Trend Alert: The Power of the Painted Circle

Lollipops, peace signs, full moons, porthole windows. The circle is symmetry at its finest and comes with so many appealing associations.

We’ve been admiring the game-changing effect of a single, outsized circle painted on a wall. Here are seven examples in a range of shades, some quietly arresting, others exclamation points. And if coloring within the lines is daunting, read on for easy alternatives.

Above: Artist/designer Patricia Larsen paints a circle mural in photographer Dani Brubaker’s guest room: see Shoring Up—and Unbuttoning—One of the Most Historic Haciendas in Galisteo, New Mexico.

Patricia outlines her wall circles using a pencil tied to a piece of string taped to the wall: see this YouTube video for a How-To. Photograph by Dani Brubaker.

Above: Patricia’s finished circle. Photograph by Dani Brubaker. Above: Architect Josh Piddock of Studio Merlin lives in an eternally sunny London flat, courtesy of the clay plaster circle painted on his kitchen wall. Go to Kitchen of the Week for the full details. Photograph by Richard Chivers, courtesy of Studio Merlin. Above: Patricia Larsen painted a circle on a scrap marble headboard in her own house in Mineral de Pozos, Mexico, which she fully reinvented using scrap materials. Above: A black-and-white bedroom by Paris interior designer and antiques dealer Florence Lopez. See more of her standout wall murals in A Love Match: Liaigre and Lopez and A Loft Inspired by Josef Albers. Photograph by Philippe Garcia. Above: London architect Simon Astridge‘s Clay House is a longstanding Remodelista favorite: see Modern Plaster Walls, Six Ways. Photograph by Nicholas Worley. Above: An alternative to paint: a wallpaper mural, such as the Minimalism with Circle 4, starting at $51 from Happy Wall, which uses eco-friendly inks and PVC-free paper. Above: West Coast Walls of Abbotsford, Canada is one of the many sellers on Etsy offering Removable Circle Wall Decals; this one comes in a range of colors and sizes starting at $7.

More wall ideas:

• Trend Alert: Hand-Painted Details All Over
• Your Leafy Greens: Herbarium, New Botanical Wallpaper and Murals from Sandberg of Sweden
• Hear This: Baux Makes Acoustic Paneling from Natural, Biodegradable Materials