Next-Generation Design

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If These Walls Could Talk
No longer content with plain old paint, right-brained parents deck the nursery with more-innovative wall coverings.

By Donna Garlough

To culture-minded moms and dads, a kid's room with blank white walls—or worse, one covered in Winnie-the-Pooh wallpaper—is a missed opportunity to cultivate creativity. "Wall décor is an opportunity to bring art into kids' lives," says Holly Becker, a Hollis, New Hampshire–based design consultant and founder of the blog Decor8. And since, more selfishly, they also "want kids' rooms to be the more playful versions of the rest of the home," she says, that means using custom artwork and patterns that pop.

Decals
Removable stick-on graphics provide plenty of design flexibility. Popular picks: WallCandy Arts' range of decals includes themes like farm animals and helicopters ($50 per set, Hip Baby Gear, 80 Washington St., Marblehead, 781-631-5556, hipbabygear.com). For those with edgier taste, Blik wall appliqués feature modern designs like leafy bamboo and Atari-style video-game characters ($35–$40 per set, Vessel, 125 Kingston St., Boston, 617-292-0982, vessel.com).

Kids' Art
Kids' drawings can be transformed into permanent installations. Popular picks: Artist Drew Carroll will take any drawing and turn it into a custom painting ($200 and up; drewcarroll@comcast.net). If chalk is your youngster's preferred medium, let him or her sketch away on WallCandy's chalkboard decals in square and animal shapes ($50, Hip Baby Gear). Or just grab a can of chalkboard paint and turn an entire wall into a scribble-friendly surface ($12 per quart, Home Depot, 5 Allstate Rd., Dorchester, 617-442-6110, homedepot.com).

Murals
Here in Boston you'll find some truly talented muralists who can surround your child with art. Popular picks: Belmont-based Holly Johnson's delightfully cartoonish works run the gamut from penguin-dotted icebergs to a bird-and-blossom-filled cherry tree ($500 and up, Cheeky Monkey Murals, 617-875-3930, cheekymonkeymurals.com). Natick artist Monica Erickson adds color and interest using boisterous stripes and polka dots, rather than a single theme that risks being quickly outgrown ($400 and up, M. Designs, 508-596-7850, monicaericksondesigns.com).