Let’s all join hands and sing “Raindrops & Rose Paint.” Yes, that’s a terrible Sound of Music pun — forgive me, Julie Andrews — but you have to admit Clara’s room looks delightfully cheerful now that we painted bright raindrops on the wall and gave the closet door a bold watermelon-pink makeover.
Remember when the space looked like this?
Now it’s definitely looking much happier.
The door color shows truer in this Instagram sneak peek we shared; the pink raindrops are easier to see in person — they hide a bit in some photos.
How did we get here? We started with a bunch of Photoshop brainstorming and some fantastic suggestions from readers. We showed Clara several mockups — original versions plus new ideas based on your comments — and one recurring suggestion was to place the raindrops outside the canopy rather than underneath it. That concept made the canopy feel like shelter, which we loved.
We created a few variations: raindrops outside the canopy, constellation-inspired designs, bold paint across the whole wall, and different closet door colors. Clara was decisive — in about 2.5 seconds she told us she wanted the raindrops outside the canopy, in pink, red, and blue, and she insisted the door be dark pink. That led to one more mockup for final approval.
She was right about the door color — I’m obsessed with the shade we chose.
When Clara saw the real painted drops she said, “Wow! Mom, I really like it real! Even better than the computer!” Later, after the door was finished, she walked in and declared, “It’s… truly magnificent!” — a quote from one of her favorite books, Room On The Broom. It was such a sweet moment.
The raindrops are simply painted on using a homemade cardboard stencil. I made the template from a torn page of an activity book: folded it in half, cut a half-teardrop shape, unfolded it, traced it onto a cracker box, and cut that out. The folded paper trick gave me a symmetrical shape that I liked.
I brought my laptop into the room to reference the mockup placements, but I intentionally avoided precise measuring — I wanted the drops to feel random, like real rain. I traced the template on the wall with pencil, staggered them around, and stood back periodically to check spacing.
Instead of buying test pots, I dug through leftover paint in the garage and found three colors that worked: a blue called Tranquil, Pink Cadillac (leftover from Clara’s ceiling), and a bold Milano Red. If you don’t have leftover paint, three small test pots would be inexpensive and still yield great results.
I laid the cans on a white dresser to see how the colors played together and liked that they varied in intensity — the red is bold, the blue mid-tone, and the pink softer. That mix helped the mural feel lively without becoming visually noisy.
I painted one color at a time, starting with blue, then pink, then red, using a small craft brush. Each color needed two coats, so I circled back to complete the second coats. Tracing and painting took less than two hours total. My favorite drops are the ones that playfully drip into the canopy or door frame — those cut-off shapes feel especially fun. Clara admitted the red drops are her favorite, but she said she likes the mix because it’s “like a rainbow.”
When it was time to paint the door, we tested swatches to find a slightly darker pink than the mockup and bought a quart of the winning color, Cinco De Mayo. It took two coats plus touch-ups, applied with a small foam roller and an angled brush for the frames. We painted both sides of the closet door so the pop of color shows whether it’s open or closed.
Painting the door was the right call. I had worried it might make the wall feel unbalanced, but the polka-dot curtain panel to the left of the canopy balances the visual weight. I also hesitated about having a single colorful closet door while the bedroom door remains white, but in person it reads like a playful little playhouse door inside her room. The bold color is the first step toward making the closet feel special for Clara.
We still have a blank spot above the bed — we’re considering a white paper pendant like in one of the mockups — and most of the room remains white, which we like. There’s plenty more to add: art, projects with Clara, and eventually removing the crib to play with that wall. For now, the raindrops and colorful door have brightened the room and made it feel more joyful.
What did you do this weekend? Any stencil-making or door painting? And did your three-year-old ever say something hilariously dramatic like “magnificent”? That was my favorite part.
