Chicago Mural Painter: Wall murals, faux finishes, kids’ room murals

Signature Mural & Finish

Whether you're looking to enhance your walls with a mural, add depth and texture with faux finish, create a trompe-l'oeil illusion, or use Venetian plaster to add rustic intimacy, we can help transform your kitchen, living room, children's room, outdoor space, store, lobby, or business office into a place that delights the senses.

We're based in Evanston, Illinois, and create murals, faux finishes, and trompe l'oeil of all sizes in Chicago and the greater Chicago area, including the North Shore.

Please browse our galleries for examples of our murals and faux finishes, and then contact us to set up a free consultation.

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Good Old-Fashioned Sponge Painting

Sponge painting may sound like a throwback to the 1980s, but it can be timeless and tasteful.

A repeat client recently redid a couple of bathrooms. Her style is very understated, but she didn’t want flat walls. We coordinated the woods, stone (floor tile & counter tops), and accessories. It was a few trips back and forth to blance her stony earth colors with her dool blue accessories, but well work it!

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First I painted the dark colors for the base. I love the look on my clients faces when the see the undelayers. Either there is unchecked horror, or they are trying to be polite.

Here is a wall in transition. The bottom is still to blue & splotchy, the creams and yellows on top are doing their job to soften the effect. At this point the client can stop holding their breath; they understand where this is all going.

A couple of shots of the completed room, reminds me that I need to take better pictures.

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Kid's room gone elegant

There seems to be another baby boom going on. Or at least a boom in baby nurseries. We’ve been blessed (as in “blessed event”) to be a part of these goings on.

During the summer we got a call to paint clouds on the ceiling, a tree and wall quote for a “soon to arrive” little boy named Luke. when I arrived the room wall all white except for a wallpaper world map affixed to an entire wall.

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The homeowner showed me her fabrics, furniture and other inspirations. We sketched out a design and picked a blue for the sky.

When I returned the room was blue & I was ready to begin.

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I first masked off the entire room to protect it from overspray.

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I masked myself off for the same reason.

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Then I got to go wild with a spray gun. I don’t think that spraying clouds will ever get old. It’s just too much fun!

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Next came the fantasy tree. There were leaves from a weeping willow & a spiral trunk. Luke’s mother also had me do some hand lettering of a bible quote for welcoming her son into the world.

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What an absolutely elegant room!

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Northshore to Lakeshore, A Fun Cityscape

A Summer Cityscape shows the Chicago skyline in a kids playroom, Winnetka, IL.

Moving up to Winnetka, IL from Lincoln Park, Chicago, here is a basement to liven up a playroom. This family loves the trees and greenery of the North Shore, but misses their city. We get pretty attached to this city, you know. Its great when you finally round a bend, driving home after a long trip, and the skyline suddenly pops into view.

We do a scale drawing to check that everyone is on the same page

Here we capture that feeling in a casual, fun rendition on the playroom walls, with a mural that will be sure to please for years to come.

Phase one - the builder installs the treehouse

Phase two: bring in the paint geeks!

First we block in the sky

Then the green stuff

Some energetic clouds scud across the sky

And a strong tree appears to hold up the treehouse, with a fine Summer day in the city off in the middle distance.

See it in action!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iErmN-CvsM
Rocking with Shimmer

Metallic plasters are having another surge of interest in this neck of the woods. Ours, at least. We've had a few jobs lately with this stuff and it is completely rave-able. On its own it makes for a sophisticated faux finish with very subtle shimmer stuff happening that catches and plays with the light.
Several different versions of this product are available, interior mostly, but yes, some exterior. Our favorite so far is the "Golden" brand, but we also like Shimmerstone & Lustrestone, and Modern Masters has just come out with their new line of metallic plasters, too. I went to a demo last night at Kathy's, some nice colors!

The differences in color in the top row are just from the light. We apply this stuff with a trowel, and you see how the micas (shiny particles) are dragged in different directions & show the light differently, depending on which way our blades are swooping.

These pics are just from last night's selection for play. Bottom row is with 2 or more colors. Modern Masters has about 50 luscious standard colors, and then they can be played around with (of course) to make a bizzillion different variations. And THEN there's even more tricks that use metallic plasters in conjunction with, say, a textured surface, or stencils. And we can custom match the goop, as well. Right hand pic a strie with MM metallic plaster.

Here's Deb trowelling on some Golden metallic plaster (our favorite) (it feels nice to use). This is just one color of plaster, again, but see how great those different trowel marks look? They collect various light colors on the wall and mix them all together. We'll have to post this other one Deb (Queen of The Trowel) did, too, that's a splendiferous aqua color that makes the wall look like it is a big rich satiny/velvet fabric.
Bathrooms - Space For a Little Fun

Bathrooms tend to be small, and we (hope) not to spend a whole lot of time in there. But they really are a great spot to decorate. They are wonderful precisely because they are small & we don't spend most of our day in there. You can get a little wilder in a bathroom. The smaller surface of walls won't cost you as much to cover. It's not a space that has to cater to your mood as much as a kitchen, or the living room, or the hallway that is the first thing you see when you just get home. It doesn't have to remain calm, and you won't get bored of a theme super quickly, because, as I've said 3 times already I think, you're not in there 12 hrs a day.

So make it a happy wee visit by revving up the fun factor a bit. Or just, like this family, add a few touches that please you, and liven up your space bit.

Nice, eh? It was really fun to paint, too. Just some abstract elements bouncing arythmically (I know that can't be spelled right) around the room. Abstract is not usually my first reaction to a question, so it surprised me (and Deb) that this came out of my head as an idea. It's using different mixes of metallic paints & plasters to get a range of tarnished looking shapes.

And here's another bathroom from the same home. Yes - the boy luuuuurrrrvvs soccer. All you need are a few touches to make their bathroom positively theirs. The impact will last for a few years, at least. They know you've done something cool just for them, and with any luck their towels will end up in the laundry basket instead of next to it.