Murals have long shaped the cultural landscapes of cities. Now, they are transforming private homes, letting individuals shape their most personal environments with artistic expression.
According to the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, Philly alone is home to more than 4,000 murals, with dozens of other metropolitan areas worldwide, from Los Angeles to Berlin to Melbourne, following close behind.
Large format art is now transforming home interiors, turning walls into canvases and making immersive art a central part of daily living. This shift signals a growing desire for people to live with and engage deeply with art on a daily basis.
Faith47’s recent work in a Nashville home is one outstanding example of successfully incorporating powerful custom artwork into residential spaces.
Large Format Art and Home Life
Earlier this year, Don Miggs, a musician, producer, and founder of Canyon Private Artists Studios, and Lisa DeBartolo, a philanthropist, CEO of the DeBartolo Family Foundation, and Cheekwood board member, decided to bring this concept to life in their own home.
As an art history major in college, art has always been an important part of Lisa DeBartolo’s life, so having it exhibited throughout her home—whether as a sculpture, a mural, or a canvas—brings her joy and happiness.
The couple commissioned a courtyard mural from Faith47, their favorite internationally acclaimed artist.
Born in South Africa and captivated by graffiti, Faith47 has evolved into a globally recognized street and fine artist, with a portfolio that includes museum, gallery, and commercial work. Her poetic, large-scale works deconstruct the notions of value and place, investigate forms of domination, and explore the shapes of human perception, many of which have been featured by Universal Studios, Hennessy, and SOHO House, among others.
For this particular piece, Faith47 drew inspiration from the bee balm plant, a native medicinal species that blends environmental symbolism with spiritual grounding, integrating the plant’s healing essence into the heart of the home.
Photo credit: Brandon Lee
Don Miggs is captivated by the fact that Faith47’s work is immediately recognizable while also feeling like it’s the first time she’s ever done a piece. Because of this, her work always feels inspired and singular—never feeling like she’s treading over the same old grounds.
Turning a Home into a Masterpiece
To bring their dream to life, the DeBartolo-Miggs family engaged Cassie and Jake Greatens of CASS Contemporary(CASS), a premier provider of high-end art consulting and management services for discerning collectors worldwide, who facilitated the commission.
“Jake and I are always stressing the importance of diversifying your art collection with different mediums and styles,” said Cassie Greatens. “While doing this, though, you must also make sure to curate your home with what speaks to you. Don’t just follow trends—select artists and pieces that you want to look at day in and day out. Even placing a mural in someone’s home has to fall in line with that criteria.”
To many people, murals are just public art pieces, but throughout the Greatens’ years in this industry, they have coordinated numerous residential murals by artists from around the globe.
From gardens and kitchens to game rooms and hallways, the couple believes that murals can be a captivating centerpiece and an unexpected addition to one’s collection. For example, this mural by Faith47 will be located in the courtyard of the clients’ home, which happens to be a focal point from every angle of the house.
At its core, this approach expands how collectors think about art at home.
Recognizing Potential
When deciding where, what, and how to incorporate a mural into a home, it’s essential to consider these six steps.
- Consider the purpose of the space – Align the mural’s themes with the mental, emotional, or functional tone of a space, such as calming for bedrooms and energizing for living rooms.
- Identify natural focal areas – Leverage existing architectural features, such as accent walls, entryways, staircases, and vaulted ceilings, to maximize the space.
- Work with sightlines – If the goal is for a mural to act as a home’s centerpiece, it should be positioned where it can be seen from the space’s most prominent vantage points.
- Prioritize balanced scale and proportion – Even when a mural is a space’s focal point, its size should complement the room’s existing features, such as wall dimensions and ceiling height.
- Lean into light sources – Both natural and artificial lighting can act as an enhancer, amplifying the perception of texture, color, and even mood—place murals to benefit from or respond to these conditions.
- Account for long-term impact – When deciding on an artist, placement, and artistic direction, consider durability, ever-changing tastes, and how the mural will age with respect to its surrounding interior design scheme.
Photo credit: Brandon Lee
Unlike traditional canvases, residential murals are site-responsive and intimately intertwined with the surrounding environment, designed to shift, interact, and evolve.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of the medium, art is more than decoration, and murals are no exception. Individually, they’re lasting expressions of home, place, and purpose, but collectively, residential murals reflect a larger societal movement toward living alongside art that resonates.
Much like the DeBartolo-Miggs family, modern collectors are building a legacy — one piece of art at a time.
