DIY Arch Wall Mural

This was my first time doing a mural! I have seen a lot of beautiful mural art on the interior walls of homes on Pinterest and I really wanted to try it out and make my own unique DIY arch wall mural.

I did not do every step the best or right way, but I wanted to post this to show you that you can create art like this and be successful. You do not need fancy tools or an art degree to make your home beautiful and interesting! It was so much fun! I can’t wait to do another one.

Let me show you how I created my very own DIY arch wall mural for my entryway.

Supplies

Valspar Vivid Blue (I purchased 1 quart interior flat from Home Depot, they did not have flat sample sizes. If you are able to get a sample of interior flat that might be enough. I had a lot left over.)
Valspar Vintage Coral (1 quart of interior flat – I almost ran out!)
Benjamin Moore Super White (A sample size would be all that is needed if you are able to get it in flat. This is the color and sheen we used on our ceilings so I had some laying around)
Key or multi-tool or possibly a screwdriver to open the cans
Paint brushes (I just used a 2″ paintbrush from Home Depot, 16 filbert I had on hand for the curves, a really tiny flat brush for the white lines, and a 14 filbert for the white wavy lines.)
Floor covering
Paint roller (for the coral only) (I used a 9 in x 3/8 in that I had on hand)
Paint roller frame
Paint roller extension poll
Paint roller tray
Blue painters tape
Laser level (a ruler and pencil / large level will also work)
Push pin or nail/hammer
String
Pencil

Step 1: Mark edges of the arch

I wanted to do a large arch as wide as the bench I just made (If you are interested in seeing how I made this bench, you can check that DIY out here.) I am particularly fond of arches since our home is a Spanish style with three in the front, but none inside (strange, right!). I have done one arch in our home before this one, but it was above a door and required a different technique. I used my laser level to determine this and checked my work with my tape measurer. I marked the lines with blue painters tape.

Step 2: Draw your arch

I hammered a nail into the center of the two tape lines (A pushpin would have been better but I did not have one). I knotted a piece of string to the nail and the other end to a pencil. Pulling the pencil tightly I traced my arch making sure it lined up with both inner edges of the tape.

Step 3: Paint

I am not very skilled at painting yet so I used painters tape to tape off the ceiling, right wall, and baseboard. I try to pretend the tape is not there but I make mistakes so it helps me.

I painted the vintage coral arch first starting with all of the edges (kind of like how painters cut in on a normal wall before rolling). For the curve, I used my 16 filbert brush to freehand it slowly. I loaded up the paint brush and did long strokes.

Then, I used my roller to roll on the rest of the vintage coral. Rolling on paint is not as easy as it looks. I watched this video to take a crash course (start at 23 minutes for rolling). It was very helpful.

I painted on the blue next watching the same video at about 17 minutes to refresh myself on how to cut in. I used my 2″ brush to cut in and then my 16 filbert brush when I was really close to the coral.

I let it dry for 2 hours and then I did a second coat repeating the exact same process.

I let that dry for 2 hours and then I decided to add some white lines.

Using the laser level I made sure that the top and bottom of the white would be lined up and marked that using painters tape. I then used more tape to space out my lines.

I painted the white using a really tiny flat brush. I did two coats but I should really do another one. Your paint will bleed if you just tape and start painting it white. If you want to spend more time and not have it bleed look up techniques to do this. I didn’t mind how it turned out at all. You can’t see the imperfections from far away.

I hung up art and then decided to add some freehand wavy white lines. I drew them with pencil and did two coats of white paint with my 14 filbert detail brush.