Jackson’s Jungle Room

Jungle nursery

My nephew must be a wild kid! First we threw this shower for his mom (here & here), and now he’s getting a wild jungle/safari room. This is where it is at now.

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I showed you a sneak peek of the ceiling I spent forever painting. After that, I took a yard stick and drew lines a foot apart around the room in pencil. Then I took a thin paint brush and freehanded some sloppy lines over the pencil marks in brown paint. Creating the look of wooden planks in his jungle hut.

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BSB bought some inexpensive 1×3’s and we installed them like a molding over the meeting place of the sky and the planks, painting them the same neutral yellow as the wall. The nice thing about creating a jungle look, is that the wood doesn’t need to be in perfect shape. One coat of paint was all it needed to let the wood grain show through and some dings add character.

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I found this greenery at the dollar store, and bought $7 worth. We tucked it behind the boards at various locations throughout the room.

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The room still needs some accessories, and is waiting for a few things to be installed. But I found this cute giraffe box for about $2 at Ross, and am trying to convince Jackson’s parents that he needs this giraffe rug (maybe in the round version).

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Oh, and there is one other little problem. This wall that is hiding behind the door. Grandma wasn’t convinced that the yellow walls with stripes looked like wood planks, so I came back in with a plan to add some wood graining to the planks. The good news is that I kind of got it to look like wood. The bad news is that unless I want the whole room to be much darker (and not very nursery like), it’s not going to work for in there. If I had started with a darker base and painted the yellow wood over the top, I think it would work but I don’t want to start over, and I can’t see a way to get wood grain over the yellow, unless I hand paint every plank, and I just don’t have time for that.

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Jackson’s mom is OK, with the plain planks as shown in the previous pictures. What do you think? Can you think of an easy way to do the wood grain that won’t kill me? Or do you like the planks as they are in the rest of the room now?

And while I’m asking for feedback…I have been a bit more focused on home decor lately, but am working on my son’s pirate party next month, and have lots of pre-blogging era parties I can blog about. Which would you like to hear about first, my daughter’s fish-themed, Dora the explorer, Princess, or Mulan/Chinese parties? Or the secret agent party I threw for my husband?

I also went to a great “Christmas in July” gourmet group this weekend, but since it’s kind of late to pull that one off this year, I think I will post it closer to Christmas.

I’d love your opinions!

UPDATE: (July 29) I am adding this post to Kimba’s fun DIY Thursday Party. Incidentally, I did find a wood graining tool at Lowes this morning, so I am thinking I will probably try the walls again, but only if I can make the glaze layer just a tiny bit darker than what’s there, so the effect will be subtle and the room still light. Am I crazy? Wait. Don’t answer that.

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Comments

  1. Kelly O. says

    I liked the planks the way they are… too much wood grain will just busy the room too much…

    I'd love to hear about the secret agent party:)

  2. Susan Crabtree says

    I would use a faux bois treatment which is relatively simple process. Since you already have a base coat, all you would need is stain and a wood graining rocker tool. Try these sites for instructions:
    http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-paint-a-faux-wood-grain/index.html and http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=51bc366ce4a22110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

  3. Alright, Kelly, since you are the first to respond, I'll start working on the secret agent post!

    Susan, I went looking for the wood graining tool before I attempted that wall, but couldn't easily locate one (anyone know where to find them), so I tried to make my own combing tool. But the thing I'm afraid of is that I'm putting the darker color on with the glaze and then taking it off with the rocker or whatever tool I have, but it is still going to give the walls a much darker effect. Unless you can use the tool like a brush and only apply the wood grain where you want it. Does that make sense? Can you use it that way?

  4. I like it lighter the way it is. It just looks more nursery appropriate. I think the darker would be for an older yet still little boy.

  5. I like the lighter planks, shoot I just plain old like it all…and the rug is a must!

  6. Maman Tattoo says

    I like the planks the way they are, I agree with the business comment.

    I went with the jungle theme too with my first born, not knowing the sex. But now I'm planning a -girly- big girl's room… way much fun since it's a whole room and not just a corner of our's.

    A girafe rug would look really good… what would look really nice with that theme is bamboo (or faux-bamboo) accesories. I saw someone using it on the wall and it looked so great!

  7. very cute 🙂

  8. Susan Crabtree says

    I am not sure if you can use the tool that way. Sorry I wasn't able to help more!

  9. I think the planks look wonderful. I would just leave them. The room is adorable. So cute!!!

    XOXO
    Jen

  10. Lindsay@ THAT'S SO CUEGLY says

    I LOVE THIS! Cant get enough! SO SO CUTE! I LOVE DIY DAY!

  11. Jennifer Juniper says

    I agree, I like them like they are. You could dry brush a darker shade over the yellow, but with this or the graining too, you will need to do every plank. Bummer.

    I painted clouds on my first son's nursery ceiling…memories…

  12. Great nursery – I love it! I say leave the walls as they are… I think the suggestion of wood planks is enough and makes it a more whimsical rather than realistic space.

  13. lovinsanta says

    I would LOVE to hear about the fish party because I am getting ready to do one in 3 weeks, and I need ideas! Please help!

    Heather in IN

  14. I love the whole room, but the cloud sare my favorite. great job

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