Let’s all sing “Raindrops & Rose Paint.” Yes, that’s a cheesy Sound of Music joke—please forgive me, Julie Andrews. But take a look at how bright and joyful Clara’s room feels now that we painted colorful raindrops on the wall and transformed the closet door into a bold watermelon pink.
It used to be a lot plainer—just white walls and a simple layout. Now the room feels cheerful and playful.
The door color in real life is truer in the Instagram sneak peek we shared (phone photos win for color accuracy). Some of the lighter pink drops are easier to see in person than they are in photos, where they can blend into the light.
So how did this come together? We started with a heavy dose of Photoshop brainstorming. We posted mockups and asked for ideas, and you delivered—hundreds of suggestions poured in. We showed Clara several photoshopped options, including different canopy treatments, constellation-themed designs, bold painted walls behind the bed, and various closet door colors. One recurring idea that kept popping up was placing the raindrops outside the canopy instead of beneath it. That suggestion stuck because it made the canopy look like a shelter from the colorful drops.
Clara was decisive. After scanning the options, she immediately said she wanted the raindrops on the wall outside the canopy in pink, red, and blue—and the closet door had to be a dark pink, not pale. I made a final mockup based on her directions for her approval, and she loved it.
When I painted the real drops, Clara’s reaction made it all worth it. She walked in and said, “Wow! Mom, I really like it real! Even better than the computer!” Later, when the room was finished and the pink door painted, she returned and solemnly declared, “It’s… truly magnificent!” That quote from one of her favorite books had John and me laughing and smiling the whole time. It was one of those priceless, perfectly sincere kid moments.
The raindrops are hand-painted using a homemade stencil. I started with a ripped-out activity page from one of Clara’s books, folded it in half, and cut a half-teardrop shape. Unfolded, it gave me a symmetrical teardrop stencil. I traced that onto a cracker-box piece of cardboard to make a sturdier template.
With my laptop nearby so I could reference the photoshopped placement, I pencil-traced the teardrop template directly onto the wall, spacing them randomly to mimic the natural, uneven pattern of rain. I intentionally avoided measuring—the goal was a relaxed, organic look rather than meticulous precision.
I nearly ran to the store for test pots in the three colors Clara requested, but then I found leftover paint in the garage: a dusty quart of blue called Tranquil, a light pink from Clara’s ceiling named Pink Cadillac, and about half a quart of a bold poppy-red called Milano Red. If you don’t have leftover paint handy, three test pots would keep this update very affordable.
I set the open cans on a white dresser to see how the colors would read against the wall. The three shades worked well together partly because they vary in intensity—the red is boldly saturated, the blue is a mid-tone, and the pink is soft. That mix helped the overall effect feel lively without being overwhelming.
Painting was simple: I used a small craft brush and filled in all the pencil-traced drops one color at a time—blue first, then pink, then red—referring to the mockup but making small changes as I went. Each color needed two coats, and by the time I finished the red drops I circled back to do second coats on the blue and pink. Tracing and painting took less than two hours total. My favorite drops are the ones that “drip” into the canopy edge or doorframe; their cropped shapes feel playful and spontaneous. Clara admitted the red drops are her favorite, but she likes the mix because “it’s like a rainbow.”
For the door, we compared swatches until we found a darker, pinker tone that matched Clara’s vision. We picked up a quart of the chosen shade—Cinco De Mayo—and used a small foam roller and angled brush to apply two coats, plus a third pass for touch-ups. We painted both sides so the pop of color shows whether the closet is open or closed. It only took a couple of coats to get a smooth, bold finish.
Painting the closet door was one of the best moves. I had worried the room might look unbalanced, but the polka-dot curtain panels to the left of the canopy help visually anchor the door. I also worried about having one colorful closet door while the bedroom door remains white, but that contrast isn’t jarring in person. The bright door makes the closet feel like a little playhouse—a fun, imaginative nook within the room.
We still have a blank wall above the bed—one idea is to hang a white paper pendant to echo the photoshopped look. For now, the rest of the room stays mostly white, which keeps the space calm and allows these colorful accents to pop. We plan to hang art, do kid-friendly projects with Clara, and eventually transition the crib out so we can play with the wall where it sits now. But even as-is, the raindrops and the colorful door have made the room so much happier.
What did you get up to this weekend? Any stencil crafts or door-painting projects? And if you’ve ever had your child say something unexpectedly funny and sweet—like “magnificent”—you know how much joy those moments bring.
Psst— Want to know where we used something in our house? Click the shop button in the post to see our sources.
