| Painting on furniture is nothing new. Neither is adding | | | | to a room's décor as well. |
| a mural to furniture. But what if you can't paint even | | | | For instance, let's say that you found a mural of a |
| a stick figure? Consider this beautiful and sometimes | | | | Tuscan village with soft browns, varying shades of |
| whimsical way to give old furniture new life! One of | | | | green and a pale blue sky. You might consider |
| the most interesting and beautiful ways you can give | | | | painting the surrounding wood with a pale version of |
| new life to old furniture is to add a mural design. | | | | sage green to bring out the greens of the mural. Or |
| Offset by the wood of a piece of furniture, a mural | | | | paint it pale brown then use a color wash of darker |
| can give the piece real drama and excitement. | | | | brown to give it a more antiqued appearance. |
| Designs can range from very elegant backdrops of | | | | Mind you, the wallpaper design that you choose |
| distant scenery to more whimsical designs such as | | | | doesn't necessarily have to be a mural pattern. |
| hotair balloon, sweet cartoon characters or lounging | | | | Consider a damask design or repeated floral pattern. |
| teddy bears. The fun is in deciding just what you | | | | If you love it, then you can certainly use it in the |
| want to add to your piece. | | | | same manner. For additional excitement, consider |
| Instead of discarding your next piece of furniture, | | | | painting all of the delicate trim in pure gold craft paint |
| such as that old, plain dresser or grandmas tired | | | | to add even more elegance to the piece. |
| buffet, consider giving it a new look instead. | | | | How to Apply Wallpaper to Furniture |
| Even very plain furniture, completely lacking in | | | | 1. Lightly sand the intended area to rough the |
| architectural interest, can become an extreme work | | | | surface. Clean the area of any dirt and dust particles. |
| of art, worthy of its old place in your home once | | | | 2. Locate a full repeat of the mural design on the |
| more with this easy finish. But it's actually older pieces | | | | wallpaper, then cut out a section to fit the intended |
| that I love doing most. | | | | area on the furniture piece. |
| Pieces that have recessed panels, carved legs or | | | | 3. Spread a thin layer of white glue (such as |
| ornamental moldings offer the most possibility for | | | | Elmer's(TM)) on to the back side of the wallpaper cut |
| truly stunning results. These pieces create multiple | | | | out and lay on to the intended area. |
| surfaces for multiple murals. | | | | 4. Use a window squeegee to smooth any air |
| Decorative artists or those who love to paint and | | | | bubbles by placing the blade of the squeegee in the |
| have experience, can easily create murals on furniture | | | | center of the pattern then smoothing outward |
| with ease. But what about those of you whose | | | | toward the edges. |
| interest doesn't lie in creating hand painted designs or | | | | 5. Let dry overnight. |
| you have just been too busy to take a class or | | | | 6. To make the mural appear "antique", add a few |
| develop the skill? The answer is easy as easy as a | | | | drops of dark brown craft paint to translucent wall |
| trip to your local wallpaper store! | | | | glade and rub over the surface of the wallpaper. |
| Wallpapers today come in the most exquisite styles | | | | Wipe off the excess in the middle only with a dry |
| with what appear to be "hand painted" designs on | | | | terry towel by working from the center toward the |
| them. Simply cut out the design area to fit the | | | | outside edges. Leaving the edges darker will make |
| dimensions of the intended area on your furniture | | | | the mural stand out and create more depth. |
| piece and apply! | | | | 7. Apply varnish over the surface and let dry 48 |
| Mural designs found in magazines, on the internet or | | | | hours. |
| in books can also be used by scanning, then print on | | | | Other ideas for this treatment would be: |
| high quality paper or transfer material and applied to | | | | * Closet doors |
| individual panels or repeated across a large, solid | | | | * Bath or kitchen cabinet doors and side panels |
| surface. | | | | * Interior Columns |
| Before beginning your project, ask yourself if the | | | | * Inside architectural molding wall frames |
| furniture piece might benefit with a coat of paint first. | | | | * Wooden Planters (use exterior varnish) |
| Many times, when murals are used on furniture, the | | | | This is a DIY project anyone can do! So with this |
| surrounding wood is painted one of the more subtle | | | | new information, set out on a journey to find an old |
| colors found in the mural. | | | | piece of furniture (check local thrift and salvage |
| This new paint color allows the piece to not only get | | | | stores or even your own attic or basement!) and add |
| a new, more durable finish, but serves to add color | | | | a lovely new decorated item to your home today! |