Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site

Main Page This family-friendly site celebrates Italian culture for the enjoyment of children and adults. Site-Overview

 


 

Bring Italy Inside Your Home with Wallpaper Murals, Tiles, Stencils

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Gardens

Prints

Decor

Modern

Italianate

Villas

 

Conservatory Mural

 

Lake Como Mural

 

Tuscan Scene Mural

 

Tuscan View from the dining room

 

This example and some of the others below are from another on-line seller, Leland's Wallpaper and Interiors.  This is the link to their murals catalogue.  This link is to their Classic Tuscan Series. 

 

 

Tuscan Arbor View available from Lelands and other suppliers.

 

 

Portofino off the dining room in the smaller 'chair-rail' partial mural size.  And here below in the full wall mural.

 

 

Loggia coming off the dining room

This wallpaper mural is, according to Amazon.com, the favorite on this page, and the favorite link on my entire site!  Some of you have even purchased it.  Good for you!  

 

 

 

Another option for Italy wall murals, one that offers more flexibility of size, is Murals Your Way.  Click on the link or banner to go to their on-line shop linked to this site, featuring their 150+ Italy murals.  I've a Gallery of some of their mural images below.

 Custom Size Wall Murals for Home or Office

 Take a stroll through Italy with a beauitful Italian Mural at Murals Your Way.com! Shop today!

 

These are some Partial-Wall Wallpaper Murals that you can find at either Lelands or USA Wallpaper, or at your local wallpaper specialist (usually more expensive).

 

Vineyard Scene

Vineyard View (note how it folds into the corner creating the illusion of greater space in the hallway)

 

 

Mediterranean View

 

 

Tuscan View

 

 

Tuscan Hills View

 

 

View of Vineyard Through Stone Arches

 Vineyard View Through Stone Arches (note that it folds into a corner nicely)

 

 

Tuscan View Through Stone Arches

Tuscan View Through Stone Arches (note the corner seems to fade away)

 

 

Another Tuscan View Through Stone Arches

 

 

Mediterranean View Through Stone Arches

Mediterranean View Through Stone Arches (note how here the corner makes it look like a type of bay window)

 

Here are links (these may change over time, so browse their site a bit if the link is not right) to some other partial-wall wallpaper murals from Lelands: Mediterranean View, Tuscan Scenic, Tuscan Hills.

 

Alcoves and niches are options for small effects that can carry a big decorative punch.  These two groups of three niches can be cut into three and applied separately, making them very economical.

 

Alcove Garden

 

Stone Wall Niche Garden

I put the above example up after cutting it into three, one alcove each section, one section each of three walls.  It looks beautiful and dries so tightly to the wall that it looks painted on

Update Note: The last time I checked the product is gone from their catalog, but that doesn't mean it won't come back.

 

 

  Tulip Niche and Pansy Niche and Hydrangea Niche

 

     

Bust Niche and an Angel Niche

 

Wine niches are very attractive when combined with a serving table before them, adding depth to a room.

Wine Niche

 

 

 

 

Here the mural of Lake Como has been cut to fit the stair landing.

 

Instead of a dado-rail, here they've used a wall effect mural to flatten out the slope, with the fields above.  Some wallpaper murals come with two parts, otherwise you can combine two.  See below for some wall effect wallpapers.

 

 

Wall Effects

You can use wall effect wallpaper to disguise a wall.  These can be especially nice used in combination with niche murals, or along stairs. 

And here are some of the many wall effect papers available via Amazon.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wine niche roll

 

 View of Tuscany through arches roll

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These tile murals are from the artist Linda Paul.  Her original artwork (also for sale, and prints) is digitally applied to the tiles, so the murals are available in many sizes.

 

Wine and Roses

 

The Vineyard

 

Sunflower Field

 

Tuscan Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fields of Tuscany

 

 

Sunset Over Tuscany

 

 

Tuscany Window

 

 

Everything Tuscany (there's a resting cook on the right)

 

 

Italian Still Life

 

 

  

Wine Country and The Olive Grove

   

 

Angelica Di Chiara Art on Tiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

IdeaStix Murals, adhesive mural for tiles and other surfaces, a simple alternative to retiling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These stencil examples come from on-line suppliers Stencil KingdomOther suppliers areStencil Planet, Stencil Ease, Stencil Library.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

Full-Wall Wallpaper Murals

Partial-Wall Wallpaper Murals

Stairway Murals

Wall Effects Murals

Self-Sticking Accents

Architectural Elements

Border Accent Rolls

Tile Murals and Backsplashes

Stencils

Murals Your Way - 150+ ITALY MURALS

 

 

 

[Note from Candida:  I feature some Internet shops here, but just use a search engine for 'wallpaper murals online store' and you'll find lots of sellers.  Search in your language to find shops in your area.]

 

 

 

If you can't get to Italy, bring Italy to you...

Anyone who loves Italy wants something around them to remind them of Italy's beauty.  Why not decorate your home to make you feel like you are in Italy?  Or at least to give the illusion that Italy is not so far away.

If you're an artist, you can attempt to paint a fresco on fresh plaster.  Or project a slide image on a wall and then draw the image and fill it with paint. 

But most of us are not that artistic, nor can we afford to hire our own 'Michelangelo' to paint something for us.  For us, there are three reliable solutions:

  • wallpaper murals, 
  • tile murals and backsplashes, and
  • stencils.

 

Full-Wall Wallpaper Murals

Wallpaper Murals are wallpaper that give the effect of murals or frescos.  They are ideal for:

  • making small rooms feel larger
  • giving the illusion of a window
  • adding decoration without taking up space
  • adding a central focus in a bland room
  • bringing the outside inside
  • adding the illusion of terraces, gardens, balconies off closed-in rooms.

 

 

You can cover a whole wall with a wallpaper mural.  The mural is created by hanging the wallpaper in numbered strips so that together, they create the mural image.  Then you place furniture in front of it like in the example below.  Click on either image to go to the seller's page. 

Note that some manufacturers make the murals in 8 panels twice as wide as the normal wallpaper roll, that are hung 4 above and 4 below.

 

 

The above example and many of the following are from the Creative Wallpapering site, an on-line wallpaper seller.  This is the link to their wall mural catalogue.  

All the wallpaper sellers on this page should give the manufacturer's catalogue information so you can take that and purchase them from a shop, too, but usually pay more.

 

 

Seven Panel Full-Wall Mural with Tuscan View

 

 

8 Panel Full-Wall Mural of Italian Garden

 

 

8 Panel Full-Wall Mural of Italian Columns

 

 

8 Panel Full-Wall Mural of Italian Terrace and Garden

 

 

8 Panel Full-Wall Mural of Italian Terrace with View

 

 

8 Panel Full-Wall Mural of Italian Terrace and Garden

 

I've hung the above three full-wall murals (purchased from USA Wallpaper), so I can offer some practical advice. 

  • Only hang them with the assistance of someone you know very well, and preferable with someone with whom you've overcome severe traumas.  Because after hanging these murals with a near-stranger, you will never speak to each other again.  It's very difficult. 
  • Trust that the bubbles really will disappear as the mural dries
  • Trust that it will be truly beautiful and unique when finished.

 

Partial-Wall Wallpaper Murals

To use partial wall wallpaper murals, you usually paint or wallpaper a wall the same color or a similar color as the border color on a wallpaper mural.  Or you paint the lower part of the wall so it appears to be a bay window wall.

 

 

Examples of partial wall murals are:

  • niche illusion, or 
  • window illusion, or
  • door to the outside illusion.  

Then you hang the wallpaper image on the wall in the position you want it.  It blends into the painted wall, creating the desired illusion.

Here are some examples,  left and right.  These types of window murals are especially nice as they can act to open up closed up rooms and hallways.

 

        

Tuscan View Through a Stone Window

 

 

Vineyard View Through a Stone Window

 

 

Tuscan Window

 

 

 

Window with a View of Venice  (Update Note: new link, to 'Window Murals' page.)

 

 

Open-Shuttered Window  (Update Note: new link, to 'Window Murals' page.)

 

These are window/door partial-wall wallpaper murals.  They too can open up closed areas of your house.

    

  

Door to the Lake, a Window on Venice

I can't find these in the original seller's catalog, so I've changed the link to another seller's 'Imaginative Accents' page and 'Window Murals' page. Have Fun!

Window on a Fountain

 

View through a Villa Window

 

You can also use murals to disguise doors.  Remember to blend the coloring in with the surrounding wall, just like when hanging other partial wall murals.

 

 

Lelands also offers wallpaper cutouts like these topiaries to flank a doorway and a swag for over the doorway.

 

 

 

Stair Murals

Stairs are tricky because unless you purchase a mural specifically for stairs (I've not yet seen any except in this image below, which I can't find at any seller), you have to cut the mural for the slope of the stairs, losing part of the mural.

 

 

To be honest, stairs are usually decorated with niche or window partial-wall wallpaper murals, so this is a continuation of the previous section.

 

Window wallpaper murals make it look like you get peeks at Italian views through stone windows as you climb the stairs.  This avoids the problem of the stair slope completely.

 

Here they've solved the problem of the stair slope by adding a dado-rail to flatten it out, and then applied the mural without having to cut it to fit.

 

Self-Sticking Accents

These wallpaper cutouts are self-sticking, vinyl coated, and generally come in packs of 25.  They stick to walls, wood, painted surfaces... 

Here are some available via Amazon.com, usually at a price discount.

 

Architectural Elements

Wallpaper cutouts of columns allow you to create columns of any height.  You can flank doorways, for example, and trim the central piece (or pieces if the wall is very tall) to the correct height for the column with top and bottom to reach from floor to ceiling.

 

 

                     

            

 

I had links here to the column tops and bottoms available from Lelands Discount Wallpaper via Amazon.com, but they seem to no longer offer them (?!) and only offer the column itself.

So here is a link to Lelands's site where you can find other columns and all sorts of accent murals and stencils.

There are also murals and boarder rolls of pedestals, engravings and architectural elements

 

Border Accent Rolls

There are also wallpaper mural border/accent rolls available.  All are roughly 9 inches high, 25 feet long, and priced between 11-18$.

 

Roll with a beam with a grape/fruit vine on it (my favorite), you can create the illusion of ceiling beams.

 

 

  

Topiary border roll, and a Grape border roll

 

 

Tile Murals and Back-splashes

Tile murals can be applied to walls throughout the home:

  • in kitchens as back-splashes around counters,
  • in bathrooms as shower and bath walls
  • in entranceways,
  • in any room where you'd like to add a colorful, unique feature.

Many of the examples I show here come from artist Linda Paul, produced in her Colorado studio.   Ms. Paul's beautiful original artwork (also for sale, and prints) is used for many of the tile designs.  I show a wide selection of her designs in the left column.

Linda has over 30+ images of kitchen backsplashes installed by her happy customers for you to enjoy and be inspired by.

 

 

Some classical bathroom helpers

 

The above tile mural and others are available from 407 Creations, Inc., on Facebook, and at My Backsplash.  Check out their wide selection from an extensive list of artist.  They are the grand-daddy of on-line tile back-splash and mural shops, with years of experience.

 

 

Watery Venice in a water-closet (someone has a sense of humor)

 

Venetian view (on glass)

 

A village scene under the cap, which looks like the roof of the home depicted

 

  

 

Pepper Pail and Peppers

 

A Pepper Pail spilling out

 

A Tuscany Window behind your stovetop

 

 

 

These tile murals (and more) are made from the artwork of Italian artist, transplanted to the U.S., Angelica Di Chiara.  Visit her website or see her art at this established on-line tile company for more information.  (The tile company has lots of inspiring images of tile murals installed in satisfied customer's homes.)

 

 

 

 

Here are some special new items for if you:

  • can't afford real tile-murals (they are EXPENSIVE),
  • or don't want to fuss with tiling,
  • or live in rented accommodation.

You can use a new product called Idea Stix Murals.  These are adhesives that stick to tiles to form the mural.  They are resistant to heat, steam and water, according to the manufacturer.  You can also remove them completely, with a solvent, I'm guessing.

  • Murals are sized for standard 4-1/4” tiles.
  • The 12 pieces cover 12 tiles of 4-1/4”.

Here's the link to the selection available from Leland's Discount Wallpaper.  And this is the link to the selection at USA Wallpaper.  They also have light-switch covers and other stickers.

Here are a few of the ones they offer (left and right columns).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stencils

Stencils can be used to paint decorative elements onto the walls of a room.  They're ideal for:

  • adding whimsical elements to a room design
  • adding decoration without taking up space
  • adding architectural elements through illusion
  • adding patterns without hanging wallpaper.

Stencils are a bit fussy to work with.  You spray a temporary adhesive to the back of the stencil, then apply the stencil to the wall.  Then you use a brush, or roller, or rag to apply the paint. 

The key is to use as little paint as possible to fill the stencil holes.  If you apply too much paint, it seeps under the stencil, or runs down the wall, ruining the stencil image. 

Two points in favor of stencils:

  • You can always paint out your mistakes and try again. 
  • And unlike wallpaper, you can reuse the stencil as many times as you'd like.

There's is a new product that makes the stencil effect simpler to achieve.  It's called Instant Stencil and is a rub-on transfer that can go onto all sorts of surfaces. 

You can read more about it at the Leland's Discount Wallpaper site, and see what they have on offer.  Or you can visit the USA Wallpaper site for their selection and instructions on how to apply them.

I've put several Italian-related stencil designs in the left column, and below.  They link through to suppliers who ship worldwide.  Here are some stencils and advice about stenciling available from Amazon.com.

 

 

 

 

These Stencil Ease murals are actually made up of several smaller stencils that can be used over and over again.  Just click on an image or the banner to go to their site for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murals Your Way

These beautiful prints by various artists are available in various sizes to hang as wall murals in your home, from the on-line company Murals Your Way

They have lots of images and sizes to choose from, and they even let you provide your own image to make into a wallpaper mural.

The Italy art/painting murals give the illusion of a painted wall mural, which is beautiful. 

The photo murals are starker, probably better suited to an office environment or to accompany a modern decorated room.

 Take a stroll through Italy with a beauitful Italian Mural at Murals Your Way.com! Shop today!

 Murals Your Way- Over 5000 Images

 

 

Some Murals from the Italian Coast Category at Murals Your Way

 

 
Italian Splendor Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 
Costa Del Sol Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 
Floral Patio II Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 

Some Murals from the Tuscan Category at Murals Your Way

 

 
Tuscan Villa Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 
Tuscany Morning Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 
Vino Al Fresco Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 
Montalcino Cafe Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

Some Murals from the Venice Category at Murals Your Way

 

 
Venetian Boats 1 Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 
Venetian Boats 2 Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

 
Venetian Dreams Wall Mural

from: Murals Your Way

 

 

Or try the Murals from the Misc/Other Italian Murals Category at Murals Your Way

 

 

 Murals Your Way- Over 5000 Images