Despite several heatwaves washing over Europe and my addled wet head these days, I decided I didn’t want to postpone painting a mural in the dining room. On a ladder. While having my own menopausal hot flashes to boot – but whatever, I’m not sitting that stuff out either because life is too short.
This is one of many – no, one of ENDLESS projects I’ve been tackling. It’s post-cancer, post-chemo, post-mastectomy and all that stuff. I’m moving on – and in fact I’ve literally moved on to another town.
We’re in our new apartment and as I can, just whenever I can, I’m working on making it ours.
Not ”a place,” but ”our place.”
Mainz, Germany is a university town, home to the Green political party, BioNTech and the Gutenberg Press. In our neighborhood, there’s a Naturopathic doctor every stone’s throw away.
As a seriously far-left-liberal writer/poet who just completed a battery of chemotherapies designed by BioNTech (Christmastime 2021 was my last treatment) – I feel like this is where I belong.
The Dining Room: BEFORE
The dining room is essentially an atrium, a round room that was originally a fairly large balcony. At some point, the owners decided to enclose the space with mostly windows and a glass ceiling held up by exposed timber beams.
![](https://kc-hill.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/8672EEB3-8D89-4B4E-8043-F176B60E05E6.jpeg)
This is how the room looked originally. Lemon yellow walls. There was nothing wrong with the color, just that the acrylic paint job was a cool tone of yellow (I prefer warm tones) and it was due for a fresh coat. You can’t see in this picture, but the walls were looking scuffed up and scruffy.
I knew as soon as I stepped into the room that I couldn’t just paint the walls a single color. It was calling out for a mural of some sort – something immersive.
The Dining Room – AFTER
Most everything is complete here, save for the lighting. I need two lampshades for the sconces. I’ve looked for shades that would be fitting to the room AND not cost a crazy-fortune. No luck there, so I’m going to just make something. No idea how yet, but I’ll tinker through that.
![](https://kc-hill.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/34B8F92E-46E9-43DB-A429-9DD6E1B152AE.jpeg)
There are three colors on the walls, that’s all. All hues of green, but muted, as if seen through a light fog. I wanted the room to be inviting and relaxing. So far, after just a couple of visits, two visitors have taken naps in there and two people (separately from each other – different visits) remarked that, ”I feel like I’m on vacation in here,” so I think I hit the mark.
Since the paints are semigloss, everything required two coats. I knew that would be the case, but decided right away that I was good with it. The alternative, to work with acrylics, would mean an accidental spill on the walls would have ruined my flipping week. It would require a repaint over the stain. This way, the mural is washable (damp rag).
![](https://kc-hill.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/618796E4-E066-4FD8-933E-F520B21C3D6D.jpeg)
If you’re wondering, that is indeed a turntable in the center of the table. It’s teak wood, and actually intended for outdoor use (the central metal disk can be removed to hold a large parasol). I just love it. It’s perfect for Game Night. If need be, an electric cord can run down the middle of the table (I’m thinking: something ridiculous, like a chocolate fountain, or a super phallic lava lamp because they ALL are).
When I started to paint the walls, I didn’t really have a clear idea what I wanted to do. Not really. At first, it was too organized and formal. Too linear. So I repainted to correct that, realizing that in order to be sure I didn’t create a leafy themed wallpaper, I should bring it closer.
That’s when I realized I wanted it to feel like I was in a treehouse. I wanted to be embraced by a tree, hugged and protected by its branches. The large cluster of leaves (right side of above picture) come down to a big branch, which winds its way along the lower walls, to the right and ultimately to the primary door.
I’m rather a crappy photographer, so I don’t have a picture of that hugging branch – none that I like or would ever show anyone. Ever. (Sorry.) But I DO have for you a passable picture of my favorite detail, just below.
![](https://kc-hill.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/C6D98F7D-75AA-4592-B898-3FB1B2AF7F6A-1024x922.jpeg)
Thanks for checking out my Treehouse Dining Room Project. More projects are in the making, so let me know if you’re interested in seeing more of this sort of thing.