Landscaping and Decoration

<< Previous | Next >>

This section is what normally defines a prayer room and makes it unique. Normally, you want one or two large landscape pieces to really drive home the vision/theme. Then you use small decor to add ambience to the rest of the room.

• Brown paper bags - used for cave walls, mountains etc
• Disposable table cloths - used to make streams, rivers, ponds, cover unsightly things
• Reusable tarps - used to make streams, rivers, ponds,
• String, tape, clips - for fastening and securing

• Small tents - used for caves and to create private spaces
• Plastic wrap - you can buy a big roll of this from any hardware/construction store. Try to buy something glossy looking and thin. Don't buy sticky wrap. It's great for waterfalls, rivers, ponds etc.

• Waterfalls are always nice.
  • They make the room look great. You can hang things on them as a stations or make a station at the base. Goto Prayer Stations for more detailed instructions on making one.

• Light house - this one is crazy but cool.
  • Basically use cardboard, rolled into cylinders to wrap a rotating fan. It should surround it but not be attached. At the top of the fan, attach a directional light and a red cardboard cone. When you turn on the fan, the light will rotate back and forth like a lighthouse. This creates a really nice movement of shadows and such in the room, especially if you add ceiling clouds.
  • You can place the lighthouse on an island surrounded by water
  • Be careful not to cover the fan vents or you can burn out the fan motor on hot days.
• River / Stream
  • This is pretty easy but has a great effect. Basically you need a bunch of blue table clothes. Try to get different shades. For a river/stream, lay them down crinkled on the floor in a path. Layer them so you get different colours throughout. Then toss some clear wrap on top. You can buy it at home depot. Then toss some rocks on top to keep it form moving and make it more river like. You can connect it to the base of a waterfall for a nice effect as well. Putting some string lighting in it is nice as well.
  • You can have it run through the entire room, under walls and through stations.

• Caves
  • We usually cover a small tent with brown paper and decoration. Goto Prayer Stations for more detailed instructions.

• Tree
  • Building a tree is awesome. But lots of work. Goto Prayer Stations for more detailed instructions.
• Clouds
  • It's nice to have things hanging from the ceiling so not all the decor is just on the walls. Clouds are really easy to do. You just tack up some fluff. Wind chimes and other hanging decorations are nice to.

• Vines - lining the tops of walls and dividers. It's also nice to run them along the bottom edges of walls and on cave entrances etc. Works well if you run them along string lights as well.
  • Plastic vines are not cheap. You'll be lucky to find some at your local dollar store. But if you buy a little every once in a while, you'll start to accumulate them since they're reusable.
  • Vines are the quickest and easiest way to soften the room. They can be easily clipped onto anything including walls, chords, tarps etc.
• Fake flowers - scattered all over the place and on caves and mountains

• Rocks - for placing in streams / ponds (and holding down the table clothes). We have a few polished rocks that we reuse.
  • If you don't want to buy, you can always go collect some from a river. Anywhere that has strong current will have nice rocks like at a waterfall.
  • They are great for decoration as well as weighing things down like plastic wrap rivers such.
• Printed photos (examples)
  • Photos give people a focus point for prayer. They can inspire or direct prayer.
  • If you want people to pray for your city, a few photos of city landmarks goes a long way.
• Decorative Art Pieces
  • If you have them, it really adds variety to the room.
  • Things like iron crosses, inspirational quotes artsied up, paintings are nice.
  • But hand drawn/written prayers and visions are the best. Normally you collect these from previous prayer room stations. Instead of throwing everything away, keep some of the best pieces. You're collection will grow over time. They really add a personal feel to the prayer room.
• Electric Candles
  • These are expensive, but just like the vines, you can collect them over time. Don't buy the dinky tealight ones. Buy the ones that actually look like candles. They are great and easy for quick decoration and mood setting… And safe unlike real candles!