Murals for kids: get their imaginations going

Homify HK Homify HK
Habitación infantil de Araceli., Ideas Interiorismo Exclusivo, SLU Ideas Interiorismo Exclusivo, SLU Nursery/kid’s room
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Wall art and murals offer fun ways of transforming your children’s room into a zone of adventure and imagination, as opposed to it just being the boring place where they sleep and do their homework. There’s no doubt that when surrounded by imaginative stimulate your child will respond by growing more imaginative in their own play. Not only that, but having an excuse to give a wall – or even several walls – of your home over to bright colours and fun characters is an adventure in itself. If you have an artistic flair, you can even create the artwork yourself; but if not, there are plenty of painters who offer this type of service, and there are a wide range of wall stencils and stickers available too (try eBay for an almost endless selection). Below are just a few ideas to help get inspiration flowing freely.

​Grow up to be a superhero

Children need positive role models. Is Spider-Man a positive role model? Yes, we’d say he probably is, at least insofar as he protects the vulnerable and has the ability to shoot web from his hands at will – both highly admirable qualities. It’s clear that he’s the star of the show as far as the little boys who reside in this room are concerned, but if you look closely at the cupboard doors you can see that Superman and Iron Man are also on their radars. One of the very appealing things about this children's bedroom is the way it mixes pre-defined character design with stylised, personal elements such as the cartoon-like cityscape on the back wall. As this designer has shown, even when using someone else’s characters there is always room to inject a bit of your own tastes, and your children’s too.

​A rougher edge

This grim and grimy wall design might be many parents’ nightmare, but for a lot of children it’s a dream to live in such a cool, gritty – and, in their eyes– grown-up room. Just make sure you keep reminding them: just because the room is designed to look dirty, doesn't mean they can get away with it actually being dirty.

Give your child a rainbow

In this case, a 3D one. Again, touch is a crucial element to this design. Most children will love the novelty of having these realistic-looking paint drips in their room, yet being able to safely touch them. It’s also a very inventive way of brightening up a plain white room.

​Three dimensions are better than one

Why go for a boring, flat mural when you could add 3D elements and have it jump out the wall? This mural uses the characters from Madagascar – nothing new there, but the 3D tree adds a splash of originality and a truly personal touch. Plus, it’s well documented that many small children love texture (for evidence of this see the huge variety of children’s books focussed on touch), so the more you can incorporate their senses into your mural the better.

​Map their experiences

Here’s a very fun idea indeed: decorate your child’s wall with a map, and then use stickers – or even let them draw illustrations – to plot the experiences they have as they travel with you. Did you meet a kangaroo together when you were on holiday down under? Stick it on the map together and neither of you will ever forget (not that you ever would). A variant on this idea is to give your child a map, either a poster or a mural, where they can colour in each country that they visit. Obviously, this only works for travel-happy families, but it’s a very simple way of teaching your child to understand geography in a creative, and decorative, way.

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