Monday, April 12, 2010

Custom Wall Mural Inspiration: Architecture

One of my obsessions when it comes to custom wall mural imagery is architecture. Be it an ultra-modern expanse of glass building skin, or a worn painted brick facade, there are limitless possibilities when using architectural elements as a jumping off point for a printed mural. Of course, there are plenty of buildings that can be showcased as a whole, but what really excites me is using just a portion of a building, abstracting it, until the element seems more like a modern pattern than an actual structure.

Take the custom wallpaper installation in the inspiration room for example. The photograph is of an apartment building in Australia that has undulating terraces off the face of the building. The image was then flipped 90 degrees clockwise, making the serpentine balconies run vertically as opposed to horizontally. The change in perspective gives the mural an even more surreal flare.

A custom wall mural makes for an outstanding adornment to your bedroom area. And while an over-sized headboard can be dramatic, substituting a wall mural such as this for the headboard is even more striking. Check out some additional examples of architecturally inspired wall murals that we've featured in the past, and contact us to learn more about your own custom wallpaper project.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Custom Wallpaper Imagery: Vintage Control Panel

Happy Friday to all of you. We're celebrating the end of the week with a custom wallpaper installation featuring a vintage control panel. The connection? As our fingers anxiously hover over our shut-down buttons, I can't help but still marvel at how much simpler our lives are due to modern technology.

While one could easily make the opposing argument that technology has served to lower our quality of life and interactions with "real" human beings, just think where you'd be if your home or work computer looked like this little honey featured in our wall mural in the inspiration room. If technology is a necessary evil, at least we can have the latest and sleekest gadgets to divide our time.

So this wall mural is clearly an homage to those early days when computers took up an entire room, and coding was done by hand on index cards. The mural has a bit of a steampunk sensibility, what with the archaic looking knobs on a rusted out cover panel. We've come a long way baby, and this custom wall mural is the perfect illustration of that.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Custom Wallpaper Imagery: Movement

In the title of this post, "movement" refers to the inner workings of a watch or clock, not motion in general. The movement specifically refers to all of the moving parts, save for the clock hands, that keep your clocks ticking away. I've had a gear-inspired wall mural in mind for some time but finally just came across this perfect image to bring the idea to life.

All the gears, pulleys and wheels create a look not unlike a bank vault, especially when you consider that this macro shot is enormous compared to the real thing. I think any disassembled machinery has the makings of a perfect custom wallpaper application. I did a post a while back concerning circuit board custom wallpaper, and received a lot of positive feedback from it. Apparently there's a lot of you out there that enjoyed destroying your toys as youths as well!

I initially wanted to crop the image further, but the circular outline around the watch's inner workings framed the furniture arrangement so well I kept it as is. How cool would this wall mural be in your home? Showing your love of the mechanical and orderly, while at the same time also embracing your aesthetically-minded side. How well rounded can you get? Have an idea for your own custom wallpaper installation? Contact us to begin your project.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Create Custom Wallpaper Using Vintage Fabric Patterns

We most typically print custom wall murals that are based on photographic imagery or artwork. But one source of custom wallpaper inspiration we love to recommend is vintage fabric. Be it art deco-inspired prints from the 20's, or funky psychedelic prints from the 60's and 70's, you're bound to find some interesting options.

It's fun to play with the scale of the pattern you select. While a small scale pattern may appeal to you immediately, we like when the size of the pattern repeat is exaggerated, created a larger than life wallpaper design, such as the custom wallpaper shown in our inspiration room.

There are many sources online to find vintage fabrics that can be transformed into custom wallpaper, such as ReproDepot Fabrics. There is more than likely a wealth of viable patterns at your local Salvation Army or thrift store. It never hurts to pay a visit to your Mom's and check out her old sewing box; even a small scrap of vintage fabric can be used to create custom wallpaper. It's been a while since you've called her anyway, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you...

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Custom Wallpaper Imagery: Use Your Own Artwork

The custom wall mural image we are featuring today is a detail of a piece of ancient Chinese artwork. The original piece is a watercolor work on rice paper. This mural embodies one of our key phrases here at Great Wall Custom Coverings: "changing the way we live with art."

Taking a piece of artwork and transforming it into a custom wallpaper installation takes what would be merely an element of a decor scheme and creates an undeniable focal point. As opposed to a smaller piece of art, a wall mural demands attention in a way that typical wall art simply can never attain. The artwork becomes a presence that is not only enjoyed, but lived with in a highly salient nature.

And gentleman, I'm not sure if you'd typically decorate with a floral, but this is one highly masculine botanical. The blues and grays keep this floral based mural much more neutral than typical flowery prints, while still retaining the softness you'd expect from natural imagery.