I don’t know about you, but I love colour!!!!! It makes everything better in the world and makes me feel like myself. Without colour, life is pretty boring. That’s why being able to paint colourful murals for people is so rewarding for me and for the people that get to see them everyday.

I’ve had the pleasure of painting murals in a wide array of places and the overall feedback I’ve had from people is that it completely transforms how they feel about their space and how they interact with it. I’m going to share with you the top benefits I’ve seen!

It makes people happy!!

My number one benefit is definitely that it makes people so much happier. I had a parent come to me after I’d finished painting a mural at a primary school in Milton Keynes, telling me how walking towards the school after having a pretty crappy day had made her instantly more happy. It brought her so much joy to see all the colours coming towards her as she got closer to the school, that her mood instantly lifted and she forgot her troubles. If that isn’t the best feedback ever I don’t know what is?!

Kents Hill Park Primary School in Milton Keynes. The children were part of the design process and I picked out elements of each child's design for the mural.

It makes people feel welcome

I’ve been able to fill lots of office spaces, community spaces and schools that were in need of a lift. Having a mural can give people an instant feeling of being welcomed into a space because it gives off vibes of being cared for and loved. The colours and shapes act like a happy smile that shows people they are in the right place.

The Albany Theatre cafe in Deptford needed to welcome people in after Covid and make it a destination place for the community.

It gives a place value

It’s like when you walk into someone’s house, you instantly get a feel for that person by the art they have on their walls, their choice of furniture, the objects they choose to fill their space with. It’s the same for a business or school, as they need to show prospective clients and parents what their values are. If their walls are blank and the place feel unloved, then people visiting will also get this feeling. By filling your walls with murals, you give people an instant insight into who you are and what you do. It shows that you value your space and you value the people coming into it. You’ve taken the time to think about who you are as a company and how people will feel when they walk into your space.

Joanna wanted to give her garden wall a mural as a focal point to make her house feel like home, especially as she was working from home.

It gives your space an identity

People need to get a sense of who you are and what you’re about. I’ve painted many people’s homes because people wanted to have the joy in their lives because colour is a part of who they are. They want to fill their home with a giant artwork that represents them and they want people to see that when friends and family come and visit.

With businesses it shows who they are and gives them the identity that they are an approachable, fun, welcoming company. The mural represents them and shows who the people are behind the business. I painted a community space in Farringdon called Better Space who offer workspaces for start up companies to thrive and grow their businesses. By painting their space with several murals, it gave their space an identity of being encouraging, exciting and welcoming.

Better Space in Farringdon was an empty white shell before I painted 8 murals in their space.

It gives ownership to people

When working with schools, I run workshops with the kids to get them to enjoy creativity and use their artwork as inspiration for the mural design. The kids then feel like they’ve been part of the mural process and love seeing the mural come to life. They get to see me paint the mural, which also adds to the excitement of the mural process! They are able to see the whole process from start to finish and know they’ve had a chance to be a part of it.

Weston Turville school in Aylesbury needed a mural to welcome pupils and parents to the school and the children helped in the design process.

It transforms spaces

And finally… my favourite! It completely transforms spaces from booooring, to exciting!!! I don’t know about you but I love a before and after photo because it really shows the difference that colour can make to a space. I’ve been to so many boring spaces that just have no life or personality to them and when I leave, they have been transformed into a proper space that gives off an exciting energy! This is what gives me most joy and makes me proud to do what I do. I get to change something, just by adding a splash of colour!

Amanda wanted an exciting mural in her back garden, as she spends a lot of time in her home in the grey drizzle of Scotland. This was all grey pebbledash and it then became a colourful back garden!

So, as we can see, there are so many benefits to murals and these are my top ones!

They make people happy
They make people feel welcome
They give a place value
They give spaces an identity
They give ownership to people
They transform spaces

If you didn’t think a mural was a good idea before, then you should now!!

What are the benefits of a mural?