A mural is a really unusual way of adding some interest in your home. A mural can take the form of a decorative repeated pattern or large scene or picture. They can come in practically any material and can therefore be made to fit any type or style of room. A tiled mural will really add drama to a bathroom or kitchen whereas a floral pattern on wallpaper could be used anywhere else in the home. Below are descriptions and uses of the most popular types of mural used in home decorating.

The first and probably most obvious mural is a painted one. A beautiful wall painting of a country or classical figure scene is a really opulent way to create a dining room feature wall. This is probably not a DIY task you would take on yourself and is amongst the more expensive mural options. Using a local artist will help save some money but remember to enquire over a rough time scale as some disruption will be caused if it is a room used regularly by you or your family.

Painted murals are also perfect for children's bedrooms as they allow complete freedom for them to choose what they would like. Cartoon characters are much easier to paint than classical scenes so save money by employing a student from the local art college. If it is a more abstract mural you want then why not involve your children- I guarantee they are going to paint on your walls at some stage so including a “graffiti” wall where they are allowed to express their inner artist is probably a wise idea. Tie in the wall by purchasing a cheap roller blind and painting it to match.

Tiles are a really apt medium for creating murals as they are extremely versatile and varied. You can either by some large cheap coloured tiles and break them down with pliers to the shapes you require or simply buy a collection of mosaic tiles which, because of their small size, are really good for building up pictures. Pointillism the best style to work in with mosaics, this is where dots rather than lines are used to build a picture. Do not worry if it looks a little haphazard up close as all will be revealed the further back that you stand. Mosaic murals are perfect for kitchen splash-backs (where a simple, repeated linear pattern will do fine), kitchen floors, bathroom floors and walls or in a Moroccan style living room.

Most people forget that a mural can also come in the form of wallpaper. The brilliance of using wallpaper is the huge amount of choice, the relative affordability and the ease at which it goes up. Besides the many patterns available in shops, specialist internet companies can now have any picture you like made up into rolls of wallpaper, so you can have holiday snaps as a feature in a bedroom. Wallpaper is very versatile and can be used to create just a feature wall or pattern a whole room. Small border wallpapers can also be used to discretely tie a scheme together.

Discount fabric also offers a nifty way to create a luxurious mural that will appear to have cost the earth if you mount it onto mdf boards and create a series of wall hangings.