Easy DIY Wall Mural Ideas

This post today is a little self indulgent. I started my research for easy DIY wall mural ideas for myself, because I decided to paint a wall in my home. But let me start from the beginning.

It all started with this pic by Nathalie Lete that a friend shared with me on Instagram. Apparently, Nathalie has been spending her lockdown days painting the walls of her home.

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This is just SO pretty, I couldn’t stop staring.

It also reminded me of my college days, when I would paint anything I could lay my hands on, including my bedroom wall. Now I am no artist, but I do manage to get basic shapes and proportions right. I dug out these pics of my bedroom from 25 years back. Both these murals were done on the wall behind my bed so are about five feet in length.

And I remembered how happy it made me to paint these.

I had no idea which wall I was going to paint, or what I was going to paint on it. But just for the heck of it, I started looking for easy DIY wall mural ideas. (Like I said, I’m no artist. I can make easy things look good, while a difficult piece of art would expose me!)

Easy DIY Wall Mural Ideas

As I was going through the different images, an idea began to form in my head, and by the end I had made a rough plan of what I was going to do. So let me take you through all the easy ideas, and what I’m finally planning to do.

(1) Pen and Ink

The absolute simplest mural idea I found was using a black marker to draw basic geometric patterns on the wall. The ones below are wall stickers. But the way I see it, this can be done just as easily with a pen.

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Depending on your level of skill, you could pick a pattern that is slightly more complicated.

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Emily here has cut out a leaf into an eraser and then used it like a stamp, and what a pretty pattern this makes.

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If you are a little more courageous, a pattern like this can be easily done too, and looks beautiful, me thinks.

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(2) Intricate Pen Work

Would you ever believe that the dining walls below have been hand painted? Kelly picked this design off a wallpaper and hand painted it on her walls with the help of a friend. She’s given a step by step tutorial you can see by clicking here.

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And then this. A fashion designer who used her extra sketches to make murals on her bathroom walls. Isn’t this exquisite?

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You can use your pen to make all kinds of intricate patterns. I especially love the mandalas..

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And these pretty patterns that remind me of ‘mehendi‘.

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(3) Wall Stenciling

While I was looking at all the patterns, I remembered how Preethi Prabhu cut a simple wall stencil and used it to make this stunning wall. In fact, the idea is so pretty and so easy, that she inspired a whole lot of her readers to follow suit and do the same.

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If you aren’t too sure of being able to make your own stencil, you can even buy one. From simpler geometrics..

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… to extremely intricate and detailed designs, you can find them all online.

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(4) Tape It Up

Another super easy way to get some stunning designs on your wall, is to use tape. You randomly put tape across your walls and paint over the tape. You can paint the entire wall in a single colour, or put different colours in the different shapes formed.

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When you remove the tape from the walls, you’re left with a pretty mural all over. Kaelah shows you here how she made this wall above, step by step. I also love how she has also used glitter in some of her shapes to make the whole wall sparkle.

Alicia used tape to make this pretty herringbone pattern on her wall.

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There are so many different patterns you could try out by taping.

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The pretty shades of colour used here in a gradient make this wall absolutely stunning.

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You can use this technique to make pretty much any straight lined shapes and patterns you like.

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If you have patience, and time, and a LOT of courage, you can make your mural bold and vibrant like this one.

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(5) Rainbows

Once I started looking at colour, I realised the easiest shape to paint was the rainbow. For one, it need not be very accurately drawn. Lines can cross and overlap, and because it’s a thing of nature. Imperfections only make it look more natural and more beautiful.

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You’ll find a step by step DIY for this rainbow below right here.

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Rainbows don’t necessarily mean kids spaces. This mural would make a striking accent wall in any living room.

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I love the muted colours of this piece of art.

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While this Art Deco style mural is simply stunning.

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(6) Tropical Art

Finally, I stopped scrolling at this. These tropical leaves had my heart instantly.

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I started searching for tropical wall mural ideas and found these simple, beautiful sketches done by so many artists on their walls.

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I remembered this pretty wall hand sketched by Laya.

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I liked the idea that since I would be drawing nature, I wouldn’t have to be perfect all the time. I could make mistakes and since we’re talking about leaves and flowers, it would all be ok.

Also, I loved that I could decide to leave it with just the outline, or colour it in and it would look great both ways.

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And I suddenly knew exactly which wall of my home I would be painting.

I have been complaining about the wallpaper in my dining niche for a while now. I even declared to all of you at the beginning of this year, that come what may, I would make a change here before the year ends.

And now I have a plan.

The Plan

I think what I really don’t like about this space is the lack of greens here. But since it’s the furthermost corner away from our balcony with no natural light, it isn’t easy to keep plants there for any length of time.

I think a burst of green on that wall is just what the doctor ordered.

So the plan is to leave the wallpaper as is, and paint some large tropical leaves on top of it. I might add a few bright flowers to it too, but I’m not too sure about that.

What I’ve done, is started looking for easy to draw and paint tropical leaves… something like these.

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These simple line drawings should be easy enough to make myself and I already can’t wait to see how this wall turns out.

My search for more wall mural ideas ended with these leaves, because I had found exactly what I was looking for. (I told you I was indulging myself here!) But there are quite a few good ideas for everyone here. Do let me know your favourites, and if any of them inspired you to some action.

Also, remember to sign up for updates, because whenever that wall is done, I promise you’ll see it here first!

Until then,