Thank you to Shutterfly for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

neutral nursery and kids art // sarah sherman samuelThe rest of the house is in complete shambles but we managed to carve out this little space for Clover in the meantime. I used a painters tape to create the pattern on the wall, the whole thing took me only a couple of hours to do (even though it looks like a few minutes on my IG stories), but the best part about this room is that it celebrates the season we are in right now. We had some custom art and home décor printed through Shutterfly using the artwork that Archie, along with his friends and cousins that have visited us in our first month here, created on the wall in our living room. We have since torn that wall down but before we said goodbye to it I took photos of the entire mural and then used pieces and portions of it to make the printed art canvases, blankets, and pillows.

We knew we were going to be removing that wall that divides the kitchen and sitting room before we even saw the house in person so on one of the first days here I dug out Archie’s paint sticks (these are the best thing that ever happened to kids art) and let him go to town on it. Over the course of the month we had friends and family visit and more and more art was added. When it came time to tear it down it was a little sad to see it go and that’s why it makes me so happy we will still have several pieces of the mural in the house.

I took photos of the wall and brought the images into photoshop to brighten and tweak the color. The goal was to get the background as close to white as possible so using the brightness and contrast tool was key (I also went ahead and took creative license to make the color palette less primary and a little more nuanced). Once I got it to where I liked it I saved it as a jpeg and uploaded it right to Shutterfly. From there it was super easy to pick a canvas print and apply the art right on the site.

neutral nursery and kids art // sarah sherman samuelI loved this little rainbow which Archie’s 7 year old cousin pointed out was NOT a proper rainbow. “There is no brown in the rainbow (eye roll).” When I took a photo of it there was lots of scribbles and marks around it but again I isolated it in Photoshop using the lasso tool and copy and pasted it onto a white background. From there, again, I uploaded it to Shutterfly. Their canvas prints are so fun to make instant art.

For the paint treatment on the wall I used “Polo Tan” by Behr paint and 1.5″ painters tape. On walls that were already painted white I simply eyeballed the stripe pattern using knowing that I wanted to have some variation and imperfections to show a hand in the pattern. Once all the painters tape was up on the wall I rolled the paint on (cutting in at the edges with a brush) and then before the paint dried all the way, I removed the painters tape (I waited about 20 minutes or so). I love how the paint treatment adds so much visual interest and is WAY less expensive than wallpaper.

Above is the mobile I made for Archie on his due date. We still have to build a bedroom for him so it is sweet to see it hanging in Clover’s space.

neutral nursery and kids art // sarah sherman samuelI was able to incorporate the artwork to make personalized blankets as well!  I also brought in the ladder I made, from our previous master bathroom, to hold our new “Archie & Friends Mural” Shutterfly blankets.

The room isn’t finished but it is far and away the most complete space in the house and I am just happy I finally got my rocking chair back so I don’t have to cuddle with Clover in a metal folding chair anymore.

To see all of our renovation posts and plans for our “samuel family fixer” check here.

‘Print your own’ Large Canvas Print via Shutterfly //’Print your own’ Medium Canvas Print via Shutterfly //’Print your own’ Yellow pillow via Shutterfly //’Print your own’ Rainbow Pillow via Shutterfly //’Print your own’ Fleece Photo  Blanket via Shutterfly // ‘Print your own’ Sherpa Fleece blanket via Shutterfly // Crib from Wayfair // Rocking Chair from West Elm // One of a Kind Moroccan Rug from Lulu and Georgia // Sheepskin rug from Lulu and Georgia // Side Table from High Fashion Home // Mobile and blanket ladder by Sarah Sherman Samuel

  • I LOVE meaningful home decor and this is such a great idea! We let our kids go to town with markers on the carpet we replaced this summer. Definitely a memory they’ll have for awhile.

  • I love that you eyeballed the stripes and they aren’t perfect! It looks amazing and sounds so much less stressful than I would’ve imagined. Such great design, as usual.

  • Michelle meyer

    Love this space!! Where is the rug from?

  • Tiffany

    BLOWN AWAY by how great the paint turned out! I have been looking for more affordable options to wallpaper- this is so inspiring! Xx

  • That is super cute! Love the diy wall treatment.

  • […] If you need some innovative nursery ideas, Sarah’s design is damn genius. […]

  • HMH

    So cool and inspiring. Bravo mama.

  • Maureen

    This is so fresh, love the palette.
    Not sure I’d be able to get those line looking so uniform even with the tape!! Brava 🙂

  • Marita

    Brilliant. All of it. Simply brilliant. I’m in awe that you eyeballed the stripes. .

  • Julie

    Because Instagrammers share more and more tips and tricks and behind the scenes pics, I now take every picture I’m shown with a pinch of salt, like « Are her 10 fingernails painted or just the ones we see ? » 😂 So just between you and us, have you painted the four walls of Clover’s room? 😉

    • sarah

      Haha! I definitely have not but that’s no secret because we will be removing doors and doing drywall work so there is no point to paint yet! This room is still very much a work in progress.

  • […] 1 // Sarah’s New Nursery Reveal […]

  • Allison

    The graffiti wall is wonderful! Great way to work with a changing space and let kids have some fun. The stripes, though? OMG. I can’t imagine what it’s doing to a child’s brain. It’s too much for little growing neurons to have to navigate. The relation to body and space is still forming in children and that would be very disturbing to the proprioceptic process when experienced in an ongoing stream.

    • sarah

      We actually have double black out shades in her room so it’s pitch black and she wouldn’t know there were stripes dots or otherwise.

  • Carol

    I would like to attempt this painting technique in my guest room. I know you did some detailed instastories on the process, are these stories still available?

  • Admiring the commitment you put into your blog and the detailed information you offer. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same unwanted rehashed information. Wonderful read!

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    […] Sarah Sherman Samuel gave her little girl a temporary nursery while their home was being renovated. Yes, this was the temporary one! When using painter’s tape […]

  • […] she came upon Sarah Sherman Samuel’s design for her daughter Clover’s nursery, she knew she had her starting point: stripes. Since she lives in a rental, she was wary of using […]

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