Throw cation to the wind and paint a great mural!
Prime, sand, and paint when you leave.

If you want a mural call on Curtis to do it.

But I think a wall of black/white photography all the same size in the same size frames spaced maybe 2-3 apart is very dramatic.

Life is too short to live without cheese! If the camp/kitsch factor appeals to you, then go for it. As Mariah Carey would say, "That's hot tamale."

I saw a really beautiful idea at a private collection tour that was a face created by eucalyptus leaves held in place by white pins ( held a little off of the wall surface). Evocative. Sublime.

If I had a big, peaceful wall like this one I'd walk outside––find leaves I liked and turn 'em into a natural, shadow drawing / sculpture.

it's not my thing but if you're yearning for a framed campy mural/wallpaper, go with your gut. you're the one who will live with it and if you love it, do it. you can always change it later. and with or without frames, trust me, it won't lose it's kitsch!

i have a similar challenge of a huge wall. i'm just working out installing a series of very minimal sculpture on it. but that's my taste. who knows, someone will walk in my apt and ask me why i have square pieces of plexi and wood on my wall. do what your instincts are saying and it sounds like its the wallpaper.

If you are concerned about the cheese factor, here is a suggestion: maybe a black and white version will appeal, a la Ansel Adams?

i'm confused.

is that a photoshop mockup of what such a thing might look like? do you already have this in place and want our opinion of what you already have gone through the trouble to set up?

i think kitsch on a grand scale is fabulous! and i also think that a big bare wall like that which what looks to be lovely high ceilings is a great place to take advantage of really huge art. i've always wanted to hang a 6 x 6 canvas somewhere in my place, but with 8 foot ceilings... also, looking at the rest of the space, your aesthetic is very 'classic', very serious, and bordering on minimalist. a nice shot of humor might be just what you need.

that said, i'm not a huge fan of the 'after' photo or mockup or whatever that is. while kitsch is good, the right kitsch is optimal. i'm not crazy about that particular image or its presentation on the wall. the aspect ratio and/or size of the canvas is bugging me for some reason. the colors and style don't really gibe with the rest of the room.

if it were my place, i'd look into one of those wallpaper photomural thingies (i think there was a post about them earlier this week?) covering the entire wall, or i'd go with a collection of interestingly framed offbeat vintage posters, screen prints or some other kitschy real art rather than what looks like a Thomas Kinkade print. unless there's a piece you're already interested in, i'd go with art that is less pastel-dominant than the mockup. if you're doing this on a serious budget or want to have more control than just a wallpaper catalog or poster shop would allow, try this: http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

yes, but who can afford an Ansel Adams, and at that scale? oh, but maybe Deepa you were suggesting a b&w wallpaper version, which could be cool, too. but please please don't go with a big poster. if you're going to push it, push it with the wallpaper. it is cheesy, but that's why it works. it's not in-between.

ok. i will stop now.

Hey, one word - RASTERBATOR

http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

Everyone, thanks for the comments - they have gotten me thinking in some good directions. I'm still thinking I'm going with the color mural, but opoponax - your comment has me wanting to push the idea more. (It is a photoshop mock-up, by the way.) I'm thinking of finding a mural what will really allow me to exaggerate the aspect ratio - like 5' high and 12' wide. I think that will keep the kitsch, but put a more modern feel to it with a wicked cropping. As for the rest of my place, it has it's classic elements, but I do have a good share of trinkets, toys and artwork, so I'm think it will be a nice fit. And if it doesn't, I'm only guessing it will be about $150 in materials and I can re-use the wood canvases for a different idea.

For more inspiration on various applications of photomural wallpaper, check out all the images on Seattle's Ace Hotel website. Panels of photo-papers are up in various sections of the hotel's entryway, lobby, hallways and select guest rooms. These images might inspire you in ways to manipulate or crop the images you use. (There are 360-degree views of various spaces under the "accomodations" tab and, on the homepage, you can see various images by clicking the Ace Hotel logo.) http://www.theacehotel.com/

Another good reference would be these images of the Woody Harrelson Oasis Suite at San Francisco's Triton Hotel. (Unfortunately, this room has recently been taken down and replaced by a Kathy Griffin-inspired/decorated room.) http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/Suites.html

Go big. Go bold. Good luck.

this is fantastic. embrace kitsch!

Hi David,

Can I ask, how are you planning on building the frame? I am also in a rental and was planning to wallpaper a wall but just can't committ to it. I know I'll be here about two years but even then, words I've read here about the terrors of removing wallpaper have me too afraid to do it. (I ordered samples of the supposed easy-off stuff but am just not feeling the print).

A frame might be the perfect solution. Are you using a canvas? Any details would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you! And good luck with your project.

Your mention of the aspect ratio, and Deepa's suggestion of a BW version, could meld into something pretty amazing if you could convert a classic film still into wallpaper/poster that size. Like the wall is a screen caught in time. Works only if you're passionate about the cinematic moment, I suppose. I'm imagining one of the deep focus scenes in Citizen Kane, this http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1410/Mptv/1410/3461_0357.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0061722 from The Graduate (not BW but I couldn't resist it) or any number of film noir shots. Kitch, but pleasing to the eye.

Hey Enrique, thanks for those links. This idea was sparked from the last PopLife magazine issue, but it was a forest scene. In fact, I think that Ace Hotel lobby paper is the same scene as the one I was using in the mockup!

Christina, I'm going to use thin masonite sheets on 1 inch pine boards to build the frame. It's pretty easy and you can even have homedepot make all your cuts. Then just use some wood glue and nails. I can give you better pics and details from some previous frames if you want - matt(at)motelsuperwash.com. (Oh, and it's Matt... I think Maxwell accidently put a David in there.)

Oh, Shelby! Now I want to go buy a huge plotter/printer! I'm thinking of some awesome b&w scenes from L'Avventura...

I love the idea of mounting the wallpaper!! Kitsch, with it's tongue-in-cheek vibe, adds humor and style to a room. Can anyone suggest sites that feature large, mural-like wallpapers? I'd appeciate it!!

Matt-
On a different note: Where did you get your TV Stand/entertainment bench. It looks like Offi but better.

deb

Hot.

I used to go to a funky restaurant that had huge Alpine wall murals that had been inherited from the previous business. The new owners draped very sheer white drapes along the edges of the walls to soften the murals a bit.

It was a great look.

You can go with the victorian gallery look of lots of framed art of different sizes at non-uniform placement.

For a similar space I have thought of buying a really large canvas and creating a Rothkoish painting.

just wondering, what is the view from the window near this large wall?" if it's abig window and big view, why have the scenic wall paper. how about the wonderful idea of the film still or a blow up of a stock photo, something abstract that would not compete with the view.

I love the way the chair pulls out a hint of orange from the trees in the pic.

i'm a huge fan of wall decals. great for renters since you can peel and go!

i love these from a french company:

http://www.walldesign.fr/?Wall=Design

i love this aussie wall decal company, too:

http://www.blueandbrown.com.au/candiy/index.htm

blik has several over at velocity:
http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/blikclassic.html

or go right to the source at blik:

http://www.whatisblik.com/sg.html

for some geek humor, try these space invaders, circe 1980:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/6425/

if you'd like a bird action:
http://www.veer.com/products/merchdetail.aspx?image=VPR0005000

have fun!

best,
holly (decor8)

It's a fantastic idea BECAUSE it's on frames. PLEASE don't do a whole wall mural.

Sorry about all the caps. I really did hit my head today, and hard! (measuring the apt.-to-be and stood up into its sloped ceiling. avoid doing that.)

Don't laugh...Aboriginal art..it's large scale, modern, and actually becoming extremely collectible and could even earn you money down the road, Check out Ebay and google the term for more info. It's still considered "ethnography" by most museums (except the Victoria Albert in London and a few others) but it is only a matter of time before it becomes widely accepted as art. You'd have to spend between $500.00 to $1,000.00 for a canvas (usually acrylic) sized around 5 feet by 3 feet..It's a definite style--very geometric--some are slanted toward pointillism. Most are bold gorgeous colors but the b/w whites canvases which resemble a starry sky are really gorgeous. Then you put a yellow eames chair or something in front for a punch of color..very stylish....

I wish I could alter the shapes of rectangles, I don't know how to do that with my old Painter program.

Anyway, I used your picture and made you a new picture, which would require extensive cutting and a whole lot of frames from IKEA. Just another idea to add to the multitude of GREAT ideas posted by everyone else.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96179754@N00/159068229/

Can I just say I love the way Mariah was quoted in this thread?

I've always liked the idea of a giant mural of a sunset with a cowboy & horse silhouetted in the foreground. Much like this, only a more brilliant & multi-hued sky. So kick-ass.

http://www.backdropsfantastic.com/backdrop_images/Large/wwb001.jpg

I love Renee's idea. Also, it's more portable.

Another option is to wallpaper some plywood and use that; it will save you headaches later.

Sorry, I meant Andree.

This could also be done without frames.

Heyyyyyyy, wait a minute, I had to look up "kitsch":
: something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality

Then I had to look up "lowbrow":
: a person with little taste or intellectual interest

I thought my picture frames looked nice. Not kitschy. Does that make me a lowbrow? Was I already a lowbrow? Do lowbrows know they are lowbrows? Should I have my lowbrows waxed?

Gerald, I mean Terry, that's okay, all the names are mixed up in this thread.

if you're looking for highbrow taste, this is not the place.

i think your dictionary has an outdated definition of kitsch. while it generally does mean something lowbrow, cheap, or simplistic, the connotation has changed over the years (among everyone i know, at least). it's now more positive. things originally thought of as tacky, or not meant to be considered 'art' or proper decor at all, but which we find aesthetically appealing. i guess it's a postmodern thing?

for instance, in my bedroom is one of those cosmetology school dummy heads which would be used for makeup application, haircuts, etc. 30 years ago this would not have been something a normal person put on display in their home. i also have a copper statue of the hindu god Hanuman in my kitchen, even though I'm not hindu, and even if i were it's a pretty cheezy statue; i'd probably pick something nicer and more tasteful as a genuine devotional piece. again, 30 years ago you only found hindu devotional art in the homes of hindus, and even then the one i have would be considered extremely 'lowbrow'. but nowadays, we consider dummy heads and bad religious art interesting objects to display. partly out of humor, but also because they're visually or aesthetically interesting in ways that transcend class.

There's also a lot you could do with plain ol' paint and a stencil, see the link to DesignSponge from my name. Blowing up photos will be wicked expensive, much cheaper to go with wallpaper murals. I actually picture a big snowy landscape with your interior to tie into the "ski chalet" look that has been all the rage; it will definitely still be deliberately ironic, but the more limited color palette will perhaps keep it from tipping over to too cheesy.

Andree, did you read my post at the very beginning? It's the same thing that I suggested.

I'm so pleased with all the comments... and it looks like 'hot' votes are maybe gonna win out.

Jonathan, I was looking at murals here - www.decoratetoday.com. Their seach engine is wonky, but with a little work you can find lots of murals, and they are as cheap as anyone.

Deb, the tv stand is an IKEA bookself on casters. I bought it as a fill-in until I found a nice credenza, but it's growing on me. I might mod it with plexi doors to hide the hifi though.

Decor8 Holly, I love the decal idea... but only if I could paint that wall something dark to give a reverse effect on them. That wall is currently so pale, and I can't paint the rental. Well, I probably could, but painting a wall that size back to off-white would take weeks and 20 gallons of Killz!

Andrée, thanks for the mockup on flickr! I kinda tried that idea after Anne's post about images in frames spaced across the wall... only I cut the image up in 3' squares. I kinda liked it, but I think it resembed the window too much which is essentially 2' rectangles.

eeeck, you're right about the cost of blowing up photos. To get the scale I want, it would be about $20 a linear foot for a 3' wide plotter print. To get the 5' tall, I'd have to double it. That's about $580 in printing alone. I can pick up a mural for about $60, so I think that's the route I'm going. I like the alpine idea too... must find some wallpaper shops to browse now!

Hey, Matt: Some final notes. First, you might save some pennies purchasing the photomural wallpaper at Home Depot. I bought the forest wallpaper I used in my bedroom for about $60. Second, keep in mind that the photo images do not line exactly along the panel edges. (There is slight overlap between top and bottom panels.) So if you DIY, you'll either have to overlap the panels or very carefully trim the edges to align the image properly. So, if you want exact alignment, lay the panels out on the floor and adjust accordingly before applying the paste. Good luck!

Just to add to what Patrick suggested: There is a lot of great wallpaper with big, bold patterns out there. I love the idea of a photo landscape mural, but you do have those windows. And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who still has a turntable and records! I considered parting with them as part of my Cure, but I couldn't do it.

P.S. I'm not suggesting covering the wall with wallpaper, just doing what you suggested with wallpaper instead of a photo mural.

HOTT! i love it just the way it looks in your mock-up.

Opoponax (what does that mean?), I used the AOL online dictionary, but your explanation makes more sense. It's something that is meant to be taken humourously, not so seriously. Is "kitsch" generally "good design"? For whatever it is? Is "kitsch" good taste when used sparingly? Or can you have a whole room of "kitschy" things and it's still neat. Didn't one of the SCC people have a room of kitschy things? And they have a collectible value in their own right? Uh, and if so, why weren't they considered kitsch when they were new? I would have had a head in my room 30 years ago. I always wanted one of those glass heads. Just because it's a glass head.

anne, what you suggested was "a wall of black/white photography all the same size in the same size frames spaced maybe 2-3 apart is very dramatic." I did not use individual black and white photos, and the frames are spaced more closely than that. Perhaps if you'd given a visual example, I could have seen that what you had in mind and what I did were more alike. I don't know what sizes of frames you had in mind. I don't read minds at all. For all I know you had old movie images of Frankenstein and Dracula in mind. After your comment elsewhere, I just SOB your posts.

Matt, that's the look I was going for, to extend the windows (in a way) across the larger wall. To play with the illusion that there may well be a view of a pristine lake. Of course, the ideas of mixing up the pictures wouldn't have the same effect.

The large mural on the wall is obviously a large mural on the wall. When framed out in a way that is similar to the windows, it takes on the appearance of the windows, which then causes a double-take, trying to figure out (ever so briefly) which is the REAL view.

Check out the wallpaper murals here, lots of categories,
http://www.usawallpaper.com/wallpapermurals.html

The "Scenic" area has both photo-realistic images as well as artistic renditions.

And promise you'll post an "after" shot, perhaps with the instructions on exactly what you did! Maybe a "how to" on Flickr!!!

I'm sorry, Andree. I really thought you could read my mind. I'm not so talented as you to have the ability to show you a visual. It doesn't matter. Matt understood what I was talking about even if you didn't.

as far as kitsch and taste, what makes something kitsch, collectible value, etc. that really depends on the eye of the beholder in my opinion. it's anything that wouldn't normally be considered 'proper' home decor, conventional or traditional design, etc. you wouldn't see kitsch in a formal dining room or in the pages of Martha Stewart Living. and yeah, there were a few smallest coolest contestants which featured a lot of kitsch, and one finalist that was heavily kitsch oriented. but at this point, unless you're either replicating a historic period or have no sense of humor at all, everybody probably has a certain element of it in their home.

The Opoponax is a reference to a book of the same title by Monique Wittig. The Opoponax, in the book, is a monster that the main character (a little girl) invents which does all the things that nobody is supposed to do. it has no social graces. it says things that everyone knows but no one will mention. Opoponax is also an aromatic mediterranean plant which is used to make an obscure perfume similar to myrrh. i like the idea of the monster with no social graces (which we invent to give voice to the things we've always wanted to say), and its juxtaposition with something beautiful.

Ohhhh! That is very cool! The name! The references. I guess I'm like that monster. Hah! I don't really understand social graces. I don't understand the unspoken, unwritten rules, because nobody will speak them or write them down so I can clearly see what they are. The rules seem to change at whim. Everyone else seems to somehow KNOW those things, and I never have. I always felt like I must have missed the day(s) in school when all this was explained.

And I really don't know what "proper home decor" is either. I keep trying to get someone to explain that to me, and that's yet another thing that varies. I'm maybe the only one here who has a wood totem pole next to three non-working little clocks. I like the little clocks, whether they work or not. And I have a great fondness for totem poles (being originally from western Canada).

Why don't people say what they really want to say? I usually do. Online and in person. Which gets me into trouble sometimes. But, most of the time, after the initial shock wears off, people seem to be glad that someone "tells it as they see it" in an honest manner.

They've said "None of my friends say that, maybe I need to get new friends"...because their friends aren't honest. Honest when it comes to "what do you think about my new mantel arrangement?". Friends say "Looks nice." I say "It sucks, move that over there, and this that way and just try it." And they do like it. Sometimes. ;)

I'm coming in late to this thread, but it sounds like Matt's idea is going to look great.

But if you DID go with Anne's original suggestion of having a mural painted, DO e-mail me at generalaesthetic@yahoo.com because if we did a paint-by-number mural, I literally have more than 200 scenes to choose from, and some of them are pretty simple -- like only 8 colors, which have KIND of a certain spare elegance to them. And since it would be like a "kit" you could figure out when you wanted to fill it in yourself. Kitsch? Uh... yep! Purty? Check. Forest? Will that be with snow? Without?

Just a thought. And... it's just latex paint. If you did ever want to move you could paint over it. But your landlord would probably forbid you to paint over it, because he'd probably rather move in.

Throw out your TV and buy a projector to fill up that wall. A nice one can be had for $500 or so on ebay these days, and then you still have a nice minimalist space when the TV isn't on.

Curtis, it was Evamn's suggestion to do the mural. Anne's suggestion was to call you to do the mural. Since we've been picking nits.

I DO think there is a difference between going edge to edge with a true mural and having it "float".

I think edge-to-edge makes it work.
Shorter than the actual wall makes it miss its mark. (imho)

hi! see the movie "the shape of things" for a good look at a outdoor kitsch photo mural done right. the one in the movie is available from the major vendors. beware the process of installing though! it was a nitemare. perhaps consider hiring professional wallpaper hangers..

I also think it can't be the *only* piece of kitsch in the place...

Like in Jane & Darko's Cozy Thicket (Smallest Coolest '06)... their outdoor-inspired wall paper and wall mural had other references, like the bear portait and the log pillows, that made them "work".

I'm a first-time poster, but you'll probably see more of me around here soon. Speaking of all things wallpaper, here's some resources:

www.wallpaperinstaller.com/specialty_wallpaper.html -- links to zillions of specialty wallpaper manufacturers and dealers

I love this German company -- about 30 Euros per square meter:
www.berlintapete.de -- especially the fields of grass and flowers extending up from the bottom of the paper. They will also transform your photos into murals.

www.wallpaperfromthe70s.com/start_index.html -- seriously mod wallpaper, ships worldwide.

Matt, if you're still checking in, 300 people (or one person 300 times, or a combo of both) have looked at the picture I remade with frames of your mural.

Don't forget that all the parts are CUT OUT that would lie between the frames. It's NOT just cutting the mural up into equal pieces. Whatever lies between the frames is removed. To give a continuous picture, as though it were a window.

I didn't cut up the mural and move all the pieces, I laid a grid on top of the mural already there, and removed the parts in between.

I'm hoping you're working on doing whatever you were going to do with that wall and we'll see AFTER pictures soon!

Hey Andree, I haven't checked in for a while - fun to see soo many people looking and commenting. I've hit a stalling block... I can't find a mural in the proper dimensions that I want - superwide and low - but I'm still looking. Also will definitely send pics for Maxwell to post the final result. Thanks for helping out!

Matt