This month, Charlotte Designs turns 20—a milestone I never imagined reaching when I started the business with a toddler on one hip and a baby on the other.
Back then, Charlotte Designs was all about creating interior design schemes for children’s spaces. My very first project was a rocket-themed bedroom for a six-year-old boy who loved space. His parents had painted the walls a deep blue to get things started, but it ended up giving him nightmares. I was brought in to help. I softened the colour palette, added stars and planets, and designed a 2-metre-high rocket bed to complete the room. He loved it—and I was hooked.
Over time, the projects got bigger. In 2009, I made the decision to stop offering interior design and focus entirely on murals—a move that transformed the business. Suddenly, I was working not just in children’s bedrooms, but in living rooms, schools, offices, care homes, hospitals, and beyond.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work on some amazing projects, in beautiful spaces, and alongside some truly lovely people. So when I’m asked—as I often am—which mural is my favourite, I always find it an impossible question to answer.
But birthdays are a chance to pause and reflect. So as part of Charlotte Designs’ 20th birthday celebrations, I’ve done the impossible: chosen my Top 20 murals.
Here they are…
The projects that I did for Ironmongery Direct were particularly interesting and pleasing for me, not least because I competed against 13 other (much larger) companies to win the work. Their warehouse is enormous, they wanted to brighten it up, make it a nicer place to work and have a nod to ironwork. The company’s head office is in Paris, so a mural of the Eiffel Tower seemed obvious, along with London Bridge. They were both exceptionally large and I used a similar colour palette to keep a bright, co-ordinated look. Most importantly, the staff loved them.
Basildon July 2021
This Tuscan trompe l’oeil is just one of my favorites. I love the Italian countryside and so the opportunity to paint this scene on a kitchen wall was just a dream. My clients were brilliant and really allowed me to explore my creativity and I think that is one of the reasons the murals turned out as well as it did.
Oxford February 2024
No list of my Top 20 would be complete without including Muriel. I don’t think I have painted a mural that has such an impact, received so much love as Bedford’s giant octopus on the side of Lurke Street Car Park. The Arc’s owner took advantage of Bedford Council’s grants to improve the town centre post covid. She wanted to bring some colour to her little corner of Bedford and my golly she did!
Bedford March 2022
My business has always been about transformation—and few projects capture that better than the playground at Kew School. The space was originally a patchwork of dull, mismatched surfaces that lacked energy and cohesion. By adding a vibrant, jungle-themed mural, we brought the area to life. The bold colours and playful design didn’t just brighten the space—they tied it together, creating a fun, inviting environment that feels complete and full of character.
London – March 2023
I take you now to June 2016, when one of my best private clients over the years, had a very large basement built. Like me, he was (is) a massive Harry Potter fan and wanted to turn it into Hogwarts Great Hall, but his builder had told him real stone was not going to be a option. Enter Sarah and her paint brush…
I painted metre after metre of faux stone (I actually don’t know how many metres…), faux windows, Diagon Alley style blocks revealing scenes of Olivanders and Gringotts and of course a dementor, hiding behand the spiral staircase. Apart from the fact that the project was large and a subject matter that I love, what I was most pleased with about this project is that although the room is filled with beautiful real French Oak, my faux oak blends in seamlessly.
High Wycombe June 2016
Brad’s entrance hall. A more delightful older gentleman you could not wish to meet. His hobby is walking and he wanted the entrance of his beautiful home to look like the start of one of his favourite walks. It is a great example of how a mural does not have to be big to be impactful and is full of tiny details that visitors to his house can discover. It was a great idea and as an artist himself, he allowed me enough time to really create a beautiful mural.
Leicester June 2021
I carried out my first mural restoration in 2019 and discovered that I had a love of bringing murals back to life. So when the Morrit Hotel asked me to bring their John Gilroy mural back to life ofter 70 years of smoke, dirt, damp and remodelling, well, how could I refuse. It resulted in my first TV appearance and a huge amount of publicity. But most importantly for me, the mural was uncovered, undated and preserved for future generations.
Greta Bridge June 2021
This was one of two murals for Weston Favell Shopping Centre to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. Created in collaboration with the local school, these murals were designed to add some much needed colour to an otherwise drab landscape. The response of the local people as I was painting was just phenominal, people loved them.
Northampton June 2024
The next in my Top 20 makes it in on size and proof to myself, that I could handle very large, very complex projects with moving goal posts and tight deadlines. I had done a few indoor play areas prior to Windmill Farm, but this was by far and away the largest. Everything you see in the picture, the walls, play frame and windmill are all painted by me.
Leicester May 2019
This was the first time that I had created a mural for an exhibition (that wasn’t my own!) and the first time I had used printed labels to create the mural. My client, Epson UK, had an exhibition in Brussels and wanted a nod to Belgian culture. Belgium’s most famous artist is Rene Magritte, one of his most famous paintings is a large eye ‘The False Mirror’ and Epson’s tag line was ‘Exceed your vision’, well it seemed obvious to me…. I created this large eye with different coloured labels. It was such fun to work with the guys at Epson and everyone was so happy with the outcome.
Brussels September 2019
I am often asked if I get nervous painting murals and the honest answer is no…well, not usually. This one however, for one of my best clients St. Andrews Healthcare made me VERY nervous. This is an Autism ward and the guys on there wanted a (very specific) Lamborghini sports car. I knew from my conversations that if a single detail was wrong, I would not get away with it. Cars are not my natural thing to paint, so yes, for this one I was nervous. I am happy to say that I got the thumbs up from the residents on the ward and that alone guarantees it a place in my Top 20.
Northampton May 2022.
Every so often, you get a call which makes your heart sing, and for a Tolkien nut, ‘please can you paint a Lord of the Rings themed mural’ was music to my elvin ears. I put a couple of different ideas together for my client, but was delighted when he chose this one. It is packed full of personal and book references and has the added advantage of opening out this room and making it feel larger. It is still the only mural I have ever painted where a dragon expert was consulted.
Southampton February 2023
I don’t think it will come as any surprise that my latest big project at Luton ABC Cinema makes it onto the list. I loved this project from beginning to end, getting feedback from the public and hearing their wonderful stories about the cinema, coming up with the designs and finally spending 3 weeks painting and getting the incredible feedback that it has. It has been a dream project.
Luton March 2025
This is one of my favourite ever murals, simply because it is mine! I painted it in our sitting room over 8 years ago now and still love it as much as the day it was painted. It gets constant compliments and is one of those murals that sucks you in, that has more every time you see it, the layering and the details. The gold is metallic too, so in the evening with low level lighting, the gold leaves shimmer.
This mural for me is home…
Potterspury February 2017
This mural is another one where the initial phone call really piqued my interest. My clients live in a converted WW2 bunker and had a large courtyard, visible from all the main areas of the property, that they wanted to turn into a view (plain white concrete wasn’t doing it for them, understandably…). The mural was complex from a design perspective and also from an access one, and the weather was not helpful, but I just love how it turned out.
Bicester June 2024
This was one of two murals painted in the bathroom of a care home. My clients had invested a goodly sum on a state of the art, walk in bath. But it looked so odd, the residents were afraid to use it. So I painted trompe l’oeil windows with seaside views as a distraction. After painting, they struggled to get residents out of the bath…they remain one of my favourites as they ably demonstrate the power of art and how perceptions and mindsets can be changed relatively easily.
Redditch December 2014
MK Gallery was the first really big commercial project that I took on, under the expert guidance of my friends at Signarama. The gallery wanted their new branding to be put on the outside of the building and hand painting it was the only option. It tested me to my core, and is still the only mural that has ever made me cry from frustration (those bloody green stripes!). It’s prominence both in Milton Keynes and the wider community, without question, changed my business forever. Those big squares were 6m across (how sad I can still remember) and it was the first proper sign writing I every did. What a project.
Milton Keynes July 2011
This was part of the first big government contract I won. It was to paint 30 murals in a dementia unit, over a period of about 3 months. I had done a couple of care homes and a hospice by that point, but this was by far and away the largest healthcare contract at that point. I painted such a wide variety of things, but this one of St. Michael’s Mount was one of my favourites on the whole project. The project was different for a number of reasons, but the two things that stick out for me are going back to the same place week after week for three months, I really got to see first-hand how my work was making a real difference to the residence there. Also, as it was a government project, there was formal feedback on how the work had been received and the effectiveness of it, which validated what I had done.
Milton Keynes September 2013
This was one of a series of murals painted for a primary school in Milton Keynes that fitted in style with artists that the children study. Henri Rousseau is a personal favourite of mine, so for Lion Class, I painted a Rousseau inspired jungle lion. I love the colours of this mural and it really made me develop a love for ‘painting in the style of’, which would fuel my later work in mural restoration.
Milton Keynes August 2012
This makes it in purely because I love it and certainly bits of it (specifically the horses armour) are probably some of the best I have ever painted. My clients live near Naseby, on Knight’s Hill and wanted something in their gorgeous dining room to create some drama. I came up with a victorious knight on his way home after battle and after a storm. I remember painting this on the run up to Christmas and all my friends had already finished work for the holidays, I was up my scaffolding, painting, and didn’t want to be anywhere else.
Leicestershire December 2016
I’ve truly loved this trip down memory lane—putting together this list has been a joyful and emotional experience. Choosing just 20 murals out of the 700+ I’ve painted over the years was no easy task, but I followed my heart, and I’m happy with the selection.
There probably won’t be another 700 (I am not as young as I used to be!), but I’m still painting and plan to continue for as long as I love what I do. I’ve got some exciting new projects on the horizon, and I can’t wait to share them with you.
In the meantime, a heartfelt thank you to every client who has trusted me with their space. It’s been an honour and a privilege to bring your walls to life.
Absolutely fabulous Sarah! Your work is AMAZING and you are a real inspiration to me as a beginner muralist. I’m in love with your most recent work on the cinema – just beautiful!
Its undeniable, artists make a difference!
Hi Sabrina, thank you for your lovely message. You might be interested in the mural course that I am currently putting together.