Graffiti

It seems that somewhere between the ages of 10 & 16 most parents are willing to give into their child’s desires to update their bedrooms from childish to modern; I have had the pleasure of helping with many such transformations.  The process is always about the same, a fine line between the tween/teen’s independent views of a “dream room” and the parents need for something more timeless.  Those who know me well can already tell you what I would say; Paint is Paint, you can always change your mind and paint again.  I do realize however that many are intimidated by the task of repainting a room and many suffer from a condition I rarely have, being sentimental, and therefore are hesitant to paint over a custom mural or room design. 

I have one daughter who is more sentimental and adapts to change more slowly, she has only had her room redone 4 times in fifteen years from nursery to child’s room, to a new child’s room only because we moved and then finally to a funky, fun, modern yet timeless teen space.  Her room will likely remain this way long after she graduates and moves out on her own.  My other daughter however, the younger of the two has had her room redone more times than I can accurately recall, perhaps somewhere between 6-8 times already with no end in sight.  She loves change, loves bright colors and being in a space full of fun imaginative things.  She also knows how easy it is to excite me about a room makeover, after all it is a new opportunity to paint and create.  After several room designs that lasted only six months I did finally take somewhat drastic measures and have her sign a two year contract stating there would be no major room makeovers for two years.  That said, I have added two small wall art murals to her room over those two years.  What can I say; I am unable to resist her creative spirit.  Currently she and I are trying to reach an agreement on a teen space that can evolve with her while remaining somewhat timeless.  I will certainly keep you posted as decisions are made, paint purchased and the remodel project begins in her space. 

However, today I would like to highlight two tween spaces I did for brave clients who let their children have the majority say in the style of their murals and who both chose graffiti for their spaces.  The first was for a tween girl who had classic bones to her room, neutral walls, a matching bedroom set and fun yet classic and non-themed bedding.  To freshen up her space we adder her name in graffiti that included some light activated glow in the dark paint.  The result was a fun fresh update to her space and the polka dots from her comforter where repeated in the overall design of the graffiti style.  We selected a bubble style font to keep it softer than most graffiti designs and more on the feminine side.  The second feature room was that of a tween boy who also had neutral walls and classic bedding.  He was going for more of a skateboarder theme and wanted a harsher lined graffiti font while mom wanted to be sure it was legible.  After consulting with them about the space and getting a feel for the rest of their home I decided to add a tattoo/graffiti style cross to the background of his name.  It fills up the space of the feature wall in his room nicely and the end result was a custom graffiti wall that both mom and son are very pleased with.  Here is what each client had to say after their rooms were completed. 

Has brush, will travel! During Elizabeth's recent trip to the Dallas area, we were lucky enough to schedule some of her time to come over and do some artwork on two of our kids' walls. She hit the nail on the head - both rooms turned out beautifully! Elizabeth was quick, professional and reasonable. We plan on asking her back to do something for our little guy during her next trip south.
- E. Smith

Thanks so much for blessing us with your artistic abilities!  Dallas loves his "graffiti" and I know he will for YEARS to come.  You're awesome!
- Arnold Family