apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This epidemic of wall decals and wallpaper and silhouettes is like those braided ficus trees from the 1980s, except that instead of a "tree" that's a substitute for a REAL tree, it's just paintings of shadows of fake trees.

It's a sad attempt to bring the natural environment into the home to satisfy the human need to be in contact with the Earth.

or maybe it's just something pretty you can do on your own to make you happy in your place without spending money. and it's fun. and it involves the person in decorating.

you should not be so quick to judge others, mr. green.

maybe he has a black thumb - and just because you have a black thumb does not mean you are NOT GREEN - to each his own, sir.

elizabeth in AL, frankly, it looks like a Halloween decoration.

MrGreen (NOT mr. green) may no judgement on anyone, nor did he say that because someone has a black thumb, that he is NOT GREEN.

He merely pointed out that this is a sad substitute for the natural environment. This reminds MrGreen of a prisoner with a pet roach.

i think you just like to stir the pot. stir away.

and, telman, i think it's awesome. i'm going to try it myself - and put my plants right next to the awesomeness.

Does using the X-Acto knife damage the wall? Like, if my mural came out horribly, and I wanted to later repaint the wall, would there always be a faint outline of the tree, etched in the wall?

Also: Telman, the mural took my breath away when I first saw it. I'd love to see it in the context of the rest of your room!

Anokha, I think the key is to use a light hand with the blade, being careful to cut through the layer of tape, and making sure to not apply so much pressure as to scratch into the wall. A sharp blade is key, and I like using an Olfa Silver knife for fine cutting work.

MrGreen, why do you so quickly assume that the mural was done out of some longing to reconnect with the earth? Maybe Telman simply wanted to experiment with a painting project, and one should be happy that he was kind enough to share his How-To.

I like it. And it would be a cool place to hang family photos--a family tree...

A note about priming -- Telmen says he primed first before the dark coat. This is a very crucial step if you're going to use masking tape! Use the base colour of the wall, that way the paint that bleeds under the tape will not be seen. Then the tape is sealed and the dark shade will be crisp!

I'd love to see some light-coloured trees on dark walls now. :-)

Beautiful job, despite the very tedious task. I did something like this once to create a super graphic in an exhibition and the cutting away takes alot of patience. Congrats on keeping it together!

I personally had a tough time keeping the borders sharp (some paint seeped under the masking tape). Any suggestions as to avoid that?

I like it! MrGreen, you really don't do yourself any favours do you?!

Would it be easier to draw it on the wall in pencil, then carefuly paint it (without the tape and x-acto work)?

@ MrGreen: hehe. No offence, but you're a sad man, have some pleasure in your life! The article says nothing about me connecting with the nature. I just woke up one day, and I thought it would be cool to fill up that space on the wall with a tree. So I did :)

@ elizabeth in AL: thanks, good luck!

@ Anoukha: well if you cut it out very gently the wall won't be very damaged (just like phu said). The primer does also a great job.

I'll post some pictures of the rest of my room by tomorrow.
Thanks!

@ phu: thanks!

@ Michael: yeah, I was thinking that too afterwards. Different frames and sizes would look cool.

@ ScottB: thanks, appreciate it. Yeah, it took some time to cut everything hehe.

Well discovered while I was painting it, to have enough space between the wall and the brush. That in combination with the primer worked out great!

@ tin_angel: thanks!

@ Job_B: well maybe it could work out but I wouldn't advice it. Preparation is very important for a crisp result. But if you succeed you would save a hell of a lot time! ;)

Great tree! However when I opened the link to find out how it was done, I was expecting to see a technique for creating the tree shape. It reminds me of Steve Martin giving instructions to be a millionaire. He said step one is go get a million dollars.

Dear RubMop,

I just drew the tree from a picture from the internet :)
Use a pencil, an eraser and a few hours.

I think Mr. Green has some issues. Maybe his thumb isn't the only thing that's green.