One of my favorite clients, Kemerie, called me last year to tell me they had moved to a bigger house, and although she had visions of a classic and tasteful little boy's room for her son Graham, her husband had bought Graham removable stick-on decals of his all-time favorite guy, Spidey. Not at all what Mama had in mind, but I assured her we could work with it.
Though definitely "all boy", with a love of cars, policemen, firemen, and superheroes, Graham is one of those little boys who speaks in long sentences, wears khakis and polo shirts, and will probably own a briefcase before he graduates middle school...if he doesn't already! I wanted to give him a room that would be a backdrop for the interests he has now, and would be likely to work through his teens as well.
To create the Minneapolis skyline, I drew and masked off the buildings, then brought the ceiling color down onto the wall "behind" them, fading it into a light version of the wall color, so the contrast wasn't too stark. No need to repaint the whole room; no need to worry about the custom work clashing with anything Graham might want to hang on the walls. With Arts and Crafts style furnishings, this room is classic enough for a grown-up, but rugged and neutral enough to look perfect filled with all the colorful toys Graham and his pal Peter Parker love to play with.
This is a great use for all the new vinyl wall graphics. I don't paint licensed characters, as they are copyrighted, and now you can buy them cheaper in vinyl than any artist can paint them anyway, plus, they are removable. With any theme room, from Pooh to Harry Potter to Spiderman, you'll get more longevity, and possibly a less cluttered look, if you paint the room as a place for the favorite character to live, rather than with images of the character. This also creates a backdrop for your child's imagination to go beyond the limits of someone else's character.
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