A mural is simply the name given to a picture that has been painted onto a wall. A window mural can best be described as a picture of a view through a window frame. Whilst the mural can be painted or transferred on to an actual window most times they are literally a picture that gives the impression of looking through a window and its frame. The French call this style “Trompe l’oeil”, which literally means “to fool the eye”. With window accent murals, even if you’re living in apartment in the middle of a city, you can have an apparent view of just about anything you want.

What Sort of Window Mural Views are Available?

Just about any scene or view you can imagine is probably already commercially available. For those that aren’t there are specialist companies that will create one for you to your own specifications from a photograph, subject to certain copyright restrictions. Scenic murals are always popular for living rooms.

You could be living in a high rise apartment in the middle of the city and yet have a window mural giving the impression of a view along the Grand Canyon, down Niagara Falls or over the Pacific Ocean. In a child’s bedroom you could have one that looks as if Superman is flying past a window or that on the horizon is a Fairy Castle. The choice in the view of a window mural is only limited by your imagination.

Materials Used for Window Murals

The most commonly used material for a window mural is paper. The scene, or image, is printed on to paper which can then be stuck either directly on to a bare wall surface or its paper covering. Window murals that are applied to a window are usually these days printed onto a clear and often colorless sheet of plastic, which then adheres on to the window pane.

For small window murals that are to be placed on a wall the use of paper is fine. However, if you have designs on a bigger scale of window mural, say occupying a whole wall, then the quality of the material it’s printed on can be important.

Large Window Murals

If, instead of just having a view through a window of say the pyramids, you wanted to feel as if you could walk through a sliding window and out into the desert; then you’ll need to have a window mural that’s pretty well the size of a wall. Whilst you can get these made out of paper, using paper will make a large mural more susceptible to damage.

Unless you’re likely to want to change the window mural in a relatively short space of time, you would be better to spend a little more money and either have the mural made out of vinyl or at least give the paper a vinyl coating to protect it. If you do use a vinyl material you may well also need to use a special adhesive to put it up, rather than ordinary wallpaper paste.

Hanging a Window Mural

Hanging a window mural is pretty much the same as hanging a regular picture frame. Having decided where you want the window mural to be positioned, make a mark on the wall for the top edge. Use a level to make this mark as you must hang the mural horizontally.

Your window mural may already have adhesive on it, in which case remove the protective backing, or you may have to paste the back of the mural. Either way, taking care to make sure the top edge is level with your mark, fix it at the top and then smooth down and towards the edges for a perfect fixing. If you have a large window mural - make sure you get someone to help.

photo by Exfordy / CreativeCommons