whether you want to make a statement or add colour and texture to small spaces with one epic mural, dressing up a wall can add an extra element to rooms. If you think of walls as a blank canvas, you're half way there to creating a striking design statement.

Follow this step-by-step guide to wow factor walls ...

Choose your style

While a mural can make an arresting feature, it is something you've got to live with every day, so make sure you're going to be comfortable with it in the long term.

Botanical designs, in particular, are perennially desirable. "From dainty posies to the more dramatic dark florals, paired with unusual insects and birds from our Natural History Museum Collection, nature-focused imagery remains popular," says Tom Pickford, marketing manager at Surface View. Use the mural as your guide for accent colours elsewhere in the room to bring the whole scheme together. It should be the focal point, so try not to pick patterns or hues that will fight against it.

Size is everything

If you intend to enlarge a smaller picture to fit a space, then zoom into a section of the chosen image to get an idea of how it will appear when blown up. "Use paper cut-outs to map the key elements of the design and decide if it works. The braver you are, the bigger the impact and the greater the success." says Tom.

If you don't want to cover an entire wall or you have a compact space, you could split a mural into panels to make a statement or put the image on a smaller canvas.

Preparation is key

The best surface for a mural is a flat, plastered and painted wall. Surface View recommends using traditional fabric-backed nonwoven wallpapers for wet pasting into position, but if you're not a fan of paste you can use a mural that has a straightforward adhesive backing. Another idea, if you'd like a mural in a bathroom or kitchen, is to have it applied to ceramic tiles of Formica laminate instead.