Friday, February 15, 2013

Announcing Kristin Nicholas' Colorful Wallpaper Mural from Casart Coverings

Remember last fall when our farmhouse was featured with photos by Rikki Snyder on the Houzz website here? Did you read the brouhaha in the comments section? If you didn't, check it out here. That whole Houzz experience was a giant eye-opener for me. Are people really that afraid of color? Of using bright bold vivid gorgeous color in their living spaces? Do people decorate their homes thinking only of re-sale value? Do people live in fear of expressing their own taste and personality in their living spaces? Yes, many people are. 

Photo Rikki Snyder via Houzz
Thank goodness that some people aren't. I got an e-mail from a woman named Ashley. She loved my mural and she and her mom and sister own a wallpaper company called Casart Coverings. Would I be interested in painting a mural for them that would be sold on their website? "Be still my heart" I was saying to myself as I tried to speak with composure on the telephone. I was actually jumping up and down! I learned a little more about the project. About the product the mural would be printed on. About how I would be compensated. And then I ran with it 

Here it is - my mural - It is called the Garden of Family Farm Life. Available for the world to buy.....


Thanks to the new world of printing and technology, my technicolor wall mural - with over 15 colors in it, can be printed. Before digital technology, individual screens would have to be cut for each color, making wallpaper extremely expensive and unaffordable to most homeowners. The Garden of Family Farm Life Mural is made of 3 separate panels which I painted here in my studio. My paintings were turned into a digital file and delivered to Casart.

The Casart wallpaper is re-positionable and removable. No messy wallpaper paste! The back of the paper is coated with an adhesive similar to a post-it note. If you get tired of the mural, or you move, the wallpaper mural can be taken down and with you. Or it can be moved to a different room. You can watch a video of installing the Casart wallpaper here on their YouTube Channel.

The paper comes in 2 paper weights - "regular" and "lightweight". It also comes in two heights - 8 and 10 feet tall and two widths - 44 and 52" wide. The photo below shows the 3 panels on a plain white background.


You can purchase one, two or all three. You can use then as a panel in a room you want to bring a new design element to. You can cover an entire wall or room. Casart has chosen NINE other background shades as shown below. Check out this page on their website for a larger version.



Here's another cool thing made possible by the digital technology - if you don't like their choices, you can choose your very own background color and they can print the mural with your color. They will sample your color choice for you so that you can make sure you like it. 

A sample set is available for a small charge which is creditable towards your order. I received a set the other day and I have photographed the against the walls in our dining room below. Note that the scale of the design that is on the sample is much smaller than the actual mural. This was necessary so that you can get the feel of the painting and overall design. I painted the Casart mural so that when blown up, it will be to a similar scale as in our dining room.


A note about the two different weights. The "regular weight" has a slight pebbly texture to it. Ashley says it is extremely durable and easy to move to a new location. The "lightweight" has a smoother finish but is not quite as durable or easy to move and reposition. If you have questions, direct them to the folks at Casart. (Mention that you saw the write-up here on my blog.) Above are the samples that they will send you. They show the mural on all the different background colors. As you can see on the photo below, the Pumpkin Sunset colorway is the the closest to the color background I painted on our dining room walls.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions. Either leave them in the comments or send them directly via email. The folks at Casart are extremely helpful. It's a new world and I am really happy to be learning about new opportunities and technologies to make the world a prettier place. Have a great weekend everyone!


38 comments:

Cary ~ My Wool Mitten at Serenity Farms said...

I say "good for you" and good for the folks at Casart, too!!! I did read with sadness and shock some of the horrific comments people felt they deserved to post (as well as how kind and creative others were!) so I think your composure has been rewarded ;D

Beautiful!

Unknown said...

Beautiful colors to have on your walls!! That mural looks intriguing!!! I need more color on my walls. Pale colors just don't do it anymore.

Unknown said...

I've always loved this design in your home. I think I'm going to get the lightweight panels and mount them onto canvas so I can have them when we move.

goknitinyourhat said...

Love them all! Now would you consider doing fabric, say at a place like Spoonflower? I would totally buy patterns like that to sew/quilt with.

phaedra96 said...

I love this. I had some wallpaper that when I finally tried to put it up....well. Too old I guess. Do NOT wait 8 years..I am going to keep this filed away. Doing a Master suite addition. Perfect.

Hill Country House Girl said...

Kristin, I am a long, long time follower of yours. I love color and whimsy and cannot even imagine decorating my home only for resale! I have been away from my blog for a while ( you are on my blog roll) and my heart skipped a beat when I saw this post today about your wall ART. You are truly so talented and a girl after my heart! I am not even going to read the comments you refer to as I have been so appalled at what cruel things people choose to write sometimes. Congratulations to you and your wildly fabulous spirit and talent. You go girl!! Ann aka Hill Country House Girl

Unknown said...

Wow, coolest thing ever!!!!

Manise said...

Kudos to you Kristin! I so agree with Cary. You certainly made some fine lemonade out of others lemons/ complaints. Run with it.

Kamin said...

Hi Kristin
This is awesome news for you and all of us who love color. When I visited your farmhouse for knitting I wanted to stay in your colorful rooms for days just admiring your work. I am thrilled for you and can hardly wait to explore the wallpaper website. Congratulations your work has inspired me for years.

Anonymous said...

The wallpaper is beautiful. At age 67 I'm just getting to the point where I want color in my life. The pictures of your house for Houzz were gorgeous. I didn't think I would like color so much till I saw how you used it in your home. I didn't read the comments before on your house, because you indicated some were not so nice. I read comments before on another site and people feel they can be very nasty for some reason when they leave comments. It's one thing to not like something, but it's no reason to be cruel and vulgar.

Kimberly said...

Yay! Kristin! How very cool. Congratulations!

Rikki Snyder said...

It looks so beautiful, Kristin!! You're such an inspiration :)

Cherie M in EP CO said...

Good for you! Yet another avenue for enjoying Color by Kristin.

Lindsay said...

Congratulations Kristin!! That is amazing!!!

pancake and lulu said...

This is one of the coolest wallpapers I have ever seen! Congratulations!

Beth in Maryland said...

What wonderful creativity from all involved! It's exciting to learn about this. Look out, bedroom wall!

Erin said...

That's wild!!! I LOVE it!! I handpainted flowers and bugs all over our bathroom walls, but we rent, so it will be bye bye to them when we leave :(
I love the idea of murals. Thanks for putting this on my radar!

Unknown said...

This is amazing! I am always astonished by how talented you are, and now we can all have the opportunity to bring your art into our home :) I'm so happy for you.

xoxo Aimee

MicheleinMaine said...

Congratulations to you, Kristin! This is really great. I hope it sells well. If I weren't planning to move (whenever my house sells) I would get some right away, but for now I have to wait. Maybe it would help 'sell' the house?!

I second the suggestion about Spoonflower. Their fabrics/designs are great and it's the same idea as the wallpaper. I buy a lot of fabric from them for my bags.

Good luck with the lambs this weekend!

Jennifer said...

LOOOOOOOOOOVE this! Your work is fantastic and I am so into this. Must figure where we can put some of your awesome new wallpaper. :)

Auntie Shan said...

ahh..KARMA!! :-D

Personally, if I could afford it, I'd send Those-NASTY-People just enough rolls to do a Powder Room! And, lock Them IN!!

Now..if we can just get Someone from IKEA interested...

annie said...

How wonderful! Oh my these are great, and I too would love to see you design fabric. You home is beautiful...true expression is a marvelous reflection of the heart of the family, isn't it? Your house says love and joy.

I just read the first of the comments at Houzz and of them most were very positive. I'm sorry for the folks who are concerned about resale (they're the same ones for whom people "stage" homes for resale - ugh).

The comment that really made me laugh was the one that said, "Good luck ever selling this house, except to perhaps another set of hippie artist-types." You sure are hard working hippies!

Congratulations!

Adaliza said...

Congratulations on the success of your latest colourful design triumph. Those panels look really brilliant. I'm just about to take some sunny-day photos of the most colourful crochet blanket ever - Carnival - thanks to your wools. Hope the sun is shining on your farm today. A x

Missy said...

Incredible! Never a dull moment or a lapse of creativity up there at Leyden Glen! Keep up the awesome work!!

Elaine said...

Congratulations on a great new venture!!

Marcia said...

This is so wonderful and I'm so happy for you.
(And for all your followers who will benefit also.)

What a terrific use of your talent.

Sally said...

This is fantastic! Well done, YOU!

Lindy and Paul said...

Your spread on Houzz is remarkable, and you can add me to the fans of COLOR, whimsy and individuality! I was amazed beyond words by the comments..... I'm so happy your creativity is being rewarded with the Casart wall art, what a phenomenal concept and no doubt your design will be popular! Keep on doing what you're doing and thanks for sharing your beautiful home with the world!

gcomfort said...

What a hoot it was to read some of those comments! Some people sure can be snarky!

Thank you for sharing your home, your talent and your life with us on your blog. It's all beautiful, and real.

shabby girl said...

Wow, girl! Awesome! How very exciting for you!

Susan said...

I just commented on a post back in 2011 because that's the link I found when looking for the spelling of Pyrenees in English. (We lived in France for 11 years, and I get the two spellings mixed up!) We just added two wethers to our little farm on Saturday, and we'll be putting our Pyr Misty in with them to guard them at night as soon as we escape-proof the second gate! It was amazing to see her instinctively approaching them exactly the way she should, slowly and sitting down as soon as they started to move away, even though we raised her to guard chickens and ducks. It absolutely blows my mind! We live in Georgia and we're raising our sheep for meat, but I want to follow your blog because I learn so much from blogs. Our art student daughter is very interested in the fleece, so we'll have to see if we can find a shearer in our area. See you on Blogger!

Kathy at Knitting Off The Grid said...

Congratulations Kristin! I'm absolutely thrilled for you. Your work is amazing.

Martha said...

I'm delighted! I saved pictures from years ago Country Magazine (I think) of your wallpaper and was determined to somehow copy and paint it. Alas, I never did. Now, I can have the wall without the work. Thank you!

Kathy said...

It is just awesome, Kristin! Congratulations on yet another opportunity to delight the world with your talents!

Benita said...

Personally, I love it!! My husband is an illustrator, and I want him to do something fun on the studio walls. I never think of resale value and have painted my walls everything from a sunny orangy-yellow to bright blue to sage green to pink. No two rooms in our house are alike. So much more fun that way. Who wants to live in a "show house" anyway. Boring!!

Your design is happy and bright. Congrats!!

Patti said...

Gorgeous! Loved your comment about people keeping their homes painted for resale - I'm going for color because I'm not going anywhere! Love your work, you are such an inspiration.

Smart Art said...

What stunning wallpaper designs! We just love it when illustrators are inspired to create colourful wallpaper like this. It adds such a personal touch when someone gets an illustrator friends to create something special and unique for their home. Well done!

Annie in the Round said...

Congratulations!
I would also like to see you design fabric.
I am trying to be good about clicking over for each post like we talked about at the farmers market so that the count is accurate.
Annie

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