Colorful DIY Mural Ideas That Are Affordable and DIY-able

I’m not saying wall art is done with, or one-color painted walls are outdated. But from a spate of stunning recent house tours, it’s clear murals are a wall trend that deserves attention. The homes in this post are utterly one-of-a-kind, due in no small part to the fantastic wall murals seen within. And the best part: Painting a wall mural is affordable and totally DIY-able.

Chilean born Mila Moraga-Holz of the blog Jest Cafe is a maximalist on a minimal budget, as we saw in her recent house tour. She saves plenty of money using thrift store finds in gorgeous configurations, but it’s the bold and colorful murals in several rooms of the home that really make this a one-of-a-kind space. Though she claims she’s not an artist, it’s clear she is, as her home has become her canvas. Thankfully, she’s documented much of her decor processes (including her murals) on her blog for us all to glean inspiration from.

Another home full of fun and vibrant murals is the home of Jaimee Dormer and Adam Lodynsky. Since publishing their home tour, I’ve fallen in love with Jaimee’s vintage clothing business, Coast to Coast Vintage, which features clothes absolutely swimming in wacky graphics, unusual fabrics, and more. It’s fitting, then, that the living room’s main palm tree mural—a hand-painted DIY—was actually inspired by a famous print: “Night Palm” by artist Ruth Adler.

But their home is a great example of the fact that you don’t have to be into wacky patterns or an amazing DIY artist to add murals to your home; the couple painted some colorful shapes around art in the bedroom.

Emily Yeskel Rubin’s Maryland home has a ton of IKEA hacks and DIY ideas (she founded the business District DabbleLab), but nothing stands out more than the dining room. Black paint covers the bottom half of all four walls of the room, and the top is filled with organic shapes and outlines in moody, jewel-toned colors. Though Emily is quite the talent when it comes to crafts, it was her sister, Alexandra Manousakis, who actually created these inspiring murals.

Another home with a mural created by an artist is Phillip Picardi and Dr. Darien Sutton-Ramsey’s Brooklyn rental apartment. They didn’t DIY it themselves, rather hiring their friend Chella Man to “do a mural on our ugly-ass accordion closet doors and now we love our closet! It’s a big accomplishment for homosexuals to have fond feelings of closets!” Don’t copy Chella Man for your closets, but remember that they too can be a great wide canvas for your own DIY mural ideas.

Actress and interior stylist Joy Lofton understands the power of a statement wall, as seen in her L.A.’s home kitchen. Inspired by Pinterest, Joy DIYed this color-blocked wall mural, complementing her colorful array of cooking pans beautifully. “I had to sketch it out onto the wall, and then use Frog Tape to block off each section. I half expected it to be a disaster, so I felt like a rock star when I finished it,” she wrote in her home tour.