Brayden's Rainforest
3-D elements propel mural walls “over the top”
Alma Gaul

He may not fully appreciate it yet, but young Brayden Schaeffer has an amazing mural on his bedroom walls.
His dad, Dave, an art teacher at Davenport North High School, not only painted every square inch in a brilliant rainforest theme, but he also built several three-dimensional, tactile elements that send it “over the top.”
The piece de resistance is a tree made out of 2-by-4 pieces of lumber and metal heat duct flex line that he covered with chicken wire mesh and five buckets of drywall compound before finger-finishing it to resemble tree bark.
The tree is secured into the wall and ceiling so that when Brayden gets a little older — he turned 1 this month — he will be able to climb it, perhaps reaching some of the stuffed animals stored in the branches.
Another special effect is the faux fur glued atop a gorilla arm.
The Schaeffers, who live in a rural subdivision south of Blue Grass, Iowa, are home improvement pros. With the help of family and friends, they built their entire house five years ago.
“We’re project people,” Dave, 30, says.
The idea for the rainforest theme came from Brayden’s mother, Bonnie, a teacher at Wilson Elementary School in Davenport.
More than a dozen animals are featured in the 12-by-9-foot room and hidden in the design — a la “Where’s Waldo?” — are the names of 36 family members, an addition Dave thought would add interactive interest to the room. (The couple has developed a key to help visitors find their names.)
Other custom touches were the construction of a window storage bench and, atop the window, a cornice board treatment that doubles as a display shelf.

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