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Painting a mural in your child's room is a fun and relatively inexpensive way to make the room really come to life. But if you've never painted a mural, how can you get started? Here's a 5 step checklist for any parent.

Clean the Wall. Be sure that you work with a clean and undamaged wall. This may call for a close inspection of the wall for cracks, dirt, grease or signs of mold. Address any physical damage or mold in the wall before proceeding. It's always a good idea to clean the wall you will be painting with a trisodium phospate cleaner to be sure it's ready to go.

Prime the Wall. After cleaning, use a high quality acrylic primer as a base. If you're unsure about the quality of the paint underneath where you will be working, you may want to sand any existing paint off before applying the primer.

Create a Mural Base. If you're an experienced freehand artist, you may be able to just draw directly onto the wall using a pencil. Drawing in pencil gives you the ability to change and tweak your art until you have the picture or design you want. If you aren't confident in your drawing ability, there are two ways to copy art onto the wall. These are:

• Art Projector. Projectors are likely the easiest thing for most non-artists to copy from, and you can find one relatively inexpensively these days. An art projector simply allows you to project the image you want directly onto the wall. Resize it and position it as you want. Then, use your pencil to trace the drawing right onto the wall.

• Grid Method. This method of enlarging a picture or drawing involves drawing a grid over the paper you want to copy. Then, you draw a grid of equal and proportionate ratio on the wall. If the original is 5"x7", for example, you could scale it up to 5'x7' by drawing a grid on the wall where each foot equals one inch on the original. Use this grid to copy the design onto the wall. More information can be found on the internet.

Paint in Blocks. Once your outline is complete, start filling in the interior colors one at a time. By painting sections by color, you can save yourself a lot of time changing colors and redoing sections. For large sections of a particular color, use an interior household paint. Finer details can often be achieved for less money using artist-quality acrylic paints.

Seal the Mural. Now that you're done with the mural and happy with the outcome, it's time to seal it. Use a clear, non-yellowing varnish in either a matte or satin sheen. Following the directions on the varnish, apply it from a corner – usually in a cross-hatch movement – for an even finish.

If you want a more complex mural or aren't certain of your artistic skills, don't be afraid to ask for help. An experienced interior painting service can often help you find the right mural and apply it properly to achieve the look that makes you and your little one happy.