The coolest thing about my new place is that the landlord has agreed to me putting up my own wall mural. I found an amazing company that can print custom designer wallpaper. You are the most perfect creative beast. Since getting hold of this company, I’ve been able to recapture a piece of my Dad’s creative history by having my own take on forest wallpaper using a design he did eleven years ago. It features painterly, rich green monstera leaves on a faint sky background. I love it.
My father was something of an artist and he taught me a lot about how much a great wall can change the way you feel about a space. In the last place I lived in, the rules about what could and couldn’t go on the walls were extremely relaxed. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that the walls were more holes than surface area, but I guess fewer boundaries make for greater freedoms. I had old pictures from ceiling to floor.
Dad wasn’t afraid to look at a white wall as an objective growing up; I remember him saying that white walls were for nursing homes. As kids, every wall was a mural, and at one point, even the ceilings weren’t safe from his vintage wallpaper. My mum made him paint it over though; she said that stairs leading into clouds caused a feeling of chaos and compromised with dad that he’d stick with the walls and repaint them if he started running out of space.
I missed the feeling seeing a new wall mural in our home, and I think this is probably why I love being surrounded by art. I can’t wait for Mum and Dad to check out my new place and see his art on my walls in this way. It’s probably the best compliment I could give him, and a way to say thanks for showing me how to appreciate the value of living alongside a great image.