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Painting A Closet Door Pink & Raindrops On The Wall

Let’s all join hands and sing “Raindrops & Rose Paint.” Yes, that’s a bad Sound of Music pun. Please forgive me, Julie Andrews. But just look at how festive Clara’s room is thanks to the addition of some bright raindrops that we painted on the wall and a watermelon pink closet door.

Painting Colorful Raindrops And A Bright Closet Door Title Card

Remember when it used to look like this?

Before Photo Of Daybed With Fabric Canopy In Front Of Blank Wall

Well, it’s definitely looking pretty happy these days.

After Photo Of Girl Reading On Daybed With Fabric Canopy And Colorful Door And Raindrop Mural

Although the door color is actually more true to life in this Instragram sneak peek that we shared yesterday (iPhone for the win). And the pink drops are easier to see in real life (they seem to hide in these pics for some reason).

Girl Peeking Out Of Colorful Pink Closet Door Next To Raindrop Mural Bed | Cinco de Mayo

How did we get there? Well, a whole bunch of photoshop-brainstorming here resulted in over 900 truly amazing comments and ideas from you guys. And then we shared all of our original photoshopped versions of the canopy wall with Clara as well as some new ones that we whipped up based on suggestions from you to see which ones she liked best. We never would have thought of all the things you guys came up with, and one that rolled in over and over again was the idea of putting the raindrops outside of the canopy instead of under it like we had originally done in this rendering (which was inspired by this this charming project).

Photoshop mock up of Potential Mural Of Raindrops Under Fabric Canopy Over Bed

We loved the idea of the canopy appearing to shelter Clara from the colorful little raindrops, so this new take on the raindrops was one of the extra ones that we photoshopped for her to see (along with some other fun ones involving constellations, some bold paint on that full wall behind the bed, a few different colors of paint on the closet door to the right of her bed, etc).

Photoshop mock up of Colorful Raindrop Mural Painted Around Fabric Canopy

And let me tell you, Clara’s a decisive girl. After about 2.5 seconds she looked at them all and said “I like the raindrops on the wall outside but I want them to be pink and red and blue, and I want the door to be pink – but not light pink. DARK PINK!” Which led me to making this photoshopped image for “final approval” from Clara.

Final Photoshop mock up of Red Pink Blue Raindrop Mural With Dark Pink Closet Door

I’m obsessed with the door color that we ended up with, so Clara was right!

Dark Pink Closet Door Cinco De Mayo Benjamin Moore With Raindrop Mural

In short, she’s a decorating genius (along with you genius readers and all of your genius suggestions). The cutest thing of all is that when she saw me painting the raindrops she said “Wowwww! Mom I really like it real! Even better than the computer!” And when it was all done (including the pink door, which she incessantly reminded me about until it was done) she walked in and said “It’s….. truly magnificent!” It’s is a quote from one of her favorite books (Room On The Broom) and it had John and I rolling on the floor. Seriously, it was the sweetest moment and I wish we had thought to record it.

The raindrops are actually just painted right onto the wall using a simple cardboard stencil that I made. To make the template for it, I used an old page from an activity book that Clara had ripped out and tossed aside (waste not, want not) and folded it in half vertically and just cut a half-teardrop-ish shape from it and unfolded it. I liked the scale and it was nice and symmetrical since I used the folded technique, so I traced that onto the back of a cracker box and cut it out to create a cardboard template.

Cutting Out Template For Raindrop Mural Shape Using Cardboard

Then I brought my laptop into her room so I could reference my photoshopped placement of the drops (although I didn’t mimic it exactly) and just traced the cardboard shape directly onto the wall with a pencil, randomly staggering them around that wall. There was zero measuring involved since I didn’t want them to be perfectly placed (rain seems to fall more randomly than that anyway) so I just stood back and checked out the wall and sort of eyed everything as I went.

Tracing Raindrops On Wall With Pencil using Cardboard Template Shape

I assumed we’d have to run to the store for some $2.99 test pots of paint in pink, blue, and red as Clara requested – but I looked in the garage at what we had, and was thrilled to find an old dusty quart of blue paint leftover from a few years ago (the color is called Tranquil) and remembered that we had some pink leftover from Clara’s ceiling (Pink Cadillac) and there was also about half of a quart of a bold poppy-red color called Milano Red from a few years back (don’t even remember what we used that for!). But if you don’t have a paint hoarding problem like me, three test pots would do the job for under $9 – so either way this is a simple and low-budget update, especially since you can make your own stencil for it!

After digging those out, I shook them up, and popped the lids off all three of them, and just laid them out on the white dresser top in her room to see how the colors worked in there (it helped to see them on a white surface since the wall is white so it gave me a good idea of how they’d work together – although paint dries darker so I knew the light pink would show up more on the wall). One happy accident about finding all of these colors in the garage was that they all had varying intensities (see how the red is the boldest one and the blue is sort of the mid-tone and the pink is light and soft?) which I realize now in hindsight might have helped the whole project come out slightly less busy than if all three colors were super bold and sort of compete-y with each other.

Open Paint Cans Of Three Colors For Raindrop Wall | Pink Cadillac | Tranquil | Cinco De Mayo

I was sold, so I called John and Clara up to see them and they both gave me the thumbs up and left before I could put them to work (smart people), so I dove into filling all of my pencil-traced raindrops on the wall using a very small craft brush.  I worked with one color at a time, doing all of the blue ones first (I consulted my photoshopped image but went rogue a few times if I thought a different color order would look better in some spots) and then moved onto the light pink ones and finished with the bold red ones.

Hand Painting Blue Raindrop On Wall Mural With Small Brush

Each color ended up needing two coats, so by the time I finished the red ones I went back in and did the second coat on the blue ones and then did the second coat on the pink and then the red. Total time spent tracing them onto the wall and painting = less than two hours. Oh and my favorites are the ones that drip into something (like the door frame or the canopy) just because their cut-off shape is so playful. It really does feel raindrop-esque in there now, and I’m so glad that Clara loves it as much as we do (she did admit that the red raindrops are her favorite, but she “likes them all mixed up like that because it’s like a rainbow”).

Girl Playing On Bed Under Final Raindrop Mural Over Fabric Canopy Bed

Then it was time to paint the door, so after holding up a bunch of swatches to try to find one that was slightly pinker and darker than the photoshopped image that Clara had otherwise signed off on, we headed to the store to grab a quart of the winning color: Cinco De Mayo. The hilarious thing about that color name is that I thought “since I have so much leftover paint that I can’t even remember in the garage, I should go through it to see if I have some of that color by some paint miracle” and I found one can that said Mardi Gras on it and totally did the happy dance and then my brain said “Cinco De Mayo and Mardi Gras are not the same paint color” (oddly enough they were kind of close except Mardi Gras was a little more neon).

So we ran to the store and bought a quart of Cinco De Mayo and it just took two coats (and a third pass of just touch ups) to get it done with a small foam roller and a small angled brush to get into the frames of the door (you can read more on door-painting here). We did both sides of the door just so that whether it’s open or closed there’s that pop of color over there.

Girls Bedroom With Colorful Raindrop Mural Around Canopy Daybed With Closet Door Open

Oh and to everyone who recommended painting that door, you were totally right! Initially I worried about the wall feeling unbalanced if we painted it, but the polka dot wall of curtains (there are four of them) to the left of the canopy seems to visually balance the bright door so it’s not an issue at all. I also worried it would look weird to have one colorful door in her room (that’s her closet door) while the door to her room (from the hallway) remains white, but it’s not a big deal in real life. I just had to get over my matchy-matchy thing (all of the doors in all of our houses have always been white)… but once I saw this one on Pinterest I was all over it. I’ve always wanted to make that closet feel like a little playhouse within the room for Clara, and the bold door is the first step to that.

Side View Of Colorful Dark Pink Closet Door Painted With Cinco De Mayo Color

Of course we still have a big blank spot over her bed (we think maybe hanging a white paper pendant might be fun, sort of like the lamp in the photoshopped version) and her room is still full of white walls everywhere else (we chose one of our favorite white paints). We can’t wait to hang some art, do some projects with Clara, and eventually get her crib outta there so we can have some fun with the wall where that lives. But it’s a whole lot happier with those raindrops and that colorful door in full effect.

Close Up Of Painted Colorful Raindrop Wall Mural In Girls Bedroom

What did you guys do this weekend? Any stencil making? Or door painting? How about cry-laughing when your three year old says “magnificent” – that might have been my favorite part.

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Comments

  4. Wendy @ New Moms Talk says

    It looks gorgeous!

    We had some very serious 5-year-house-plan chats that lead my hub and I to discover that we were very much on the same page, though we hadn’t known it before.

    In order to lighten that up, I finished up our textured pumpkins and we took them to the beach to photograph them. One ghost slipped in there, too.

    http://www.newmomstalk.com/2013/10/28/diy-sand-textured-pumpkins-on-a-beach/

    It was awesome watching the waves toss them around and then realizing that Mod-podge can stand up to waves.

    Reply

  7. Eliza says

    It looks fabulous! What a fun space for a little one. It’s so playful :)

    Did you have any issues with the pencil outlines showing through the paint? The blue and pink paints look light enough not to cover a dark pencil line, so I would love to know how you did that!

    I just can’t wait to see what the nursery looks like!

    Reply

  8. Christina says

    Totally had that “a-ha” moment as i realized my nursery is missing a… wait for it… pink door! Thanks for the inspiration, Clara!

    Reply

  10. Sarah says

    “Is there room on the broom for a mommy like me?”… I say that to my daughter ALL the time! It’s my current favorite book for her… she’s 1 so I pick her favorites :)

    Love the raindrops!! Clara knows her color-wheel!

    Reply

  14. Christie says

    Clara’s room is perfection! I absolutely love the raindrops and I am obsessed with the closet door color. Love, love, love it! :-)

    Reply

  16. Lauren (in PA) says

    Love, love, love it! Especially that pink door!

    Clara is a decorating wunderkind!

    That little apple has not fallen far from the tree!

    Reply

  19. Audrey says

    Very Very VERY CUTE!!!! It is so great that Clara is old enough now to get her two cents in. As for hanging something under her little canopy, i thought a locker chandelier would be really cute, but it might be too small. Are y’all gonna let Clara help in deciding what to decorate for the new nursery? Then when the baby arrives, she can tell him/her all about the deciding process and what she chose for him/her.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, that would be fun! Although we’re trying to make it clear to Clara that it’ll be her sister or brother’s room (right now she ducks in there and plays sometimes but we don’t want her to feel “offset” by her sibling when he or she comes home so we’re reminding her it’s going to be the baby’s room). I think getting her involved would be fun as long as we explain that she’s not designing another room for her – haha!

      xo
      s

  20. Erika m says

    I love love it! Just a thought…maybe layer a hot pink sheer curtain in with the polka dots..might make it feel more matchey for ya…love the tones..navy white dark and light punk…beautiful, calm but fun!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think I actually like it not-matchy for now (just needed to stop being nervous and go for it) but that’s a fun suggestion if we want more pink over on that other wall.

      xo
      s

  22. annie @ anniehearts says

    So sweet! I really love it! Clara is a lucky little one.

    I see lots of gauze-y white fabric for over the bed that takes the same shape as the fabric you already have, but softens the edges and billows down on each side a bit.

    Annie XO

    Reply

  25. Alanna says

    Up until now I haven’t been a big fan of the room. It was just “meh” to me. I wanted to see more colour. I really like the rain drops and the pink door. Very cute and I don’t think that Clara will out grow the design any time soon.

    Reply

  26. Lindz says

    Ermehgerd. How mad will you be at me if I 100% straight up plagiarize/steal this idea??? I was already planning a canopy-over-reading loft as part of my two daughters’ room redo for their birthdays next month (they are turning 6 and 4) and now that you’ve made the canopy I was already going to steal into a 1000% more amazing feature with the raindrops…

    What if I promise not to paint a pink door? ;)

    In short, I love it so much. SO MUCH.

    Reply

  29. Brittany says

    I have to say, I loved Clara’s big-girl room before, but with the move and some items getting switched in and out (like the rug and curtains, although I know they were semi similar to what was in there before), I still couldn’t see where the new room was going. But somehow the raindrops and door pulled it all together again. Seriously genius. Love it.

    Reply

  30. Robin says

    This weekend I painted my first room EVER! I calculated how much paint we’d need and since we had almost a gallon left at the house I figured we could use it. We ran out of paint… whomp whomp. It’s a tiny patchy, but looks like we’ll be buying more this week.

    Reply

    • Megan says

      I had that happen last week too! I had about a 2 foot section of the wall left. But it all worked out because the room really needed another coat all around, and those “sucky walls” sucked up almost another full gallon!

  31. Lisa @ Double Door Ranch says

    Agreed, it is truly magnificent!!! I love how much you bring Clara into the design process. You guys are such awesome parents.

    This weekend I had to hit my Reset button. Sometimes life gets too hectic and we need to just sllllooooowwww down. But I did get around to blogging about our new World Market sofa and Joss and Main rug that I’m crazy about! Also, an homage to chihuahuas!

    doubledoorranch.blogspot.com :)

    Reply

  32. Sarah A says

    This looks great! I finished painting a vintage wooden chair (from my parents’ house, possible originally from grandma) white. I now realize I should have spray-painted the chair rather than using a brush. It has 8 overlapping spindles up the back and curly legs – total pain to paint, and it didn’t turn our as well as it should have. I thought of your still-to-be-painted stair spindles whiles I rued my paintbrush choice.
    Then I painted a red Curly W – we are Nationals baseball fans! — on a pumpkin, using an exacto blade to create a stencil from overlapping masking tape. Much easier than carving it, which I tried – fairly unsuccessfully – to do last year.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The pumpkin sounds awesome! So sorry about the chair, though. You might be able to sand things smooth and then just spray one top coat to make it look awesome!

      xo
      s

  33. Steph says

    That looks so amazing. I don’t remember if I commented or not but I definitely thought you should do this when I saw that post & I’m so glad you did. It looks SO adorable. Never would have thought of the door thing either.

    I think I want your readers to decorate my house. :)

    Reply

  34. Krissy says

    I love it, it’s so cute! I actually couldn’t see the pink raindrops on my laptop and didn’t realize they were there until you mentioned it and I tipped the screen back! Hoping they show up better in real life. That door is awesome, I wish younger me had a pink closet door growing up!

    Reply

  35. Erin {Home Everyday} says

    I am obsessed with the door. OBSESSED! Pink is my favorite color, and I am always trying to find ways to incorporate it without causing eye rolls from the hubby. This would be perfect. The raindrops are adorable too!

    Reply

    • Bethany says

      DO IT. I have a pink door almost the same color in my living room and I LOVE it. Best idea I’ve ever had. And my bf says he likes it too, so maybe your hubby will approve as well. :)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They do look similar, but the door has a lot more gray/muted-ness to the color. We feared if we painted the door Milano Red it would look neon red in such a large dose (although the small drops are sweet with that intensity) so we looked for a color that had some muddyness to it, but still would read bold (it sort of goes into the rule that John mentioned in our Thursday post about picking paint colors). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

    • Nancy says

      I wondered the same thing and am not sure I would have been brave enough to use the red door color and the dark pink raindrop color so close together. It’s a lesson to me, seeing how perfectly they work.

  37. Lisa C says

    The before and after shots are great. It really shows how animated the space becomes. I should really try that photoshop tip. thx!

    Reply

  41. Tracy de Lemos says

    This turned out great! What an awesome idea! I am so glad you went with painting outside of the canopy instead of under it. Love love love how it all came together.

    Hope you were able to grout some tile this weekend too! Looks like the colder weather may be here to stay though.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Guess what John’s outside doing riiiiight now???!!! Wahoo! This weekend was too cold (it needed to be over 50) so he’s hoping to squeeze it all in with an update for you guys on Wednesday.

      xo
      s

  42. charlotte m. says

    Clara is so smart. That door is awesome!! I love the raindrops on the outside of the canopy. Makes them really look like it’s raining. Can’t wait to see what you do with the rest of the room.

    Reply

  43. Megan says

    Soooo cute! My daughters future big girl room has a closet with a slanted ceiling like Clara’s; I love the idea to paint the door a different color to make it seem like a play house! I will definitely be borrowing this idea when the time comes for her to move up to the big girl room. :)

    Reply

  44. Kari says

    I probably missed it on a previous post, but I LOVE her bed?! Looking for something as we transition our little one from crib to big girl bed to make room for baby sister due in March ;-) May I ask where you got it from?? Thanks :-)

    Reply

  46. Annie says

    Love everything, except the rug, which in my opinion throws everything “off.” The blue in there is great but the darker color just doesn’t “go” with everything else and I think makes the rug detract from the whole room. I’m hoping the rug ends of the FPFN (former possible future nursery) when it becomes the nursery.

    Reply

  50. Megan says

    I die! This is unbelievably cute. I love that she loves it too. For my first I hand painted polka dots using a small fiestaware bowl as my template. This brings back fond memories. But seriously, you guys have really “brought it” this time around.

    Reply

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