Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Installing a Wall Mural to Dress Up a Desk Area


A special thanks to  this post's sponsor, Rebel Walls. A huge thanks for collaborating with me on this project ♡.

Last summer I redecorated my daughter's room with items I had collected for this space for almost a year. I'm in love with the transformation (see that post HERE) but what I didn't love was her desk area. It was all work and no fun. In other words, that area of her room had zero style whatsoever. I know the walls needed some dressing up and my initial thought was to add shelving  but I felt that doing so would make the space look even more messy. I could already imagine all the crap that would end up on those shelves creating a bigger eyesore than it already was. Plus, my daughter has other places in her room to store all her things that will keep them out of sight. With all the wires and screens all around, I needed this wall space to be more "beautiful" and less "utilitarian".






So if I wasn't going to add shelves, I was going to add art BUT then I started thinking that MORE rectangles in combination with all the right angles of the computer screen and desk would look super "grid-y" and messy so I thought maybe I should add just one REALLY BIG piece of art, or maybe even a...wall mural!? Although I've always been a fan of wall murals I was kind of scared about the process of adding one to a wall. I mean, when I think of wall murals I think of an extremely difficult and painstaking process of getting them on the walls. Maybe because murals are usually painted on..? I don't know, but I was definitely intimidated by the idea of it all. I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on my wall mural idea and just hope for the best!

I've been following Rebel Walls on Instagram for a while now and I already knew they were the perfect place to look for wall murals since I was already familiar with their inventory -some really beautiful patterns! I came across a mural they named "Jungle Land" and I immediately fell in love with it's landscape. Since my daughter loves nature and animals, I knew she would love this wallpaper!

image via Rebel Walls

Like most wallpapers that Rebel Walls offers, "Jungle Land" came in a few different color options and the sizes are completely customize-able to exactly what you need. You can also position and flip the image on your chosen wallpaper so you have the design lay out exactly how you want it to look like once it's up on the walls.

see additional wall murals HERE

After I ordered the mural in the size I wanted, I received my order in about 3 days and immediately started to get my daughter's room ready for installation the day after I received it.




Now that I've put up the wallpaper I gotta say it was pretty darn easy! Especially for someone prone to making mistakes like me. One thing that really helped was that Rebel Walls numbers all the pieces of wallpaper you will be using so you know exactly in what order to hang each strip. All you really have to do is roll some glue on the walls (which Rebel Walls sends you) and hang your strips up making sure you line up each image perfectly which is a cinch. A couple of tips if you decide you want to hang up some cool wallpaper:

Make sure your first panel is straight by making a plumb line.

Distribute an even amount of glue on the walls by using a paint roller. In the parts where I put a heavier amount of glue on the walls, it looked like the glue had soaked through the paper a little, especially in the white part of the wallpaper.  Fortunately after 24 hours the glue completely dried and the wallpaper looked perfect.

Make slits and cuts in the excess part of the wallpaper to smooth over corners and switch plates. Also don't forget to turn off the power, I almost electrocuted myself because I didn't! 😖


Rebel Walls provide great directions on their website. You can find that HERE.

To really finish off this area of my daughter's room I added two hanging pendants and a few accessories. The pendants are a couple of solar lights that I was going to use for another project but ended up just using the shades for this room. They're not hardwired yet due to us social distancing but as soon as we can we'll get an electrician to come in and get those lights to be functional.

Hanging up this beautiful wall mural was 100 times easier than what I thought it would be! It's crazy how just ONE wall mural changed the whole look of this work space. I am 100% certain that I made the right choice in adding this wall mural to this space instead of the shelves or framed art. After just a few hours I had totally transformed my daughter's room. Talk about instant gratification!

pendants can be found HERE



affordable two-person desk can be found HERE







I am extremely happy with the quality of this wallpaper and the ease of installing it. This will definitely not be the last time I use Rebel Walls. I encourage you to not be intimidated by the process, especially if it's just one wall! Like you can see, even one wall makes a huge impact!

Thanks for checking out my post! Be sure to subcribe before you leave so you get updates on when my posts go live :)

'Till next time!
Oscar



8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you! Glad you didn't see any marijuana plants in this one!

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Sis! I'm thinking you could use something like this in your place :)

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  3. The difference is AMAZING. I love your home. Your eye for design is traditional enough to make me comfortable but quirky enough to satisfy my wild side. You're the best!

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    1. Thank you, Alex! What an awesome compliment. That's exactly my aesthetic and what I try to achieve in every room 🥰

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  4. I liked the stencil but I have to say I really like the new paint color and the mural better. Hope your daughter loves it. Great work!

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    1. oh Lort remember the stencil drama!? You're right though, in the end it all turned out better :) Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on here!

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