When we first announced we were converting our third bedroom into a nursery, we admitted we loved the asymmetrical gallery wall too much to remove it. From the start, though, we planned to swap out a few of the randomly framed prints for pieces that felt more playful and kid-friendly—perfect for a little girl’s room. Here’s how that asymmetrical arrangement looked before our art refresh.
And here’s the same frame layout after our quick art swap.
Zooming out, you can see how the new blues, pinks, and greens play with the patterned curtains and the soft aqua ceiling. The look is intentionally mismatched but cohesive—cheerful without being overwhelming or clashing.
We didn’t want to overspend on this refresh, so we shopped the craft aisle at Michael’s for decorative paper to repurpose as framed art. Most sheets were between 60 and 99 cents, and the total cost for the decorative paper used in this project was just $4.99.
Some sheets were framed on their own—like the one with the little house illustrations—and others were layered to showcase small keepsakes, such as a placeholder for the baby’s future hospital bracelet. Since we don’t have the real one yet, a paper stand-in works perfectly for now.
John suggested taping pink heart-printed paper behind a glass shadow box that had faux butterflies in it. That simple change turned what looked like a scientific specimen display into a bright, nursery-friendly piece in seconds.
We also had a black silhouette cut-out of Burger (a sweet gift from John), which was originally mounted on white paper. We carefully removed the backing and replaced it with pink-and-white striped paper. The silhouette became instantly more playful and baby-appropriate—an inexpensive tweak using a 69-cent sheet of scrapbooking paper. We also framed another sheet of squiggly-line paper with a quick placeholder silhouette of Baby P to replace later with a proper keepsake.
To the left of the Burger silhouette we included a “Feel The Love” print inspired by a skinny ice cream ad we loved. We scanned the ad, edited out the ice cream bar, moved the cute illustrated birds closer to the speech bubble, and printed the result to fit the frame. It’s a magazine-inspired DIY piece that feels custom without the cost.
We searched Etsy for affordable, handmade art that matched our palette and found a limited-edition aqua print of a girl with her dog, surrounded by floating hearts. It was just $12 and felt perfectly sentimental—like a nod to the friendship we imagine between Burger and Baby P—so we snapped it up before it sold out.
Another meaningful find was a “peas in a pod” print where each pea is made from the letter P—an almost-hidden monogram for Baby P. The print matched our colors and added a personalized touch; it cost $25 and felt worth the small investment for something that speaks directly to the nursery’s theme.
All told, we refreshed the gallery wall for about $42: $5 in craft paper, a $12 Etsy print, and a $25 print from a small art seller. You could easily spend over $100 for a similar result, so we were pleased with how much personality we added for relatively little cash. The room feels brighter and more joyful, and we find ourselves wandering in just to smile at it.
Under the gallery wall we placed a celery-toned upholstered bench we found at a thrift store for $7, which we painted and reupholstered earlier. A large toy basket tucks neatly underneath it, providing extra storage while keeping the area soft and child-friendly.
We’re nearing the finish line on the nursery and plan to share a full reveal soon. In the meantime, we’d love to hear about your own budget-friendly art projects: have you framed nontraditional items like a magazine ad or a keepsake bracelet? Have you shopped patterned craft paper for inexpensive wall decor, or found any great Etsy prints lately? Let’s swap ideas for affordable, DIY, and handmade art that makes a room feel special.
Psst—Want to see the nursery progress from the beginning? We documented the painting, shopping, crib hunting, curtain tutorial, chair search, dresser makeover, closet refresh, crib skirt project, DIY mobile, and shelf-building efforts along the way. Fun, fun, fun.