Wall murals from around the world

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Wall murals, frescos, urban art, graffiti; whatever you want to call it, wall art is a fantastic and very easy and effective way of transforming a wall from dull and boring to exciting and dynamic. This week we thought we'd take a look at our five favourite wall murals from around the world.

Here at Wallpaper Ink we love a good bit of wall art. Why keep a design to yourself and hide it away in a tiny little scrapbook when you can display it proudly on a wall for all to see? And that doesn't just go for indoors either. While hanging some photo wallpaper on your wall looks great and can really bring your rooms to life, why stop there? Why not think bigger, bolder, more adventurously?*

*Within the law, obviously. Please don't go spray-painting your neighbour's front porch saying, "Wallpaper Ink told me to be more adventurous!"

So we've decided to share with you our top five favourite wall murals, frescos, and graffiti from around the world to give you some design inspiration.

1. "Little Children on a Bicycle" - Ernest Zacharevic

Artist Ernest Zacharevic painted a series of charming graffiti designs on the streets of George Town on Penang Island in Malaysia as part of the George Town Festival in 2012. Rather than sticking to the traditional wall art style, Ernest decided to incorporate his surroundings into each design. He included objects like old bicycles and motorcycles and created some brilliant 3D effect installations. People across the town were offering up their walls for him to paint on. Although the paintings were never named, the picture simply known as 'little children on a bicycle' is our favourite.

2. Tree Mural, Berlin - CitéCréation

French design company CitéCréation have put in an application with the Guinness Book of Records in the hope that this impressive mural painted on a block of flats in Berlin will be credited as the largest outdoor mural in the world.

Covering over 20,000 square metres of wall and almost spanning across an entire street in the city, this wall mural was apparently inspired by the local zoo. It features a variety of birds and other animals, including a vivid painting of a bear on the wall down one of the side streets.

CitéCréation have created almost six hundred of these giant murals, dubbed 'monumental frescoes', in different cities across the world, but this one, simply for its sheer size, has to be our favourite.

3. "You Are The Star" - Tom Suriya

This aptly-named wall mural painted by artist Tom Suriya shows a traditional Hollywood theatre from the perspective of the stage. With the audience facing the street and the spotlight shining, each passer-by is turned into the star of the show. What's even more impressive is that each member of the audience is a famous Hollywood star themselves. The painting includes major names such as Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, and Humphrey Bogart, and it even sees the much-loved Fred and Ginger dancing in the aisle. This witty and whimsical wall mural provides an interesting twist, and makes for a really entertaining design.

4. "Mana Nalu" - John Pugh

This mural painted by artist John Pugh is undeniably impressive. It features Queen Lili'uokalani, the last Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, pictured in a giant wave about to crash down onto the streets of Honolulu. But that's not why it's on this list. Try looking a little more closely.

That's a flat wall.

I didn't believe it either, but I promise you it is. John Pugh specialises in 3D wall murals, and spends months at a time planning and creating each design to make it perfect. This one in particular was so convincing that a passing crew of firemen found themselves pulling over and running towards the building in order to save the children from being swept away. According to Pugh "they jumped out to rescue the children in the mural. They got about 15 feet away and then doubled over laughing when they realised what it was."

Pugh has a range of brilliant 3D murals in cities around the world, but this one - even if just for the story about the firemen - has to be our favourite.

5. Long 3D murals - Eric Grohe

Artist Eric Grohe is another who works with 3D paintings, and this huge Niagra Falls wall mural painted on the side of a shopping centre in New York certainly doesn't disappoint.

None of the people you see are real; they've all been painted on, as have the archways, the trees, and also the waterfall. Grohe managed to transform what was once a dull, ugly concrete wall into a fantastic 3D mural full of life and character that helps brighten up the day for shoppers all over New York.

Grohe has a whole host of murals to his name, each of them painted with exceptional detail, and all utilising the power of 3D illusion.

And they're all far nicer to look at than a concrete wall!

So there you have it. Our five favourite wall murals from around the world. Let us know which one was your favourite, or if you think we've missed one out, let us know and we'll revisit this in the new year with a post full of your suggestions.

Insulating Wallpaper: Does It Work?

Can you really make your home warmer this winter just by redecorating? We take a look at a few interior design tips and tricks to keep old Jack Frost at bay this winter.

Okay. We've held off for long enough now. I think it's about time we all sat down and admitted it. IT IS FREEZING!

Yes winter has most definitely set in, and apparently this is only the beginning. Temperatures are dropping very quickly, and most of the forecasts are telling us it's going to get a lot worse, with the Daily Express claiming that Britain could see heavy snowfall until May!

So with the knowledge that we're all going to be trapped in our houses until the summer, I thought I'd look into a few ways to warm up your home without spending thousands on expensive and time-consuming jobs like having cavity wall or loft insulation installed. There are a few things on the market, like thermal lining paper, which claims to help your room heat up quicker and reduce the heat let out through the walls. You can also buy insulating paint, which claims to do much the same thing, but do they actually work?

Thermal Lining Paper

Also known as insulating wallpaper, thermal lining paper is a thick sheet made up of thousands of tiny interwoven fibres that help to insulate your walls. Up to 35% of the heat lost from your home goes through the walls, so cutting this down will seriously help to keep you warm and your bills low. Whereas traditional internal wall insulation is around 100mm thick, which greatly reduces the overall room size, thermal lining paper is only 3-4mm. It's still thicker and more effective than standard wallpaper, but it doesn't impact on room size. It's a lot cheaper too. It's available for around £10 per roll, as opposed to having to shell out closer to £1000 for internal wall insulation.

But does it actually keep you warm? Chris Herring from the Green Building Store doesn't seem to think so. In an article with the Daily Telegraph online, he talked about some of the projects he and his company are currently working on that are looking to create homes that are so well insulated that they need no heating at all. “We have installed 300mm of insulation to the internal walls, so it puts 4mm into perspective.” He doesn't completely rule it out however, and many reviewers online have reported an increase in room temperature, as well as an improvement in heat retention once the heating had been turned off.

It's a difficult one to call. Without actually testing it myself, I don't think I can be confident in saying it definitely works, but there are plenty of positive reviews out there, and at that price I don't think it'll hurt to try.

Insulating Paint

You can either buy it in powder form, which you mix into standard emulsion paint, or you can buy branded thermal insulating paint. My advice? Don't do either.

The technology is sound. Originally developed by NASA (with many of its secrets still kept tightly under lock and key), the science behind the paint works. The molecules are packed more tightly together and it creates a thermal barrier which helps to keep heat inside the room, but I just can't see how a layer than thin can make any difference.

Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer as to whether it works or not. There aren't enough reviews to really sway me in either direction and there are too many rival products on the market making outrageous claims to be able to pin down some reliable figures. There are various forums across the internet looking into how effective if at all thermal paint is, and the general consensus is that while it does slightly improve the heat retention in your home, the savings are nowhere near big enough to warrant the time, money, and effort spent on redecorating.

Tapestries and Wall Hangings

Similar to the thermal lining paper, but a lot more stylish, wall hangings seem to be making a bit of a comeback. Normally the word "tapestry" makes you think of ancient stories woven into what looks like a giant blanket and hung in a grand, stately home. Nowadays however there are plenty of modern designers using tapestries and wall hangings with amazing effect.

Now the science doesn't really stand up. Whereas the paper and the paint were designed to keep you warm, the wall hangings won't improve things drastically. However what they will do is make a room seem warmer, and as you won't be able to feel the cold of the wall through the fabric you may actually feel warmer yourself. Plus they look amazing.

Curtains

Now most of you will already have curtains around the house, but not many of you will know just how good they are at keeping out the cold. A standard pair of single-lined lace curtains isn't really going to help things, but a good quality pair of double-lined, or even thermal-lined blackout curtains will do wonders for your room. More heat is lost through doors and windows than from any other part of the house apart from the roof (but I'm not sure putting curtains in the attic is really worth it), so covering them up with a good pair of thick curtains will help keep out the cold and keep your bills at a minimum.

You don't even have to splash out on an expensive pair on the high street. Simply take a few old pairs that you don't like or don't use any more and sew them to the back of each other. That way you have a pair of double-lined curtains without even leaving the house.

One Last Way To Keep Warm

So the thermal lining paper seems the most cost-effective solution, but I'd have to go with curtains as being my top tip for keeping warm this winter. But while taking measures like this will help reduce your bills, not everyone has the time or money to be able to do them, not to mention the fact that you may not want to redecorate! So what other step can you take to keep you and your family warm in the winter time?

Don't worry. There is a guaranteed way to keep yourself warm at this time of year. One that is all too often overlooked. You don't have to redecorate, you don't have to spend a lot of money, and if you have a generous aunt with a penchant for knitting, you may not need to do anything at all. But what is this wonderful, magical thing that is guaranteed to add warmth and comfort to any home this Christmas? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...

...THE CHRISTMAS JUMPER!

How We Make Your Wallpaper

Take a look at the inner workings of WallpaperInk and learn a bit more about how your photo wallpaper is made. This week we teamed up with Jean-Pierre's Bistro in Ramsey.

I've talked a lot on this blog about other people and other things, and we've had some great feedback from you over the last few weeks. It's not been going very long (it's my one month anniversary today...hooray!), but we've been through a huge range of topics. We've talked about the magnetic wallpaper featured on Channel 4's Gadget Man, we've looked at some beautiful Autumnal designs, and we've even looked at how you can wallpaper your stairs.

So I've decided as a bit of a birthday treat to let you see the inner belly of WallpaperInk, and have a look at exactly what it is we do.

We recently worked with Jean PIerre's Bistro in Ramsey on the Isle of Man. They're due to open in December, having renovated an old post office building. They're completely redecorating the whole place and I must say when it's finished it's going to look beautiful.

And we've had the pleasure of working with them designing their walls. With the grand opening not far away, they wanted something bold and inviting to really stand out. They're going for a brilliant tiled pattern all around the main restaurant, with each tile showing a different image. They came up with some fabulous designs, with a chic, French theme running throughout.

We don't simply choose an image and click print. Each image has to be cropped and resized in order for it to print in the same high quality you would expect. We make every effort to ensure each design is as clear and crisp as it can be. Every order is printed using a high-quality large format printer, and each print is carefully checked as it is printing to make sure there are no marks, ink blots, or tears.

Jean-Pierre's included some delicious food and drink dishes to be displayed all around the main bar and dining areas, which are almost definitely going to make your mouth water before you've even sat down. They've also introduced some local culture into their design with some of the tiles showing famous landmarks like Glen Maye and the Laxey Wheel, and they even have a tile of the Manx flag.

And if that's not enough, they even made sure to include a set of Christmas themed tiles to really get everyone in the festive mood.

Once a design is printed and has been left to dry, it is measured by hand to make sure it has the correct dimensions. The blank edges are then cut away leaving only your print. Each order is printed as standard with a small bleed on every side. This is to allow you to overlap the drops and cut away the excess, leaving you with a millimetre perfect wall design. Once everything is cut, the wallpaper is then carefully bubble-wrapped, rolled, and packaged, ready to be shipped off.

We really hope the team at Jean-Pierre's love their designs as much as we do. Hopefully we'll be able to bring you a few snaps of the opening night in a few weeks' time so we can show off the finished product. We'd like to wish them every success for the future, so from all of us here at WallpaperInk...

BONNE CHANCE!

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