When we were looking at ways to spruce up your garden fence, I said that one option was painting a mural. As I was looking for an image to illustrate this, there were so many breath-taking garden mural ideas that it was almost impossible to only choose one. I started sort of casually drafting this post featuring some of my favourites – and here we are, 29 garden mural ideas later.
So, if you love the idea of painting a mural in your garden but aren’t quite sure where to start, take a look at these amazing designs to inspire you.
7 Garden Mural Ideas for Beginners
We can’t all be artists, and sometimes it’s better to start with a simple project than dive into something and realise too late that you’re in over your head. This first chunk of garden mural ideas are possible with relatively little creative skill required, and can be done with just a small amount of planning.
1. Striped Slats
Here’s a great way to use up leftover tins of paint AND bring more colour and personality to your garden. Treat each fence panel as its own canvas, and give it a thick, bold coat of paint. Don’t worry about creating a pattern – it’ll look more interesting if it’s random.
2. Inspiring Astronomy
This bold, moon-cycle mural makes the side of this shipping container look much more interesting. If you’re less of a sunbather and more of a stargazer, this mystical motif might be right up your street.
3. Colourful Curves
When you’ve got a lot of space to cover, even the simplest designs can make a huge impact. These pretty, peach-coloured stripes are perfect for a bright, contemporary mural even if you don’t feel like you’ve got a lot of artistic talent. Simply find three or four colours and start by painting one, gently swooping line. Then, in a different shade, follow that line as closely as you can. Similar colours will create a subtle effect, while contrasting shades will have a much louder end result.
4. Spray-on Circles
This Parisian street looks extra chic thanks to this quirky paint pattern. These shapes are made by holding aerosol paint cans close to the fence, and spraying a little excess paint so it drips down. A blank background is essential, but you could choose any shade – white or mint green would be my suggestion!
5. Meditative Mandala
Mandalas are geometric patterns that are often used as a focus point for spiritual practices, such as meditation. You can use a stencil or stamp to draw a mandala on your wall, or you can try drawing one yourself. If you like a bohemian garden aesthetic and use your garden for mindfulness, a mandala is a beautiful design for your wall or floor.
6. Stencilled Sections
Here’s another attractive fence mural that uses surprisingly simple techniques. Look closely and you’ll see just two different plant shapes and four different colours, with a few curved lines as a marker for the colours to switch. Use chalk to draw the shape outlines on your fence (or make a stencil out of cardboard). Then, draw some curved lines as colour borders. When you’re painting, change to a different colour every time you reach a line.
7. Multi-shade Fade
Transitioning between two (or more) colours gives you this cool ombré effect. Use sponges or rollers to get the paint on the wall, and blend them unevenly in the middle. Look closely and you’ll see that there are a few other colours (like pink and yellow) peeping subtly through the layers.
Seeing Squares
There are two layers to this mural, so I’m ignoring the intricate leaves in the foreground (honestly, it took me a minute to realise they weren’t real). The big, bold diamonds look impressive enough – but take your time to figure out even spacing and line width. Although these squares aren’t perfect if you look closely, a lot of effort has gone into the alignment.
11 Arty Garden Mural Ideas
If you do have some artistic muscles to flex, congratulations. These next garden mural ideas are more complex, and you’ll need both planning and vision to execute your own version.
1. Make Great Waves
This gorgeous, ocean painting looks like a modern take on the famous Hokusai artwork, ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’. It would be a great way to bring life and colour into a minimalist garden, or to add a pop-art element into a beach-styled space. You could also do something like this as an homage to Japanese culture, in a way that’s totally different from our Japanese inspired garden ideas.
2. Abstract Pastels
I’m loving the ‘80s vibe of this huge garden mural, designed by professional muralist, Joe Geis. The colour palette is essential to pulling off your own version – keep it light, bright and poppy.
3. Dream Destinations
Sitting out in the garden is the closest most of us have come to a holiday in a while. If you’re struggling to maintain the illusion of being somewhere exotic, maybe having it spelled out for you – quite literally will help. The mural pictured is actually located in Mesa, Arizona, but I like the idea of signposting locations that are far-flung from where you live in a stylised, retro-postcard type font. Maui, Oaxaca or Rio would probably be my pick!
4. Garden Graffiti
Know a budding graffiti tagger? You can give your outdoor space some urban edge with a street-art style mural. There are so many styles of graffiti, go for a unique design that matches the colours and tone of the rest of your garden.
5. Motivational Mantras
Why not let your walls do the talking with some bold lettering? Getting these designs right can be tricky, but you could use a font website like this to practice various typefaces first.
6. Eye-catching Line Art
Murals don’t have to be bursting with colour! If you have more of a monochrome, minimalist vibe, a simple black line-drawing on a plain background can be just as beautiful. Plus, you can always colour it in later if you get the urge.
7. Go for Gold
Another line-art piece, and another mural that looks like it might be inspired by The Great Wave. This time, the golden yellow shade looks much more organic against the brown wood of the fence.
8. Contrasting Concepts
Can’t decide between natural, flowing lines or clean-cut minimalism? Why not both? This incredibly striking style would make a great backdrop for photos or quirky garden furniture.
9. Punky Portraits
If you’re edgy and you know it… try a gritty, graffiti-esque mural like this one by Indianapolis artist, Muck Rock. Clean your wall first, but don’t worry about repairing holes – chipped plaster adds to the effect. Then get yourself some pallet furniture and decor made from salvaged materials.
10. Wonderful Wildlife
For most people, gardens are about celebrating nature – so why not pay homage with your garden mural ideas? Maybe you’ll find your muse in common garden species, like foxes, hedgehogs and robins. Or you could go a little wilder with depictions of deer, red squirrels and adders.
11. Continuous Line Drawing
Trying to create an image without your brush leaving the surface you’re painting on will result in abstract, organic shapes. Known as continuous line drawing, this technique is simple but beautiful.
6 Small Garden Mural Ideas
Murals don’t have to take up an entire wall – and they can take a long time to create if they do! If you’re feeling daunted by a big canvas, there are two ways to approach the challenge. One option is to start somewhere smaller, like a planter or shed door. Alternatively, you can design a smaller, standalone image, and then expand it later by adding to it in stages when you’re ready.
1. A Burst of Colour
This amazing circle of flowers would look dazzling above an outdoor dining table, or behind the grill in a garden BBQ area. It’s easy to imagine another layer surrounding it, or on the wall below – but it looks fabulous as-is too!
2. Whimsical Windows
How sweet are these leafy tendrils, wrapped around these window frames? Perfect for adding greenery in a courtyard or patio, I think they would look right at home in an Italian-inspired garden or a Spanish-styled space.
3. Patterned Planters
Pots and planters are a low-commitment space to try out colour combinations and different pattern ideas. These reclaimed breezeblocks make amazing with a bright coat of paint.
4. Statement Shed
This shed kind of reminds me of Elmer the Patchwork Elephant (they’re not quite the same though, I’ve checked! Even though the side of a shed is a pretty big canvas, when it’s tucked away like this, it won’t make such a big statement in your garden.
5. Garden Bar Branding
Social distancing and pub closures have helped home pubs and garden bars become hugely popular in the UK. If you’ve recently become the proprietor of a miniature drinking hole, why not make it official with a mural of your pub’s name?
6. Surprising Stair-Risers
If you have steps leading to a door or patio, the vertical spaces between them can be a tiny little canvas for slices of painting.
4 Trompe L’Oeil Garden Mural Ideas
Trompe L’Oeil (pronounced “tromp loy”), is a kind of artistic illusion, where painted objects look incredibly realistic and three-dimensional. There’s an ancient Greek story about an artist who painted such a realistic still life that birds swooped down to peck at the fruit. These garden murals all have an element of illusion to them – but will take a talented artist to pull off!
1. Fantasy Landscapes
For most of us, the view from our garden is… lacking. Treat yourself to some more stunning scenery with a beautiful landscape mural. For the record, even the window frame isn’t real in this picture! I just don’t know what to believe any more.
2. Tropical Dreams
One picture doesn’t possibly do this incredible mural justice – please go and check out the full post! It’s a life-like tiki bar, complete with ocean views, wooden bar stools and sand painted on the floor. There’s even a set of beer taps painted on what looks like a service hatch. Amazing! And perfect for a tropical themed garden!
3. Secret Doorways
Feeling frustrated by a small garden? Painting a doorway illusion can, to some extent, trick your brain into thinking there’s more space than there is. Isn’t this mural convincing?
4. Extend Your Patio
Want to go further? Check out this incredible illusion, which makes it look like this walled-in courtyard goes on forever.
Have you see any other amazing garden mural ideas? I’d love to see more inspiration!
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