Mural Monday - Sentimental Subway

Ana Gabriela
17 hours ago
2 min read

This Mural Monday is one of my favorite kinds of projects. Personal. Meaningful. Designed entirely around memory.

Mural 28 was painted in a residential home in Camas for a family of three who were renovating their bathroom. What started as a simple remodel slowly turned into something more. As the renovation progressed, they realized they did not want just another plain white bathroom. They wanted something that felt like them. Something sentimental. Something fun.

When I walked through their home, I immediately noticed their love of maps and trains. Travel clearly meant something to them. That is when the idea clicked.

What if we created a custom subway map of their favorite city but instead of real train stops, every stop represented a place they had traveled together? And each stop would include the date they visited. The symbols, the icons, the layout, all of it would be intentionally designed to reflect their shared experiences.

They loved the idea immediately.

The Design

This mural required careful planning. A subway map looks simple at first glance, but it is actually a very structured design. Lines must feel intentional. Spacing has to be balanced. Typography needs to be clean and readable. And in this case, every detail carried emotional weight.

Each stop on the map marked a real place they had visited together. Each date held a memory. Even the small symbols incorporated into the design were chosen to represent meaningful aspects of their travels.

It was not just decoration. It was their story, mapped out across the wall.

Painting the Wall

Once the design was finalized, I got to work. Because the design was graphic and line based, it came together fairly quickly, but precision was key. Clean lines. Balanced spacing. Careful lettering and LOTS of tape.

There is something incredibly special about watching a client recognize their own memories unfolding on the wall in front of them. As the mural progressed, they would notice another date, another stop, another small symbol tied to their journey. Seeing their reactions made the entire process even more meaningful.

By the time we finished, their once simple bathroom had become one of the most personal spaces in their home.

What It Taught Me

This mural reminded me that art can hold memory in a powerful way. As an artist, I have the privilege of taking intangible moments, trips, milestones, shared experiences, and turning them into something physical and lasting.

It also reinforced how meaningful residential murals can be. When you design around someone’s life story, the work goes beyond aesthetics. It becomes a reflection of who they are and where they have been.

And finally, this project reminded me how creative you can be when clients are willing to think outside the box. A bathroom does not have to be plain. A wall does not have to be white. With a little imagination, even a small space can become a masterpiece filled with meaning.

It is such a gift to be able to transform memories into murals that will live in a home for years to come.