Before and After: A $30 Mural Brings ’80s Vibes to This Personality-Packed Maximalist Bedroom

How do you add personality to a bedroom, a home space that’s already so, well, personal? Erika Bowen (@papillonbohemehome) has some great ideas in her bedroom redo, which amped up a cheerful space and took it to the next level.

“Before, the walls were bare,” Erika says of the primary bedroom in her 1950s Baltimore home, and that didn’t quite suit her vibe — or the rest of her maximalist, vintage-inspired home.

“I love color and have been painting faux ‘wallpaper’ all over the house,” Erika explains. “It was time to make over our bedroom!” Erika says. Hers was a quick, eight-hour makeover that cost about $30.

“It was just me, a can of paint, and a brush!” Erika says of this project. She created her squiggles — which match the other ones she’s already added all around her home — totally freehand, choosing a perky purple (Behr’s fittingly named “Party Hat”). Her best painting advice, for anyone after the same effortless, funky look? “Let the brush flow, there are no rules! Just have fun!”

A ceiling with a design this unique deserved an equally vibrant bed beneath it, so Erika also swapped her solid-colored bedspread for one covered in a cheerful leaf-and-parrot design. “I love the ’80s vibe it gives,” she says of the after.

Erika’s not stopping there with her room’s transformation, though. “I would like to finish by painting the ceiling with the squiggles as well!” she says. “You can never have too many.”

For more freeform mural inspo, check out these 13 homes.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.

February is Bedroom Month on Apartment Therapy! We’re sharing stories all month about bedrooms — from how to sleep in them, decorate them, make the most of small ones, and so much more. Head over here to see them all!