How to make a rainbow room shine with a unique alcove design.

My daughter wanted a rainbow 🌈 and unicorn 🦄 room, with lots of pink! In my mind I said, “how is this going to work when I love black so much?!” But that’s what she wanted and I continued despite my fears of slapping color (esp pink) onto her walls. If I were being honest, color scared me.
My first thought was, “oh great we’re going to have a pepto-bismol room!” Because of my fears, I was determined to give her the room of her dreams without turning it into a pepto room. I wanted her to fall in love with her space, I wanted it to be her own, I wanted it to paint a beautiful picture of who she is. Because truly your home does reflect who you are!

I wanted to do something fun and different. I wanted to challenge myself in ways I haven’t been challenged. I definitely wanted to attempt a ceiling as well.- OUCH! Did that one hurt. Why did I sign myself up for hours of painting the ceiling? Because I knew it would be worth it in the end.

I wasn’t used to playing with bright fun color, But I am so glad I did! I found that color isn’t so bad after all. And it can be super fun!

Choose a Color Scheme: Decide on the colors you want to incorporate in your Rainbow room. Consider using vibrant colors as shown here.
Start with a Neutral Base: Paint the walls a neutral color such as white.
Select Furniture: Look for furniture pieces that incorporate the colors of the rainbow. This could be a multicolored rug, colorful chairs, etc.
Add Colorful Accessories: Include accessories such as pillows, blankets, curtains... Mix and match patterns and textures to create visual interest.
Create a Rainbow Wall: Dedicate one wall of your room to creating a rainbow effect. This about this wall being the focal point of the room. Paint vertical stripes in the colors of the rainbow or use wallpaper or decals in a rainbow pattern. Also, be creative and don’t forget to think about the ceiling… Try making an alcove design.
Incorporate Lighting: Light can make such a statement in a room.
Artwork: Hang artwork or photographs on the walls to enhance the rooms overall look . Look for paintings or prints. I personally believe in large artwork.
Remember, Let your creativity flow and enjoy creating your fabulous Rainbow room!
Below, I will list all items in this room, as well as how I painted the striped wall.

This rug is a 5'3"x7'3” is from Wayfair. A rule of thumb for choosing the right size rug is, 24" beyond the bed on all three sides of the bed, but you should also consider the size of the room. I picked this style to soften the room and add a touch of elegance with its modern/Vintage style.

The horse art is from Photowall. I wanted a larger photo (40x40) to make a statement. I glued the wallpaper to a piece of plywood and made my own frame. Walla your personalized art!

The velvet luxury drapes are from Amazon in blush pink. This also adds a punch and a huge statement in a room with some added Lux. :)

As you can see in the before and after, we also tore out the 20+ year old carpet and put in LVP by Kardean Korlok Reserve in Weathered Oak. We also updated the trim and the famous boob light- you know that had to go immediately. ;)

The side table I also had purchased years ago from target.

Let's talk about how stinking cute these watercolor unicorn sheets are?! They are everything I was searching for. I found them on a sale at West-Elm. The coverlet was from Target by Project 62. The teal pleated round pillow is from At Home.

So let’s break this down and give you the details on how I painted the stripes.
Priming. Do not skip this part. Why? Because, It is super important. When Painting, esp over a darker color when using a lighter color, you need to prime or else the color before it will bleed through causing you to see the under color. In my daughters room there was a blue color paint on her walls It took 3 coats of primer. Yes 3 coats of PRIME. Image if you didn’t prime and you just painted the color that you decided to change it to- You would be painting more coats with the more expensive paint than a gallon of prime. Save yourself time and money here. Yes, its a daunting process but its important part of the process.

Next, After I primed, I took the primary wall color, which in this case, I chose SW Ibis White. (Click here to read my review on Ibis white.). I did not paint Ibis white where the stripes would be. And in the picture below you can see Ibis white had a wink of pink. :).

Taping: I took a different approach than most on this part. I would only tape one side (the right side) of the stripe and free hand the Left side. I know that can sound scary. But rest assured it wasn’t too bad. (Below is a picture for reference)

Tip part: On the tape line I would paint the existing wall color (white primer) on top to prevent bleeding when I would go to paint my pinks and blues. Make sure you don’t see the painters tape bubble where you just painted your white color on. If you do, press over it with you fingerto get it to lay flesh against the wall. In some home the texture is heavier than ours. So make sure that the tape gets pressed into those “grooves”. Make sure it dries and then paint on. :) After I “primed” the tape, I then painted 2-3 coats on each stripe which gave me an edge to glide against when I freehanded the other line of the stripe. I don’t trust painters tape because, let’s be honest, it always bleeds through! Look at the video of how well the tape comes off! AND there are no bleeds!!!!