Window blinds provide a valuable service to the interior of a home or apartment. They keep the sun out, which helps keep air conditioning bills way down. They keep prying eyes out of where they don't belong. They can keep you from having to look at non good looking neighbors lounging (loudly) by the pool. Window blinds are a fairly all-purpose window accessory.

The big negative to window blinds is that they are about as bland as bland can be. While you have insulated your interior from a host of problems, you are stuck at looking at white or gray blinds. In a way, colorless blinds of that nature pretty much can make someone feel like they are living in a fully furnished suite at the local mental asylum. Fairly depressing environment. A window blind mural can really spice up such a dreary room.

A window blind mural can really add a spark to a room. It can take a white or gray prison issue window blind and make it come alive with a variety of designs, drawing, caricatures. Even a 3-D wallpaper mural of Bert and Ernie would look better than a gray or white window blind.

What window blind mural models are currently available on the market? There aren't actually vary many varieties, as these blinds are rather rare and hard to find. One rather popular model is the dolphin window blind mural. Rather than applying this to a set of blinds, it is actually a set of blinds that comes with the mural on it. The color scheme includes glowing, sparkling blue hues and whites. In the presence of light, the blue on these shades will give off a soft glow. This window blind mural usually sells for around $130 ? and can be purchase from a number of dealers over BizRate.

Most major cities have a tremendous urban movement of artistic expression in the form of murals. Murals can be found on a number of walls in major cities, usually in the vicinity of a school. For example, Hollywood High School has a gigantic mural of famous actors of yesteryear such as Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley (he made movies too, remember) and Marilyn Monroe. When seeing something that grandiose in scope, it is hard to imagine a small wall featuring a mural.

Actually, there are murals that can be scaled down to a size that would allow them to be featured on the interior of a residential home. No, no one is going to come in and paint a mural, although that is certainly possible, but it would be laborious process that could take several weeks. The cost of such a custom job would be prohibitive. So how does one have a mural placed inside their home? By utilizing a wallpaper mural.

A wallpaper mural is exactly what it sounds like: it is wall art that is not painted, but it is placed upon the wall by using wallpaper. Now, the variety of murals that a wallpaper mural can provide is basically limitless. The wildest one that has been sold is based on the movie Scarface. If you watch the seen where Al Pacino shoots Robert Loggia, you'll notice a wallpaper mural of a beach in the background. Yes, that particular mural has been mass produced!

Granted, you don't have to have a wallpaper mural that weird placed in your home, but you can get a variety of scenic or creative designs, If you are looking at a new spin on interior design, a mural may be the unique wallpaper gimmick that can provide that new spin.

Wall paper murals are the ultimate way to add a touch of color to your house without the drab repetition of wallpaper, but without the hard work that accompanies tile murals and stenciling. And wall paper murals can go anywhere in your home.

A Disney themed wallpaper mural might be perfect for that new nursery you're adding; or if you want to give a touch of the exotic to your kitchen, consider a mural that looks out onto a beautiful Hawaiian shoreline, or one that imitates the look of a wilderland cabin with a deep forest vista.

Wallpaper murals are easy to put up, and they look good without fading for years. Prices vary, and competitors often stock the same wallpaper murals, or similar themes, so shop around before you make a final decision. There are a few locations where you can pick up a wallpaper mural. I suggest USA Wallpaper.

Their brick and mortar showroom is located in Sandusky, Ohio, open six days a week from ten to six, and their website is regularly tested to withstand outside intrusion?always a plus, given recent concerns about identity theft. I purchased one of their wallpaper mural maps, and love it. Prices tend to hover around $440.

Totally Custom Wallpaper also offers a wide variety of wallpaper murals and custom wallpaper designs. Their wall mural designs are all customized works of love, designed specially for each individual customer, and prices depend greatly on what you want. They do beautiful work, and can truly make your house feel like home. For more information, contact them at info@totallycustomwallpaper.com.

Finally, there is Murals Your Way, which boasts a gorgeous gallery of five thousand plus preselected images, all available in custom sizes, available for both commercial establishments and homes alike. Their wall paper murals cost $7.95 per square foot.

Wall murals are more than just mere 'window dressing' to make the walls of a room stand out. Granted wall murals provide a tremendous boost to the interior décor of a room. Considering that the sky is the limit to the various designs and images that can be recreated on wall murals, the room itself gains defacto limitless potential to be more than just a mere room.

Sometimes, only a few minor, subtle changes are all that are required in ordered to greatly enhance a room. For instance, painting the walls with a light blue ? rather than a red ? can make you feel more comfortable and allow you to focus. Depending upon the type of mural one opts to purchase or make, the changes can be either small in scope or large; or the changes could be gaudy or more refined.

Now, besides the physical changes wall murals provide to a room, there are psychological advantages to having the murals present. That is, if one wants to get the mood of a room changed to a more upbeat environment, a corresponding mural would be selected. If one wants to get across a more serious, business like environment, then a mural of a more business like nature could be selected instead. Either way, walls murals have the potential to psychological influence the emotions of the room and, in turn, play with the emotions of the individuals who occupy the room; regardless of their time in the room is for a visit or if they are planning on taking up residence in the room.

If you're looking for a wall mural for a child's room, you can get one from "Wall Nutz." Their themes include sports, trains, and cartoon characters. You can purchase murals that are felt and softer substances, rather than ones painted with oil or acrylics. If you're looking for a business setting for your office, you may want to contract an artist to do this for you, rather than purchasing something pre-made.

Luca d'Egidio di Ventura (1443 ? 1523) is most famous for his renaissance-era Tuscan murals. He is sometimes referred to as Luca da Cortona, and he later became known as Luca Signorelli. His most notable work includes "The Deeds of the Antichrist," a mural in the Orvieto Cathedral referencing a Florentine friar who was executed by the papacy, and depicting the antichrist as he corrupts an Italian city square. Another mural in Orvieto Cathedral is "Resurrection of the Flesh," which depicts the second coming of Christ. Works outside the Orvieto Cathedral include: The Scourging of Christ in Milan, Moses's Testament and Death in the Sistine Chapel, The Adoration of the Shepherds, in the Città di Castello, Lamentation over the Dead Christ in Cortona, and The Coronation of the Virgin in Arcevia.

It is rumored that Michelangelo plagiarized ("borrowed") some of Signorelli's works in the mural on the Sistine chapel wall, though this is largely unsubstantiated. Signorelli's contracts with the Catholic Church are still on record, and aside from totaling 800 ducats, the contracts direct Signorelli to consult various theologians for matters concerning religion.

Signorelli's life only becomes well documented after 1470, when he is first mentioned because of his work and growing fame. By the 16th century, he had participated in a committee to judge to judge art work intended for a Florentine cathedral, and his work was widely admired through the whole of Italy for what was definitely the first time. He was said to have lived the life of a gentleman, rather than portraying the starving artist archetype, and there is evidence that he was notoriously slow in repaying loans.

Luca Signorelli is considered by most to be a Tuscan muralist, despite his numerous paintings, because of his work on Tuscan murals in the Orvieto Cathedral.

Home decorating can be a nightmare, especially if you feel that the only thing you can do with a drab white wall is cover it up. But if you're a home owner and the sickly pale glow of a bare wall drives you into a frenzy, nothing makes a better DIY project than tile murals?and you'll find few things so aesthetically pleasing.

Murals remained largely unpopular until the Mexican muralista movement, spearheaded by Diego Riviera, among other artists, when it became a popular way to convey political messages. Today, murals are still often used to spread political propaganda (mostly because they're so damned hard to take down), but don't let common usage dictate what you can or can't do with a mural. Murals are typically made from oil based paint. This is still true for tile murals, but the difference is that the mural has already been painted?you're just sticking it up on your wall.

Tile murals have a distinct home decorating advantage: apart from looking unique, they're easy to keep clean, and unlike many other types of home decorum, they won't gather inches of dust. Tile murals are ideal for hanging over a fireplace, a television set, the white space between two bookshelves?The most popular places to put a tile mural include over the stove or inside the shower. Tile murals are very versatile, if you've got the time and elbow grease to put one up.

The Pacifica Tile Art Studio has a huge selection of tile murals of all shapes and sizes. It includes everything from recreations of classic renaissance works to modern abstracts. They'll also resize any mural you like to fit your needs. Tile murals in their online store run anywhere from $150 to $400, and they're all of outstanding quality.

Commissioning a painting is expensive, and many of the agencies that connect you to artists offer no guarantee of the quality?or worse, they want their artists to copy from another work. Buying generic photos of exotic places isn't the solution either; it's too sterile, too disconnected. You're the creative type, and you want your home to be a sanctum of your tastes. If you've got a little spare time, stencil murals might be just what you're looking for.

Designing the mural is the easy part; acquire some large cardboard or construction paper and a place to sit where you can spread you and your tools out on the floor. A back patio might be ideal for this, especially if you've got little ones trying to "help." ("Go annoy your father.") Work and rework your stencil until it's exactly what you want. Don't let the medium stifle your artistic talents, either. You can do more than just make a border for a picture frame or a simplistic cut-out. Give DaVinci something to be jealous of. If you're serious about decorating with mural stencils, a stenciling class or two (or ten) might be in order.

When it comes to actually making your stencil mural, choose your methods wisely. You don't want to pick a paint that'll run or smell funky, and you don't want to pick brushes that'll work against you. For simpler murals, you can use spray paint?but this is best for fences and outdoor items. If you decide to use spray paint inside, make sure the area is well ventilated, and wear a high quality medical mask?paint fumes aren't anything to play with.

But most of us will be using brushes?Delta Creative sells brushes that are ideal for making stencil murals, and the paints too?to make our stencil murals. If you feel silly buying their "Goof-Proof" paint, which is thicker and won't trickle beneath your stencil, the type of paint most people use is acrylic, though there's nothing to stop you from using other types of paints, if you know what you're doing. Happy Stenciling!

Photo murals in; bleak, blank walls, out. Of course, you would not want your living room to look lifeless for long, or would you? There are ways to add liven up your living room wall and add depth to it. One, you may repaint it to brighten up the graying areas of the wall. This is a tiring job, yet it is the most affordable way of beautifying a room. Or two, the traditional way, you may purchase water color or oil paintings and hand them on that vacant wall. A painting can truly make a difference in any space, yet it is the most expensive take. For a cost effective way of adding serenity and beauty at home, set your sight at photo murals.

Photo murals resemble a wallpaper, in terms of material, texture and strength. Yet, it is not as simple as a wallpaper since you can attach or install it onto a wall with its limited size without the need to cover the entire wall with it. However, most of the times, photo wallpapers are life-like in size, so expect that you may cover a large area with your purchased photo wallpaper.

Most homeowners want photo murals that are nature inspired. One of the top picks is a large, life-like lush botanical garden photographed during spring in an early morn. By merely looking at it, it was as if you could smell fresh flowers and moist grass encircling the room, and cool dew brushes up your cheeks as a light breeze passes your way.

Installation is pretty easy, especially if you have experience pasting wallpapers on your own. For the uninitiated, you can buy stick-on photo wallpapers so that you don't need too much prep on the wall.

Orlando is one of the most interesting cities in the United States. While, of course, Orlando will forever been linked with being the home to Disney World, it also has some other well known tourist areas such as Sea World in the neighboring vicinity. Orlando sees millions of tourists pass through the city limits every month. And it goes without saying that these tourists bring home quite a number of souvenirs with them so they can remember their trip. They can also have an Orlando wall mural put up in one of the rooms in their domicile.

Having an Orlando wall mural put up on a home's wall would be along the same lines as using a mural of famous city skylines such as major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. Orlando may not be as metro as those aforementioned cities, but it does have its own unique charm. An Orlando wall mural can help those who have been there and enjoyed their stay in the city, have a somewhat permanent reminder when they see this illustrated wall paper of this classic Florida city.

And if the appearance of such a distinct city does not greatly enhance a room, then there really isn't anything that'll do the enhancement trick.

The state of Florida as a whole is a fairly impressive and distinct landscape that leaves quite an impression on those who have spent time there. An Orlando wall mural not only reminds one of this city but also of the state of Florida and all the fun in the sun this part of the United States represents. In that regard, an Orlando wall mural can literally change one's mood just by laying eyes on it. It is a real pick me upper, just like the city of Orlando itself.

Hand painted wall murals are more popular than ceiling or floor murals. Aside from the convenience that painting in an upright position offers, wall murals are more visible and can be seen easily in plain view. This is the reason why wall murals are used more often as a medium for sending political and social statements or for advertising and promoting various products. They are more visible than other kinds of mural paintings.

In school, you might remember wall murals as part of art contests during school fair celebrations. Mural painting contests, however, are not limited to school fairs. Some companies and government institutions likewise hold mural painting contests especially when promoting a product or project. Wall murals are often seen on a vacant space with walls inside a company or government facility. These mural painting contests are held with a specific theme and are usually done by hand painting.

Today, mural paintings can be created easily and in a flash, unlike before, when works of art were painstakingly made by an (starving) artist. Different painting tools such as air sprays have contributed to the speedy or flashy mural art. However, hand painted wall murals are much better in terms of structure and technical aspects. The reason? Air spray cannot achieve the passionate and artistic strokes that only paint brushes can do.

The latest trend in wall designing is using poster papers. Poster papers or ready-made wall murals already have a painted image on it and are available in various sizes. All you need to do with wall murals is to apply a special solvent on its back and paste it onto the wall using a paint roller.

As long as there is room for advertising and art, hand painted wall murals will never cease from appearing on walls, ceiling or floor of establishments.