Create an Accent Wall with Easy DIY Faux Wallpaper!

Looking for inexpensive DIY wall design ideas? Make a statement with an easy DIY mural by drawing on the wall! Learn how in this simple tutorial!

The little ladies and I have been working on re-designing their bedroom. They’re getting bunk beds and the thrill is real! I wanted to use wallpaper on one wall. But we had some very (VERY!) strong feelings about the wallpapers I found online. They weren’t all happy feelings either! I was really pushing for the top right one below with the zebras. Isn’t it perfect??? But no dice!

So one day, it occurred to me that the type of whimsical floral print we wanted wasn’t really all that complex, and why not try drawing on the wall with a Sharpie instead? I’m no artist, and if I can do it, so can you!

I started with this piece of foam-core board, to experiment with the pattern. I settled on four different types of flowers and two varieties of leaves and vines. I did a bit of experimenting with drawing on the wall too.

At first, I was hoping to add some paint to look like watercolors on some of the flowers. But it turns out that very watery paint on a vertical surface makes for a very drippy look. Not quite what I was going for! In the end, we decided on just the white background with black line drawings.

I found that these chisel-tipped Sharpies worked MUCH better than regular ones. I went through about five regular pens, with each only lasting a few minutes, before I made the switch. The chisel-tipped ones seem to last forever, and they don’t start to make half-hearted lines after a while. That was important to me, because even though this is a Sharpie project, I didn’t want it to look like a Sharpie project!

Spacing

Although this motif is whimsical and scrolling, I still wanted to create a relatively uniform look across the whole wall. So spacing was important. I started with the big rose-like flowers and their leaves. I tried to space them somewhat randomly over the entire wall.

Fill In

            Next, I drew the long scrolling vines- approximately one near each group of roses. Then I moved on from there, filling in whatever would fit best in the space.

Alpacas

I was originally going to just do a floral pattern. But while I was at it, I figured I might as well try adding an alpaca or two into the print as well. Why not, right?

I also let the girls each do some drawing near the spots their bunks will be. Truth be told, it’s not easy for me to let go like that when it comes to a design project. But in the end, we had a lot of fun working on it together!

Touch-Ups

There were a few spots that I wasn’t happy with, so I painted over them and re-drew them. This really wasn’t that hard, and I’m no artist! Give it a shot. What have you got to lose? I think the important thing to remember here is, it’s only paint and sharpie. The stakes are just not that high. When we had a flower that didn’t look right, we painted over it. No big deal!

And tah-dah!

So the total cost of this project, including the white paint, was about $35!

Want to follow along with our bedroom makeover? SIGN UP HERE and I’ll keep you posted on our progress and show you how to design and DIY a super-fun bedroom for your own kiddos!

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