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Are you stuck with kids room ideas? Then take some inspiration from this mom who saved £300 to create a stunning rainbow mural with leftover paint and string.
We’ve seen rainbows sweeping through the UK over the past few years and painting one as a mural in a child’s bedroom is a fun way to brighten up their walls, whether it’s in their bedroom, playroom or nursery. Plus, by using leftover paint, you can avoid some huge costs because murals aren’t always cheap, especially if you hire a professional wall artist to create them for you.
rainbow mural makeover
Claire Vernon of Teddington, London, mother of two children aged three and seven, wants to liven up her daughter’s bedroom wall. She told the money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “My little daughter’s room had plain walls and I wanted to create something colorful and cheerful for her that wouldn’t cost much.”
She enjoyed painting rainbow pictures to put in our window to show support for the NHS during the pandemic, so we thought it would be a good idea to make a mural in her bedroom. I’ve always loved the colors of the rainbow so it seemed like the perfect plan.
Before: Pink Baby Bedroom
Image credit: Claire Vernon
This pale pink wall was the perfect place for Claire to paint her design. “Although I use a lot of color at home, I tend to prefer more muted tones, rather than bright primary colors,” she says. So I knew this bedroom design should be in a similar palette. Then I came up with the idea of using leftover paint, to save money and connect the other rooms in the house.
Claire continues, “I had pink, gold, green, black, white, and blue paint from other decorating projects, so I was able to create the mural without spending any money.” I used dark blue to paint one of the walls of my bedroom, I used pink to paint my bathtub, a muted shade of green went for my hallway, I used black for my fireplace, and white went on some of the cabinets. The gold paint was originally purchased for my toilet tank! “
After: Rainbow Mural Budget
Image credit: Claire Vernon
The end result is a modern half-rainbow design that sits nicely next to the built-in dresser, which has also received a touch of paint. But how did Claire manage to paint a rainbow so perfectly? “I tied a pencil to the end of a piece of string and used it to mark the arcs,” she explains.
Then we took out the leftover paints and let my little girl paint the painting she loved. For the black spots on the second bow she used her fingers!
Image credit: Claire Vernon
“The gold paint was a little tricky to work with, as it was a metallic paint and not designed for walls, but I persevered and got the result I wanted,” Claire says. “Although I had to go over it to get an even finish, it was worth it because the gold makes the mural really special.”
Claire isn’t alone happy with the mural either. “My daughter absolutely loved the end result and it’s definitely the best room in the house,” she says. I’m jealous her bedroom looks so good compared to mine! If you want to make your own, you can just buy test pots, which will also be a cheap way to make a mural.
How to create a rainbow on your wall
Image credit: Claire Vernon
Here’s one way to create an arch on the wall using the pencil and string trick mentioned by Claire…
- Cut the length of the chain and attach a set of keys to the end. Stick the string to the wall and mark the line with a piece of chalk.
- Repeat this process along the wall, where you want the other side of the arch to be. Measure the distance between the two lines and mark the distance in the middle.
- Attach a pencil to the end of the thread. Attach the thread to the middle point. Make sure the pencil on the other end reaches both edges of the arc. Draw a semicircle from side to side.
- Draw the outline of the arc, then create other arcs as needed.
“Claire has proven that you don’t have to get a specialist to create an amazing mural,” says Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk. On top of that, it likely saved hundreds of pounds. According to Checkatrade, the average cost for design and materials fees is £150, while a muralist costs around £190 per day.
If you were painting a mural, what would you choose and which room would it be?