This is the story of how a gift from Photowall inspired me to refresh the design of my children’s room into a modern and playful space!
About two months ago, the lovely folks at Photowall reached out asking if I would like to try out their wallpaper. There was only one answer to that question: Umm, YES, please! As to where I would put it, I immediately thought of the kids’ room. As nice as it was before, it is so much more vibrant now!
The “Before” Shots
These were taken shortly after we moved into our current house. Nothing much had changed in here for the last couple of years. Now that they’re older, they also needed a more user-friendly space including a little workspace for my almost 9 year old and a little vanity area for my 5 year old. Since they’ll continue sharing a room as long as we live here, I felt it was important for each of them to have a space within the larger room that was exclusively theirs.
Looking in from the doorway at my son’s side of the room
My daughter’s bed
Choosing a Wallpaper
All that in mind, I drew up a few mood boards for how I wanted the space to look and function. I knew I wanted it to be modern and playful and the collaboration with Photowall could not have been more timely! The hardest part of the process was choosing which wallpaper to pick. I wanted something bold that would make a statement and was nature-inspired. Since the choice wasn’t just mine to make, I put it to a family vote and Tropical by Lemon won! As you’ll see, it is bold and oversized, with beautifully rich, sophisticated colours that will age well as the kids grow.
Placing the Order with Photowall
The process of placing the order with Photowall was extremely simple. I entered in my wall measurements plus about 5″ extra on either side. I chose the Premium wallpaper for the extra matte finish because the room is so bright and could handle it. For $20 extra, I also ordered their wallpaper assembly kit consisting of all the tools you need to hang it up. That’s it! The wallpaper shipped extremely fast and arrived in a single long roll of 5 strips (based on my wall measurements). Each strip was marked clearly within the roll showing the orientation i.e. which side was up, and where to cut each strip to detach it from the roll. The quality was impeccable. The paper was thick and heavy but not cumbersome with the promised matte finish and the slightest texture. I was impressed!
The How-To
We had some reservations about hanging wallpaper having never done it before, but guys, it was so easy! The wallpaper came with powdered glue which we mixed in a large bucket just by adding water. We rolled the glue (pretty generously!) directly on to the wall with a paint roller and then pasted the paper on top. The trickiest part was lining up the edges- it’s definitely a two person job. Once the wallpaper dried, we trimmed the overhang with a sharp blade. All in all, it took us about two hours and I couldn’t be more pleased with the end result!
The Modern and Playful “After”!
Here’s a look at the newly redesigned modern and playful kids’ room from the doorway and… wait for it…
Here’s the gorgeous “Tropical” wallpaper from Photowall!
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Once the wallpaper went up, it was time to bring out the new bedding I had been holding on to (bought on sale a few months ago from H&M Home) and a new shag rug from Rugs USA (soft, plush, and modern without the hefty price tag.)
I also bought this beautiful, quirky portrait from Society6 to hang over my daughter’s bed. I love the variance in scale between the oversized tropical wallpaper and the petite gold framed portrait.
This is my daughter’s side of the room
And this is where my son sleeps. / “I am a Jedi like my father before me” Star Wars Print
Making A Mini Workspace
Although their room is a decent size, it doesn’t really have enough room for a full size desk. I looked at many mini desks too but the problem was always the depth of the desk vs. the width. This wall is the only one that made sense but since it’s in front of the closet, I needed something I could fold away to allow easy access.
This wall mounted floating desk was the perfect solution! We hung the Ikea Skadis pegboard above the desk to display photos, art, and to hold pens and pencils. I picked up a clear Ghost chair replica on Facebook Marketplace for a steal and it’s the perfect solution for seating in a small space without adding any visual clutter!
One thing to note- the outside of the desk is actually the same medium brown as the inside. I didn’t love the colour so I used leftover primer, green paint (In the Garden by Benjamin Moore, Aura collection), and spray sealer to refinish it. I love how it looks now! It brings in the green tones from the tropical wallpaper into this side of the room.
Lastly, the Book Case and the Little Vanity Space
Before I moved the leaning book case to this wall, we had the Ikea Flisat dollhouse bookshelf wall mounted here. (It was never as neatly stacked as in this photo hah.) As my daughter has grown from a toddler to a preschooler starting to read, her needs for book storage have changed too and this dollhouse just doesn’t have enough room. This wall is also large enough that I was able to fulfill her wish for a vanity.
Leaning Book Case (similar) / Mirror / Acrylic Wall Shelf / Prints from Artifact Uprising / Acrylic Stool (similar) / Faux Mini Fiddle Leaf Fig / Moroccan Shag Rug
The fur covered acylic stool was another amazing Facebook Marketplace find and the rectangle mirror and acrylic shelf rounded up her vanity. The leaning book case is from Crate & Kids (back when they were The Land of Nod). Since my daughter took over the leaning bookshelf, I bought this rattan plant stand that I’m using to hold my son’s chapter books. It is low and sturdy and the perfect place to hold his bedtime reading!
And there you have it! Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think of the children’s modern and playful new digs!
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Until next time,
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