Hi Everyone! By now, if you know me at all, you know what a model home junky I am! Here in Orange County, California, there are always an abundance of new model homes popping up. This is one of my new favorites; Upcoast. In this first of two homes they were showing, I fell in love with this wall mural. At first I thought it was painted, but upon further inspection, realized it is a vinyl wall paper.
You can see the texture when you take an close up look. I was temped to try to hunt down the manufacturer and order it. But my frugal nature told me that I could create my own painted version. It seemed like a fun challenge and if I couldn't pull it off, I could always paint over it!
I went to my local hardware box store and in the paint area, I saw this paint chip right away and decided immediately that these were the colors I needed. Just so you know, that NEVER happens to me when choosing a paint color. I usually have look a EVERY paint chip agonizingly forever first.
This brand is Behr paint. I photo edited the paint chip picture for easier reading. And I purchased one sample size each in satin enamel finish.
I also used some white and medium grey paint that I already had gotten for free from the salvage yard recycling center.
I love this idea, because when entering my home, this wall is too close to hang any art. A painted mural is really the only way to go. I taped 3 sides of the wall because my mural is going to fade, not stop, at the top.
I measured off my wall with straight lines in pencil first as a general guide. The painted lines needed to be soft and abstract and flowing, but they also need to be going in the same straight direction.
A comfy low-sitting chair helps....and cardboard to protect your floor and move when you need it to.
I used this three piece brush set from the 99 cent store. Worked great and you can't beat the price!
First of all I started with the dark navy color and I used the dozen or so photo angles I down loaded onto my computer as a guide while I painted, adding my own touches.
Adding bold strips of colors first, then......
I used a lot of spraying with my water bottle and dabbing with paper towels on the finishing touches.
You can see some of my free salvaged paint I used from the salvage yard recycling center in the picture below, a large can of white satin enamel, absolutely free because someone threw it away. Now it's part of a brand new mural.
The entire process was finished after a few hours.
My kitchen now has more of a modern coastal vibe and it cost me less than $15.00!
