The Forgotten Wall Mural (Two Options Remain)
I didn’t get any work done on the closet yesterday (I don’t work on Wednesdays), so I’m changing direction today and sharing some random thoughts about future projects that I’ve been dreaming about the last few days.
Right now, we don’t have any space in our house for a table and chairs. When it’s just Matt and me in the house, it’s not a problem. If Matt and I are eating together, I’m generally standing or sitting by him and helping him with his meal while he sits in bed (which is currently in our breakfast room while our bedroom suite is under construction), and I’m standing at the kitchen peninsula to eat my food. If I’m eating by myself for some reason, I generally sit at my desk and eat while multitasking.
But every once in a while, I do miss having a table and chairs. When my mom came over on Monday to help me clean the tools and dust out of the closet, she brought lunch. I really hated not having a table and chairs where we could sit and enjoy our meal together. So we both stood at the kitchen peninsula to eat. It was fine, but I dream of the day that I can have a proper place for a dining table and chairs.
So to refresh your memory, my immediate goal is to get our bedroom suite completely finished. That means that I need to finish up those last few projects in the walk-in closet. After that, I’ll work on the foyer and bedroom. And then I’ll finish up the bedroom suite (for now) by making some changes in the hallway bathroom.
After that, I’ll turn my attention to my workshop, which currently looks cute on the outside…
But the inside of my workshop is a blank canvas. I want to get it completely set up and ready for the huge project that will come after that, which is building a brand new kitchen.
The new kitchen will go in our current breakfast room and pantry. The current studio bathroom will be a walk-through pantry for easy access to the back studio doors and carport. And finally, the current kitchen will become a dining room with a proper table and chairs. If you need a visual, this is the long-term goal. Thos floor plan includes the future addition, with a new living room, guest bathroom, and guest bedroom (which we’ll use as a home gym initially). That addition will be the final big project after everything within the current footprint of our home is finished.
And all of that brings me to the mural that I bought one year ago, and still remain rolled up in the box it came in. I’ve never done this before, but I bought the mural because it just seemed like it belonged in our home. But I bought it without any definite use in mind. It came from Anthropologie, and is no longer available, so there’s no option of buying another one. That means I have to find a use for the one mural I have, which is 10′ high and 20′ wide. The mural looks like this…
When I bought it, I had several different options for where to use it, including our new bedroom, the bedroom suite foyer, etc. I also had some other ideas, because at the time, I was still considering turning the current pantry into a laundry room. But over the last year, our plans have changed, and our plan for our house in the floor plan above is pretty much written in stone at this point. Also, over the last year, the overall design plan for the bedroom suite has come together, and there’s no room for a wall mural in that plan.
So I’m down to two areas now. The first and most obvious place for it is on the entryway wall.
Right now, the entryway wall looks like this…
If I use it there, I’d keep the console table, sconces (probably with a different color on the shades), and everything else would go so that the mural could really shine. I’d still use something on the wall above the console table, but it would be one large, framed item, probably a mirror.
And as you can see from the reflection in the mirror in the photo above, that entryway wall is directly across from the fireplace wall in the living room.
I think that mural would be beautiful on that entry wall, and my pink curtains in the living room ties in beautifully with the pink flowers in the mural.
The second potential spot remaining for the mural is this wall in the future dining room.
Right now, that wall looks like this…
But once the kitchen is moved over into the breakfast room and pantry areas, these cabinets will be removed, and I’ll be left with a plain wall. I want that wall to remain solid (i.e., no cased opening), so it’s perfect for a mural. I want a buffet (perhaps the buffet I already have) on that wall, and I already have wiring for wall sconces, so those will remain as well, although I’ll get new sconces. So this wall is another good candidate for the mural, and I think it would be a great jumping off point for decorating the dining room.
If I use it on the future dining room wall, it will still be seen from the living room, and those pink curtains will still coordinate beautifully with the pink flowers in the mural.
Anyway, those are the thoughts and plans that have been swirling around in my mind these last few days. These projects are still a long way off because I’m not even halfway done with the bedroom suite yet, and then setting up my workshop will take quite a bit of time. So I still have a lot of time to finalize all of these details. Right now, I love both of these ideas. I’m not sure if I have a favorite yet. I like both ideas pretty much equally. So only time will tell where I land on this in the end. I definitely want to use that mural, though. It looks like it was created for me personally, so I want to use it in one of these two places.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I’m going to vote for dining room since the other wall already looks great, and it’d be a shame to change it!
Agree.
I really like the idea of the mural in the dining room with a buffet on the wall where the stove is currently. Don’t change the entry. It will flow beautifully with the mural in dining room and flowing into the kitchen assuming your cabinets will be in the teal family.
If there is a vote, I’d say dining room because I just love the cluster of bird prints on entryway wall. I am a sucker for bird prints though. However, I think your entry room is just perfect.
Oooh it would be so good in the dining room. I love bold walls there!
It will be beautiful on either wall but one question? Why are you going to hang a mirror (or something else) and use sconces? Won’t they just break up the mural and lose the beautiful impact. Yes, a buffet or something similar will be needed but can’t you just use lamps and a few decorative items so as much as the mural can be seen as possible? It is just too beautiful to hide.
This was my thought exactly! First, I assume you have 8 ft. ceilings, so you are already losing 2 ft. of the mural, and both of these walls seem to be about 10 ft. wide, so you are losing half of the mural there! And then you want to further lose it’s loveliness by putting furniture and art on top of it? What’s the point of using it if it will be covered up and chopped off? In looking at your new floor plan, I see two places besides the ones you chose, both in the living room add-on. When facing the back yard, the walls on the left or right seem like better places, and if you can avoid putting any furniture against the mural, (or artwork) it could stand alone in its glory! Even if a sofa were to be placed there, by moving it into the room a few feet, the mural will be seen, and the room would be more intimate for conversation. I think the wall to the right is the best option, although having the sofa away from the wall also messes with the symmetry of the bank of windows. The wall on the left could be used as an “invisible hallway” as it is between two doorways, and if desired, you could put a narrow, low profile console table there with maybe some skinny, tall lamps on either end and not much else. At any rate, I would find a way to not block its beauty with art and heavy furnishings! You may as well sell it off if you plan to block it!
I’m staring at a wall in my house that is 9’ x 19’ and trying to imagine the size of the plants.
I think the mural would be gorgeous in the LR and move everything on that wall to the new DR wall. You would automatically have a buffet and 2 extra seats at the ready. If not wide enough for everything that’s in the entryway, you might have to pare down some of the wall pieces and position the chairs a little differently, but all those things would be appropriate for a DR.
No matter where you put the mural, it will be a statement piece!
I just LOVE that mural! Either location would be great but I think I’d prefer the dining room. Murals just seem to work so well in a dining room. Place a buffet in front of the mural with a mirror above it and sconces flanking the mirror.
Temporarily could you put a table for 2 in your studio?
I thought that too. A small bistro set is inexpensive, and could be moved to the patio later!
There’s not enough room for another table in there. The room is feeling pretty cramped right now. But I could get some chairs for the worktables and just use those.
FWIW – I think the mural would be a great addition to the dining area. It is a bit too moody for the entryway wall (in my humble opinion) and that wall looks great as it is.
I would vote for the dining room. Mainly because when people are first coming into the house, and you’re standing there at the door, it would be hard for anyone to notice the mural, if they were sitting in your living perhaps. You can see it from the front door, and then it leads you, it beckons to you and calls you into the dining room. I love that mural and I too believe someone out there made it just for you. Imagine the fun with those colors in lovely perhaps moody dining room, with the right lighting, you could feel like you were eating in this perfect paradise of flora and fauna. I can’t wait.
Cheers to you, Matt and The Gang!
I vote for the dining room wall. In gardening, when you place art in the garden, it is good to tuck things into spaces where it can be discovered as you walk through the garden rather than have everything out in plain sight. When I saw the final photo where the doorway frames the current kitchen wall – what a lovely surprise it would be to see that mural! It would draw the guest into the room to see the mural up close. That view clinched it for me.
I think your entryway is perfect as-is and the mural might be too busy.
However, I only see your home in pictures. You know how it feels to BE in the space and do a beautiful job of decorating.
When working on your workshop, think about using the current kitchen cabinets for storage. Put up temporary shelves and save the cabinets when the time comes.
Great idea! I was wondering if they could be reused there or even in the new pantry area.
We bought a fixer upper a couple of years ago and hired a contractor, and asked for our kitchen cabinets (original to the 1949 or 1955 house when built) to be placed in our laundry room. One set, the newest ones which were clearly added later than the house was built, were the only ones that made it downstairs, with the contractor saying that the older ones were built-in and couldn’t be saved because they couldn’t be removed in one piece.
I haven’t asked anyone or googled it, but I don’t understand the difference when removing – why can’t built-ins be removed and saved or reused elsewhere?
My point is that she built those cabinets and maybe they can’t be reused, as mine couldn’t? I have only followed KL since the home gym reno, although I’ve looked back through her blog posts and FB extensively (because I love KL’s style and use of color!). So I could be wrong because I haven’t bored into the details of the pantry remodel as I have since I started following her.
Just wondering!
Oooh, I can see you’ve never done the demo on old cabinrts yourself…. Basically, most usual cabinets are built as discrete boxes, only held in place with a screw or nail or two, and thus easy to remove. Ye olde built in cabinets were constructed on the spot, often with no discrete boxes, and just interconnected wood bits everywhere. When you start removing pieces, they just collapse into rubble, hence why your contractor couldn’t save them.
Here’s a crazy idea: use the mural in your workshop/shed to bring a bit of your home out there and keep you company as you work. I think it would be a beautiful, truly unique touch.
I think the view in to the dining room, with that mural, would be spectacular!
Correct me if I’m wrong, you plan on making your breakfast room and pantry into your new kitchen, but isn’t the ceiling in your pantry lower than the rest of the house due to the roofline. I can’t remember you having remedied that slant when you built your pantry.
Yes, it still slants. I was planning on just working with it.
the mural is pretty but to me it doesn’t seem to be the same vibe as the rest of your house. You have a bright and playful aesthetic but the mural is moody-almost regal look to it.
I’d say it would have more impact in the dining room
I like the depth that the mural would add to the dining room wall. It would be easily seen from the living room because of the large scale whereas it would be overwhelming in the entry since you wouldn’t have enough distance to enjoy it. Think of it like art. You wouldn’t put a huge piece on a wall where you can only stand a few feet away. You’d put it where the viewer could take it all in at a glance (at the opposite end of the gallery) and then move in closer to look at details.
You mentioned the big plan for the house. My memory may be failing me. Didn’t you have to level the breakfast room floor? Didn’t the existing floor (before leveling) have asbestos? Moving the kitchen into the current breakfast room would mean breaking the floor for drains? Does that create a possible big problem?
Nothing will have to go through that floor. I had a plumber give me a quote, and he said there’s a workaround for the drain line so that the floor can remain intact.
I had another thought, but it involves changing the future floor plan in the new living room; If you were to change the back wall by centering a French doors between two full length windows the same height as the doors, you still have the window and doors , but they are centered on the wall, and this gives you room on the side walls for furnishings. That way, it would be easier to pull sitting options away from the walls.
Kristi would like to keep the view from the entryway door all the way to the backyard by having the future living room doors in sight line when first entering her house.
Or perhaps the hall wall leading from the proposed living room to the proposed home gym/guest bedroom?
Hi Kristi, I immediately thought: There was already some sort of mural on the entryway wall and you got rid of it for the current setup for a reason, I believe. So putting another mural there (and I found your hand painted one so beautiful, this wouldn’t compete – at least for me 😉 ) might be too much again for that area? I thought about putting the mural in your workshop to make that room tie in with your house and make you smile when you work in there but it could perhaps be in jeopardy from the work (dust, scratches) too much? As always, I’m looking forward to your decision (even if it might be some time in the future). Ta for sharing!
Isn’t there another option: either of the family/living room side walls? If not there, the dining room seems like a good spot, as well. I like your entry so much as it is, I wouldn’t change it–but I trust your eye.
No, I don’t want a mural in the family room.
I don’t think you’d see enough of the mural in the foyer. I vote dining room and design fully around it! It will look gorgeous through the cased opening from the living room too.
Hi Kristi. The mural is gorgeous!! Definitely you. It will be interesting to see where it ends up because both places seem perfect for it. Hope Matt, Cooper, and Felicity are doing okay. Give them all a hug from me. God bless. Linda
Where would the beautiful mural be enjoyed the most?
The mural would look beautiful in the dining room with your buffet, and everyone could enjoy looking at it while eating, relaxing, and visiting if they choose to. I love the colors and nature’s scenery. Hopefully objects will be minimal so as not to disrupt the view. Is the grasscloth in the entryway the same as you’ll be hanging in your foyer?
The entryway wall is just paint. 🙂
Beautiful mural! Something about it reads too “intimate” for the entry. The entry area doesn’t give one time to take it all in and appreciate it. (My own entry area is a place for dropping off things in order to get to the “real” parts of my home). The dining area is where family and friends gather, and I feel there would be a greater appreciation of it as a reflection of you. However, wherever you decide to use it, it will be gorgeous!
I immediately thought dining room! I can imagine it being so beautiful with the table and chandelier… But that would have to depend on the other things you want going on in that room. I would hate for you to redo the foyer since it is so beautiful and finished! Either way, it will be stunning, and you will love it. 🙂
Have you thought about just getting a couple of chairs to sit at the peninsula or a little bistro set? I don’t know what kind of space you have, but sitting at an island would be better than standing at one. Did you figure out a solution for Matt so he can sit in a chair instead of being in bed all day? If you did, is it working out well?
I don’t have room for a bistro set, but I could get chairs to pull up to my work table in the studio. I never did figure out a solution for Matt’s chair. We’re just out of room. I thought maybe the bedroom would work for at least a time, but I keep using that room to work in. And now I’m almost finished with the closet, so I’ll be working in there almost exclusively.
Entry gets my vote. I like how you’ll be able to view it from the seating area. Creates a BIG statement that I love for an entry.
I am with you, Kristi, either way it will be beautiful! I don’t know how you will decide for sure until you have completed or nearly completed both areas.
I love your entry as is. I also love how the kitchen/dining is framed by the doorway. My vote would be the I the new dining room to pull all those colors through to that new part of the house. Who knows, by the time you get to that part of the house some other option might open up! 😆
Hands down dining room. The tone will clash with the gorgeous painting over your fire place – but will complement if peeking out from a neighboring room.
I’m partial to the dining room. When you enter the dining room from the living room, it will be the wall you see. Since you enter the entry parallel to the mural, I think it would be less impactful. Another plus is that you would see your pink living room curtains and the mural at the same time in the dining room, which will highlight the color coordination. In the living room, you will have your back to the curtains when looking at the mural, so the color coordination is lost.
You have been my inspiration for some time now. Keep planning and thank you for sharing.
I think you are using too much furniture and decore in front of the mural. It will cover all of its beauty. To me, murals should have little to nothing in front of them.
I vote dining. It will look great either location, but I think the presence and view as you walk into the dining room will be awesome.