Room of the Day: Original Mural Brings Joy to a Formal Dining Room

While this dining room is formal, a whimsical mural makes it family friendly for this couple’s two young sons. In a historic Victorian home like this one, a classic landscape mural in the dining room is a common sight, but this artwork is anything but common. When planning the room, interior designer Heidi Pribell took her inspiration from French impressionists, like Paul Gauguin and especially Henri Rousseau. The colorful walls full of exotic flora and fauna images inspired other eclectic touches that nod to France as well as to the home’s Victorian-era style.

Photos by Eric Roth

Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A young family with 2 boys
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Size: 198 square feet (18 square meters), 11 by 18 feet (3.3 by 5.4 meters)
That’s interesting: The house is located near Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, which is appropriate considering the creatures featured on the wall.

One of the first moves Pribell made was closing off an archway that led to the more casual family room and adding mirror to it. The living room, dining room and family room are arranged in a railroad-car layout. “Adding the beveled mirrors added a splendid touch of grandeur, inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles,” Pribell says.

The two china cabinets with leaded glass doors are original to the house and add to the room’s formal yet eclectic style. The heron side table was a plant stand made in Boston around the same time as the house was built. Crisp linen curtains keep the focus on the mural.


When coming up with ideas for the mural, which she wanted to have “a phantasmagorical narrative,” Pribell collaborated with a former classmate, fine artist Julia Purinton, who painted it. “Phantasmagorical” is not a word we hear every day in the design world, but her intrepid clients were game.

Purinton sketched out a few ideas on paper, then drew the design with chalk on the walls, creating it onsite. She painted the mural over the chalk using artists’ acrylic paints. Note the way the composition works, with trees wrapping around corners and forest creatures placed in prominent spots. There are even a few birds soaring toward the ceiling. “I wanted it to reference formal dining room landscape murals but bring in playful and childlike energy,” Pribell says.

A faux bois rug adds another appropriate whimsical touch to the magical forest setting. Pribell chose an indoor-outdoor rug to stand up to spills. Similarly, the linen-like fabric on the dining chairs is commercial grade and very durable.

The dresser used as a sideboard is another unexpected touch. It’s in the French Regency style and is covered with aluminum. “The metal gives it kind of a steampunk edge,” Pribell says.

Chairs: Sunpan; dining table: Hickory Chair


Turquoise and green hues provide continuity between the dining room and the parlor. They also continue into the kitchen. Note the small branch side table in the living room, which plays off the whimsical forest look in the dining room.

The mahogany table is the most traditional touch in the dining room. The Ruhlmann chandelier is in classic French art deco style. “I tipped my hat to the French throughout the design,” Pribell says.

Chandelier: Ruhlmann, Visual Comfort

More:
Design Details: 12 Ways With Wall Murals
Key Measurements for Planning the Perfect Dining Room

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