Homes + Decor

9 Amazing Residential Wall Murals

From a poolside Calder to a bird-embellished bar, these awe-inspiring murals from the AD archives will get your creative juices flowing
This image may contain Pool Water Swimming Pool and Building
Photo: Jeremy Bittermann
  • This image may contain Pool Water Swimming Pool and Building
    Photo: Jeremy Bittermann
    1/9

    From ancient cave paintings to Renaissance frescoes to modern graffiti, murals have long enlivened spaces, inside and out. And while installing a public work of art might lead to a veritable mess of red tape, commissioning one for your wall can be a great way to decorate. Whether the work is an abstract expression, a whimsical landscape, or something in between, it acts as a reflection of both the homeowner and the artist. Here, we’ve chosen nine outstanding examples from the Architectural Digest archives that show how to employ a mural in both modern and traditional homes.

    A Marcel Breuer–designed residence in Litchfield County, Connecticut, showcases this abstract mural by Alexander Calder. Commissioned in the 1950s by the home’s then-owners (and friends of the artist), Leslie and Rufus Stillman, the mural painted on a freestanding wall provides a playful backdrop to the turquoise pool.

  • Photo: Thomas Loof
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    This Picasso-inspired mural by Mark Beard covers one wall of the living room in Claire Weiss’s New York City apartment renovated by architect Steven Harris and designer Lucien Rees Roberts. The space’s neutral color palette and soft shapes complement Beard’s large-scale work.

  • Photo: Björn Wallander
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    Mathias Kiss and Olivier Piel of Atelier Attilalou painted this warm woodland scene in the dining room of Stefano Pilati’s former Paris duplex apartment. The minimalist arrangement of furniture leaves the mural—which covers the entire room—open for easy viewing.

  • Photo: Joshua McHugh
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    A flock of whimsical birds covers the kitchen island in Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler’s Shelter Island, New York, home. The avian mural, painted by John-Paul Philippé, integrates seamlessly with the midcentury decor.

  • Photo: Oberto Gili
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    Fantastical frescoes by Francesco Clemente enliven a home in Saint Moritz, Switzerland, designed by Studio Peregalli. Images of a fan, human forms, and an open tent cover the walls of the indoor pool.

  • Photo: Pieter Estersohn
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    A Manhattan townhouse hosts a mural painted in tribute to Charleston, the early-20th-century home of British artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant that featured the pair’s many hand-painted murals. This modern-day homage was painted by Scott Robertson.

  • Photo: Björn Wallander
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    A ghost-white stairwell juxtaposes a striking mural by Eduardo Mendieta and Jay Bellicchi in this Hollywood, Florida, residence owned by real-estate developer Jorge Pérez.

  • Photo: Durston Saylor
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    An eagle takes flight across the foyer ceiling of actor Gerard Butler’s Manhattan loft. The mural, painted by Jon De Pabon and Paul Kendall, is in tune with the space’s rustic design.

  • Photo: William Waldron
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    A metallic gold chinoiserie motif dances across the blue walls of the library in this New York City townhouse owned by Robert Duffy, business partner of fashion designer Marc Jacobs. The elaborate mural was hand-painted by Matt Austin.

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