Project: The Temporary Mural

We rent.  Do you know how hard it is for a muralist to live in a rented apartment?  And not just a rental, a historically protected rental where residents are forbidden to do anything to the precious walls.  So I must make do when I want to decorate with something other than a hanging picture.  My solution?  Things that are sticky.  Yup. Sticky things that can be cut into various shapes solve all kinds of decorating dilemmas.  Case in point: we have a large wall that once displayed a number of black and white photos in black frames of various shapes and sizes.  The wall looked great but after four years of the same old thing I grew tired of it and had to make a change.  So the frames came down, holes were spackled and scuffs were cleaned.  I was left with a big, blank, white wall.  My painting hand was quivering with the possibilities but I didn’t want management coming after me in my sleep.  The wall stayed blank for a month and a half until I finally decided on the solution.  Here is what I did:

Temporary wall mural using contact paper.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• contact paper. I wanted a matte gray paper but couldn’t find it so I settled on a faux black leather. (Make sure it’s thin, adhesive paper – NOT squishy drawer liner contact paper)
• scissors
• level / yardstick
• your inspiration; mine was a lyric from an Ingrid Michaelson song that is beautiful and oh so true.

Let’s get going.

Step one, cut a long, thin strip of contact paper and stick it to the wall you want to use.  If it stays adhered to the wall (no peeling or bubbling) then you are in good shape and you can proceed.  The first paper I tried was too thin and wasn’t sticky enough and peeled from the wall within minutes.

Step Two, trace your letters or design on the wrong side of the contact paper.  MAKE SURE YOU WRITE THE LETTERS/DESIGN SO THEY ARE THE MIRROR IMAGE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE ON THE WALL.  Otherwise you will need a mirror to read your message or see your design.  Be aware of the size, I wanted the words to make an impact and I had a huge space to work with.  Plan accordingly.

Trace the mirror image of letters on wrong side of contact paper

Step Three, cut out the letters.  (Not much to this step.)

carefully cut out letters

Step Four, prepare your wall with the level and the yardstick.  There are probably other ways to tackle this step but I work with what I have in front of me and what I had in front of me were: yardstick, short level, scrap contact paper.  Why get out more tools if you can improvise?  First, use the level to make sure that the yardstick is…level.  Tape the yardstick to the wall using the extra strips of contact paper.  Boom.  You can start applying your letters and they will be straight and even. Move the yardstick as you go, leveling each time.

Tape your leveled yardstick to the wall with excess contact paper

Step Five, step back and admire your work.  I told you this one was easy.  When you get tired of the temporary mural peel it off the wall and start all over again with something new and different.

step back and assess your work - is everything straight? Yes? You're done!

I used a closet door as my guide

TIP: if you use metallic contact paper be VERY CAREFUL when cutting and peeling.  Metallics show every flaw and bump…not very attractive.  Be aware of your textures and finishes before you get too far into the process.