Painting A Compass Ceiling Medallion - Big Boy's Bedroom

At the risk of taking the Map & Explorer theme too far, painting a compass medallion above the ceiling fixture was the quickest and cheapest solution to a problem.


What problem? When I removed the original light fixture marks were left behind that the cap on the new fixture did not cover. I thought a quick touch up would be all that was required and I'd be on my way. But despite my using what I am virtually certain was a can of the original ceiling paint, a big shiny spot was the result. Oh brother. Realizing I'd never be able to match the paint and finish, which has been on the ceiling for over two years, I thought this project was a good idea.


So I Googled "map compass" and found this image. Good, I'm ready to go.


Using a large mixing bowl a circle was traced around the socket...this was the fastest method I could think of to use! Then I drew a second circle around the first and marked lines to indicate where N, E, S and W would be painted.


The smaller circle was painted Sherwin William's Macadamia, the wall color used in the room.


The second circle was painted Sherwin Williams Camelback, the color used to fill in the maps on the walls. Then using a small painters brush I began adding the details. I only had about an hour for this project and this worked to my benefit. I didn't have time to attempt perfection! The resulting rough lines fit the character of the room and the maps on the walls.

(And BTW, I am not a fan of the texture on these ceilings! Luckily I notice it more in these photos for the blog than in real life.)





I can't wait for Max to see it when he gets home from school! Incidentally, North was placed to reflect how the house sits, but afterwards I stepped back and saw a nice surprise. North on the compass is pointing towards Alaska and Canada, South towards Australia and New Zealand, East to Japan and West to the Americas. I have no idea how I got so lucky!

p.s. However, if I were to do this project again, (in case you'd like to try a similar project) I would instead place all the letters to radiate from the center rather than be oriented in one direction. This would allow the compass to read well from all the vantage points in the room.