Murals as Architecture and Art
When people ask me about murals, I usually start with something simple.
Murals are one of the oldest ways humans have ever told stories. Long before written language, people were carving and painting walls. Those images helped explain the world around them—what people believed, what they valued, and how they lived.
Mural | Liz Mann Design | Kerry Kirk Photography
In many ways, murals still carry that same spirit today. When they’re done thoughtfully, they don’t just decorate a wall. They actually become part of the architecture of a room. They influence how a space feels the moment you walk in.
Every Mural Begins with the Room
Before we ever start talking about imagery, we spend time understanding the room itself.
Mural | Melanie Austin Interiors | Kerry Kirk Photography
How tall are the ceilings?
Where does the natural light come from?
What do you see first when you walk in?
Mural | Carrie Evans Design | Kerry Kirk Photography
Scale is one of the most important parts. If a mural ignores proportion, even a beautiful painting can feel out of place. But when the scale and movement work with the architecture, it begins to feel like the mural was always meant to be there.
The First Conversations
Some of my favorite parts of the process are those early conversations with clients. Murals are so personal, and I love learning about the places, memories, and landscapes that bring them joy.
Mural | Melanie Austin Interiors | Kerry Kirk Photography
Sometimes it’s a landscape - water, trees, or something with a soft horizon that gives the room a sense of depth.
Plaster, Mural | Patti Hemingway Interiors | Kerry Kirk Photography
Other times they’re drawn to something more romantic, like a Chinoiserie-inspired garden with branches and birds moving across the walls.
Mural | Ginger Barber Interior Design | Kerry Kirk Photography
Sometimes it’s a place you’ve loved. Other times it’s simply a feeling - softness, escape, stillness, movement.
Mural | Creative Tonic | Julie Soefer Photography
Those early conversations help us understand not just what someone is drawn to visually, but the kind of atmosphere they want to live with. In this case, the mural became a quiet tribute to the homeowner’s alma mater, the University of Mississippi, with small references woven into the landscape.
From Idea to Sketch
Once we’ve talked through the concept, we begin developing sketches.
These are hand-drawn renderings that help everyone visualize how the mural will move across the walls. They’re loose and exploratory, but they start to show the rhythm of the branches, landscape, or architecture within the scene.
Bringing the Mural to Life
After the concept is established, we create a sample board to explore the palette, the softness of the painting, and how the colors will layer together.
Once everything feels right, the mural is painted directly on the wall. This is always my favorite part. Because every mural is painted entirely by hand, no two are ever the same and each one can be personalized. For this client, we quietly painted their children playing within the scene and wove a few special phrases into the landscape for the family to discover over time.
Mural | Kristal Michelle Design | Kerry Kirk Photography
A Mural is Experienced, Not Observed
Unlike a framed piece of art, a mural does not sit apart from you.
Mural | Leslie Strauss Interiors | Frankel Design Build | Julie Soefer Photography
You don’t just look at it—you live inside it. As you move through the room, the perspective changes and the light shifts across the surface. Over time, people begin to notice details they didn’t see at first.
Venetian Plaster, Gold Leaf on Trim, Mural | Patrick Bertolino
That’s part of what makes murals so special. They create an atmosphere that becomes part of everyday life. This is what gives murals their emotional weight. They are not accessories. They are extensions of the people and places they belong to.
Gold Leafing, Mural | Wade Blissard Photography
Its impact is immersive rather than surface driven. You aren’t responding to finish alone, but to the scene, the atmosphere, and the story unfolding around you. The most powerful murals unfold slowly, setting an emotional current you feel before you can name it—shaping how a room is experienced and lived within.
The Final Layer
Many of the homes we work in are already beautifully designed by the time we arrive. The furnishings are in place, the architecture is strong, and the palette has been thoughtfully developed.
Gold Leafing, Mural | Claudia Lumis Interiors | Laurey Glenn Photography
And still, something is missing. A mural can become that final layer—the element that gives the space personality and story. It anchors the room in a way that feels personal and lasting.
Mural | Julie Dodson Interiors | Julie Soefer Photography
Murals have existed for thousands of years, and I think that’s part of their magic. They’re not trends. They’re simply one of the oldest ways people have shaped the spaces they live in.
Mural | Glass Cooper Interiors | Wade Blissard Photography
And when they’re done well, they don’t just decorate a wall.
They give the room a voice.
