We originally thought about adding wallpaper, but really couldn’t find any that worked with our budget. After scrolling Pinterest looking for inspiration, I remembered a post by “Room for Tuesday” (a blogger) I had seen a few years ago. I knew it was the look I wanted! After revisiting the post, I was officially hooked on the color-block idea for our playroom loft. Because the room has a unique ceiling that creates a visual seam, I decided it would be a perfect space to recreate the look I loved so much!

I’ve done a bit of precision painting in the past, but I knew it would be a challenge to get this one right. I used Sherwin Williams “Alabaster” on top and “Amazing Gray” on the bottom. It ended up being the perfect blend of neutrals and gave the modern lines of color-blocking, a softer, more timeless look.

If you’re wanting to try your hand at precision painting, I shared all the details and tips for how to achieve a perfectly straight line in this Instagram Story Highlight. Prepping your space using quality materials is absolutely the key to getting perfect blocking.

Once the walls were painted and the built-ins were sprayed, it was time to start planning the style features. I knew I wanted to play off of the wood tone in the existing banister, but also wanted to keep things neutral. I chose this beautiful woven light fixture to replace the ceiling fan. I love the texture it brings to the space, plus it feels whimsical and fun. It’s very budget-friendly and would look great in a lot of different areas in a home.

Choosing the wall color and the light fixture satisfied the “impact” pieces for the playroom loft. These are elements I like to choose first in a space, elements that will make the biggest impact. After those selections are made, other accents fall into place.

When choosing how to style the walls in this particular space, I had a few ideas but didn’t want to take away from the color-blocking either, so I narrowed it down to two larger scale wall elements. I created a gallery wall on one end of the room and used acrylic shelving to add an art display to the other.

On a smaller wall in the room, I rehung a piece of playful art I’ve had since we first moved in 4 years ago. Before this house we had never had a playroom before, and I purchased this adorable sign when I was still dreaming of having a beautiful space to hang it in. In fact, I was inspired by the frame and colors in this piece when I chose the color palette for the rest of the room. It’s one of my favorites!

Let’s talk about acrylic. I love it… in moderation. When I was trying to think of a modern way to display the kid’s art, I came up with the idea to use nail polish shelves! That’s right, did they look familiar? Turns out, they’re the perfect depth to hold a canvas! I ordered these as a set and I’m so pleased with how they turned out. We worked hard to leave our mark on these canvases, so I’m happy with how beautifully they’re displayed.

In addition to the shelves, I also chose an acrylic chair to accent the built-in desk. I love how petite it is. The thing about acrylic is, it’s useful and functional without being visually weighted. I liked the idea of the space feeling open and airy, plus we added a beautiful new gold pull to the oversized desk drawer. Who would want to hide that with a chair?!

The organization in the space was obviously a huge detail to consider. I went with easy, affordable storage from Target. I love mixing wood tones with other natural elements like basket weave and woven cotton. Accenting with a metal is always a good idea, and small, gold accents were a perfect touch to this room.

Overall, this project took longer than expected because of item availability and weather, but it was worth the wait. Sometimes there are things out of your control when you’re working on a space, and that’s ok. Design takes time!

I hope you enjoyed the details of this room makeover and choose to stick around for the next one! Follow along on Instagram to see which project is next! Thanks for stopping by, Jamie xo

I knew I wanted to keep them very affordable, but I also wanted the photo quality to be excellent. No sense in having photos on the wall if they’re a blurry mess! As you know, sometimes when photos get enlarged too much, they end up looking computer-generated. I was really trying to avoid that problem, but also keep the cost down. I found that Office Depot’s photo prints were affordable and had great reviews, so that’s the route I took. I decided to take my own photos and have Office Depot print them.

Taking the photos:

I set my phone up on a tripod so that the lighting and angle would be the same for each photo. I used a white wall in my office as the background and had each of the kids stand on a piece of tape. They took turns getting into frame and acting silly! I took around 10 photos of each of them so I would have a few to choose from.

Once I decided on my favorite photos, I edited them using the Lightroom app on my phone. I used the preset “B&W Low Contrast” and didn’t have to do any cropping at all since I used a tripod, this is key.

Ordering Prints

On officedepot.com you can easily upload your photos and select the size. I had mine printed as 24” x 18” because it was a good fit for the wall I chose. I chose “55 lb. matte” paper. Prints with these specifics ended up being $19.99 each and shipped in about a week.

Framing the Photo Posters

Originally, I had ordered a pack of 6 poster frames from Amazon, but when they came in they were sooooo cheap and flimsy I returned them. I ended up happy with these frames from Target. The quality is good for the price, they’re plexiglass, lightweight and great for kids’ spaces.

Hanging the Photo Posters

Obviously, you’ll need to measure your space BEFORE printing and framing your posters, but there are a few tips I can offer for hanging. I like to leave 3-4 inches between art on all sides, with a 6 inch+ offset from the corner/edge of the wall on either side. These rules can be applied to hanging most galleries.

The frames were easy to work with. I made sure the plexiglass was free from dust after removing the protective film and was careful not to touch it at all. Because these particular frames hang from a single hook, I added rubber pads to the bottom corners of each frame. I’ve found this extra step keeps the frames from slipping out of square once they’re hanging on the wall. I’ve used this trick a lot throughout our home.

Overall, the project cost about $170 and I’m more than happy with that! A piece of wall art that is personal, impactful and affordable is what I was after. I hope you found value in the ideas and tips I shared in this post. If you create a photo poster gallery in your own home be sure to let me know. Follow me on Instagram @hello_bloomcreative for more!

Thanks for stopping by, Jamie G. xo