The sky is the limit...

...or at least your ceiling is. Hand-painted murals are a rising trend among designers looking to inject personality and wonderment into their projects

- Pip Rich

In the contemporary design world, hand-painted murals are big news, as big as the walls they're being used to cover. Taking the place of panoramic wallpapers, snaking up staircases or streaking across ceilings, they're being invoked to evoke a sense of pure wonderment. 'A mural is an amazing way to transform an interior,' says the designer Rachel Chudley, who regularly commissions whole rooms covered in clouds or woodland scenes or just about anything else for her clients. 'A painterly mural wallcovering enhances the contrast from arriving inside from the street and says instantly that you have arrived in a special place.'

And that is why they feel so right for now. In a time where every design trend is really focused on ways to make homes more convivial, so a mural draws you in, draws you together, creates a little world for you and your family and friends. 'They are more than just one-dimensional, they set a mood,' says the muralist Queenie Ingrams (who works with Rachel often). 'They're like unframed art that is built into the walls, becoming part of the fabric of the house and imbuing it with a sense of magic.'