We live in a two-bedroom house so transforming the second bedroom (which was previously an office, spare room and clothes storage) into a nursery was always going to mean we had to be clever with the space, as the house is relatively small and it was already serving so many purposes. Once we’d cleared it and added all of the baby essentials I always felt there was something missing – and it turns out that adding a wall mural from Photowall was exactly what was needed to give the nursery that extra detail that makes it so much more homely and fun. (Also – if you’re thinking of adding a wall mural in your house then this is great timing as I’ve shared a discount code at the end!)
We already had the gallery wall between the crib and the chest of drawers/changing station so I knew we wanted a nursery wall mural with relatively neutral/muted colours to fit in with our theme and make it feel consistent. When I came across this ‘world traveler’ mural I knew it would be the perfect fit. Sadly not quite literally as the dimensions of the wallpaper didn’t quite meet the dimensions of the wall so I had to crop out a section either side – luckily the website makes this really easy to do. I hope that Alba doesn’t grow up thinking that New Zealand doesn’t exist! It still looks great though and you definitely wouldn’t notice unless you were looking closely.
I was concerned that putting up the mural might be complicated but Photowall make it really easy. I added their wallpaper kit for £16, which gives you everything you need to put the wallpaper up (as it already comes with paste). I say wallpaper because the mural comes in a long roll but has the cut lines exactly where you need to trim, and then these perfectly fit your wall. They’ve really done all the hard work for you! Then it’s just a case of pasting the wall and hanging in sections.
I absolutely love the effect and it feels as if this room is ‘done’ now. We couldn’t decide between wallpaper, a mural, or even vinyl stickers but I’m so glad we opted for this choice as it goes so perfectly and really pulls together the whole room. I think as Alba grows older we’re going to love looking at all of the illustrations with her and telling her about the countries we’ve visited.
The nursery is still very multi-functional – what you might not immediately realise is that this room actually has two beds in it – every other weekend (and sporadically in between) Liam’s five-year-old daughter Reeva stays with us, and with only a two-bedroom house that means that both of them now share this bedroom. The chair with the black and white cover is an IKEA chair-bed that pulls out into a single bed but also looks smart and blends with the room when not being used. (It’s very handy for the night feeds!)
I was always keen that the nursery be quite neutral – as much as Reeva would love me to fill it with all things mermaids, princesses and unicorns – I wanted it to be in keeping with the rest of our decor, which tends to be a lots of greys with pops of colour. On the other side of the room we have grey shelves built into the recess and toy baskets which are bursting at the seams with Reeva’s Barbies and colouring books, as well as providing more shelving for both Alba and Reeva’s books (of which there are a lot!)
Finally – if you are considering adding a wall mural, wallpaper or any product from Photowall to your home, then use arosieoutlook25 for 25% off! (Valid for a month from the date of this post).
More details
- Wall mural wallpaper – Photowall – Gifted
- Rifle Paper Co – Don’t Worry Be Happy Print – £22
- Atlas Cotbed – Mamas and Papas – £279 – though we found ours on FB Marketplace!
- Picture ledges for books – IKEA – £9
- Luna Lapin rabbit – Happy Albatross Etsy
- Head in the clouds art print – Abel and the Label – £14
- A is for Alba pennant – Beespoked Studio Etsy – £12
- Origami Changing Mat – Argos – £14.99
