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As you switch off the lights and your eyes adjust to the darkness, the walls and furniture fade away and the night sky emerges directly above you. Suddenly you are miles away from the lights and stresses of the city. The distractions of the day are lost in the far reaches of space. You're beneath a beautiful night sky, caught up in the wonderment of the universe, or in fond memories of nights spent outdoors. You are gazing at thousands of stars, familiar constellations, comets streaking across far corners of the sky, the shimmering band of the distant Milky Way...

Only you are in your own home, comfortably enjoying your private view of the universe. Can you imagine luxury beyond this?

What is a Night Sky Mural?

Definition: High-end, original works of art that truly resemble the real night sky.

A Night Sky Mural is a proprietary paint process that recreates a permanent, astronomically accurate simulation of a star-filled night sky on the ceiling of a darkened room. Our skilled painters hand paint each mural, one star at a time, reproducing a very realistic starscape illusion with thousands of glowing stars that turn your ceiling into a vision of the universe. You choose the date and time represented, our skilled painters create the astonishing results.

When your room goes dark the ceiling will seem to disappear and you will be left staring into a photorealistic image of the far reaches of space. The night sky will emerge as clearly as if you were outdoors. When the lights are on, no one will know that the stars are even there.

Is my Night Sky Mural really astronomically accurate?

The illusions are designed to recreate a night sky that you would see from any prime veiwing location here on earth, with individual stars ranging from about -2 to the 5th magnitude (with -2 being the brightest and 5th magnitude being very hard to see).

It is nearly a planetarium quality experience. Major constellations are easily identifiable and the minor stars are more random.  

Various price points represent different levels of detail, but all Night Sky Murals are a clear representation of actual stars. In fact, many astronomers have told us that they are amazed at how real our murals look. They say that, "it is amazing at how similar looking at our murals is like looking into the heavens."

And since a Night Sky Mural is astronomically accurate, it makes an excellent learning tool. Kids and adults can learn together as they examine the night sky. Learning to locate and identify the constellations in the comfort of your own bedroom can translate to star gazing adventures in the outside world. Learn to read a star chart as you get to know your mural and you can take that skill outside on your next camping trip.

How long will I see the stars?

The duration of the photo-luminescent glow is entirely dependent on your environment and your ability to control it. The darker the room, the longer (and more detailed) you will see the night sky. Under normal conditions the glow lasts for several hours after the lights go out… and chances are, you will fade long before the stars do. (We can promise you this… There is no better paint on the planet to do these types of murals. We make it ourselves and only Night Sky Murals artists have access to it.)

Your private universe will appear above your head every night for decades.


What is a Night Sky Mural made of?

Since it is really a process and an expressive work of art, your Night Sky Mural is primarily the product of talent and technique.

Over the years (since the mid 1980’s) Night Sky Murals has made great strides in the scientific aspect of realistic mural creations. We have studied, explored, tested, learned and applied the highest level of science and innovation to our materials, tools, techniques and processes. We have developed, along with the help of excellent suggestions from our customers, murals so realistic that they leave our clients speechless.

The outcome has been nothing short of astonishing. Night Sky Murals is the only company in the world today that has achieved the incredibly high level of realism in our art. We are the only company in the world that can guarantee that our murals glow in the dark all night long. We are the only company in the world that can offer glow in the dark murals that will energize in the shortest period of time and perform well using nearly any light source.


Aren’t all glow paints the same?

Not really. The paint that we use in our murals is the product of years of research into finding the best possible product available. We tried purchasing the paint from “high end” dealers only to be disappointed. They were either too thick or too runny for our liking. They either didn’t show up well enough or they were too bright. They would either be visible on your ceiling when the light were on… or they didn’t glow well or long enough in the dark. Or, if they did… they would glow the wrong color. We just couldn’t find the right combinations of what we were looking for.

Finally we decided that if we wanted a paint that would meet out high standards… we would have to make it ourselves. So, together with one of the top faux painters in the country, we mixed hundreds of different combinations of artist gels, gessoes, lacquers, pigmented paints and other products from around the world. The end product is the only paint of its kind in the world that does exactly what we need it to do. And once applied, it becomes permanent, non-toxic, washable, and will last for many years. Once dry or set, it will last as long as the wall surfaces to which it is applied.

But please don’t miss the point with all of this boring explanation… even though we use really high grade, proprietary paint in our murals, it is the skillful application of that paint that makes the magic.


Can I purchase some of this paint from you?

Only licensed Night Sky Murals artists (who can only be found on the official Night Sky Murals website) have access to this special paint… and they are the only artists in the world who use our highly guarded techniques and processes.


What about that glow-in-the-dark paint or those stick-on stars?

The difference is astronomical.

The luminous substance found in most off-the-shelf products lasts for just a few minutes and loses its brilliance over time. Sticker dots or stars are unconvincing and just can’t produce a realistic effect.

Our trained artists accomplish astronomically accurate murals in just a few hours that might take a novice days or even weeks to research and recreate. The techniques that go into the creation of an original Night Sky Mural are different from anything that we have ever seen. And we only share those techniques with our licensed artists.

Will I see stars on my ceiling or walls in the daytime?

A Night Sky Mural is nearly undetectable on any neutral surface in normal light. Whites, off whites, pastels of all colors, smooth or textured surfaces show little or no evidence of this remarkable effect until the lights go out.

A dark colored accent ceiling or wall might show some hint of the process in daylight. If there is a chance of that happening, our artists will discuss this with you before they start painting or even paint a star or two for you to see what it might look like for yourelf.

Where will you paint my Night Sky Mural?

Over the years, we have painted our murals in many different places. We have even painted galaxies on the ceiling of a converted bus, the underside of an umbrella, and on the inside of a high-quality tent. But the most common places that we have covered are Home Theaters, Master Suites, Meditation Rooms, Massage Rooms, Family Rooms, Kids Rooms, and in the Master Bath. Those are all excellent places to have murals painted because they will be enjoyed every night.

Is this just for the home?

We have created beautiful star murals on ceilings in Bed and Breakfast Inns, and we’ve also donated murals to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

We have, and will, travel around the world to create our brilliant star murals in any room that you choose, that will get dark enough.


Will you work with Interior Decorators or Contractors?

Absolutely! We have and we will be happy to work with interior decorators or contractors or anyone else who wants to recommend us to others. We have the best product to be found and you can be secure in knowing that your clients will be happy with the end results.


How do I get rid of my Night Sky Mural if I don't want it anymore?

We have never heard of anyone growing tired of the night sky, but if you really need to get rid of your mural, applying wallpaper or two to three coats of good quality paint will completely obscure the treatment.


How long does it take to paint a Night Sky Mural in an average size room?

Remembering that this is an original art piece that we are going to be creating for you, it is important to understand that time is a variable in the process. We will be working in the dark… we will be on a ladder… we will be bending over backwards… holding paint in one hand and the brushes in the other hand and in our teeth. With these things in mind, let me attempt to give you a general idea of the time involved.

We have some murals, like our smaller “sky lights” that can be created in just an  hour. We can also paint larger, more basic ceilings, from somewhere between a few hours on up to a day…which very often turns out to be a very long day.

Then, there are the more complex murals that can take from 2 to 3 days on up to a week or more to complete. These murals are rare but we can give you a better time estimate after asking you a few basic questions.


Will you travel to paint my Night Sky Mural?

Absolutely, we are happy to go anywhere our night skies are wanted. If you don’t see a local licensed artist on our contact page, call the toll free number to reach our home office and we will be happy to work out the details with you. We constantly get calls from around the country and world, and we will be happy to either come right out to paint a mural for you or wait until we have a few customers in the same area... which will help to keep costs down.


Can you paint the Night Sky Murals on any type of ceiling?

Most surfaces that we have been asked to paint on have been great for our murals. We’ve created Night Sky Murals on many types of ceilings…tape & texture, popcorn, acoustic panels, metal, cloth and wood. Chances are that your ceiling surface is in the range of possibilities.


What advance preparations do I need to make?

Usually there is not much for you to do to get ready for us, other than to bake a batch of cookies and to make the work area easy for us to move around in. It’s usually as easy as moving a few things and then turning down the temperature in the room for us (we get very warm when painting in a sealed room).

Furniture along the side of the room is usually OK and we just drape cloths over them and then reach over them to the ceiling and walls. But, if you feel that you will be painting the ceiling within the next few years, do that first, before your Night Sky Mural. It will make a huge difference. The same applies to popcorn ceilings, if you’re going to be replacing it, do it before adding a Night Sky Mural.

What if my ceiling has a fan or overhead light?

In our experience, almost every ceiling has some type of obstacle… like fans, lights, smoke detectors, ventilation registers…and more. We simple draw these items into the mural by painting stars on them too. Remember that the paint is not visible in the light, so these items look normal when the room is lighted. When the room is dark, these items disappear and blend into the rest of the mural.



How much does a Night Sky Mural cost?

Costs vary with the size and height of the room, as well as with the level of detail you want represented. All of our work is done on commission and each mural is unique; no two are ever the same. We have painted murals for as little as $600 and as high as $8000. But an average mural, with good detail, will usually cost around $1200.

Call or email us today for an estimate. We will do our best to create a mural that will fit into whatever your budget might be. Our skilled painters will take measurements and discuss options before beginning any work. And then we guarantee to deliver a finished project that will exceed your expectations.



What makes Night Sky Murals stand out from the competition?

It has taken 20 years of painting, listening to customer’s comments, making adjustments, painting more murals, listening to customer’s comments, and then making more adjustments before he created his highly refined and elegant form of art.

Today, thanks to the years of research and formulation behind our proprietary paints and processes, Night Sky Murals is light years ahead of anything else you can have done. There are a few who do nice work, and others who cost a bit less, but you would be hard pressed to find any other company that will come close to giving you the detail and service that Night Sky Murals is known for.

Our customers are constantly impressed with their finished product, and they tell us as much. Visit our Testimonials page to see the many unsolicited comments we have received over the years. When an astronomer, a man whose office truly IS the night sky, tells us how true to life his mural appears, that tells us we’re doing a great job.



I have seen other variations of the Night Sky Murals name. Are they your dealers?

In a word: No. The only way to get an official Night Sky Murals artist it to find one on our website or by calling us directly. There are many others who have realized that Night Sky Murals is the leader in this industry, and they are trying to capitalize on this and capture business using our name or a variation of it. Please, when you are ready to have a mural painted, look for the Night Sky Murals logo (which can be seen across the top of each page), and look for an artist on the official Night Sky Murals website. If you have any doubts, please give us a call.