Imagination at Play

Making Kids' Rooms Unique With a Few Cans of Paint

Richmond decorative painter Sunny Goode's goal has always been to get more people painting. Her just-published second book, "Paint Can! Children's Rooms" (Sterling Publishing, $24.95), empowers parents to take up glazing, color washing and stenciling to create a special environment for their child.

Goode, who has been a decorative painter for more than 15 years, is tapping into a rich market: 21st-century parents anxious to fashion custom environments for their offspring. Forget slapping up a Scooby-Doo decal. Sophisticated parents fret over the decor for a baby's room as much as they do over their living room color.

"People tend to go all out when it comes to their children," Goode says. "We see circular cribs and gold-leafed fireplaces. Are you kidding me? My last child got a nursery converted out of a closet." The former closet, however, was given a stylish makeover with color washing, glazing and freehand painting of polka dots and curlicue borders. "Most parents are starting from scratch with nurseries, so they are willing to go one step further than just a fresh coat of paint," Goode says.

The president of Sunny's Goodtime Paints, Goode is still building the specialty paint business she started in a garage in 2001. She sells her own line of products and stencils in her shop at 5703 Grove Ave. in Richmond as well as through http://www.sunnysgoodtimepaint.com. She has always been a cheerleader for do-it-yourself specialty painting, and she spends a lot of time answering e-mail from anxious would-be artists. "People are too hard on themselves. We want to show it's affordable and fun," she says. Goode estimates that pros might charge anywhere from $300 to $1,200 to custom paint a 10-by-10-foot child's bedroom. "If you do something yourself," she says, "it can cost you under $100 and one day's work, if you don't obsess over it." The effect can be dramatic, and cheaper than wallpaper.

Goode is happiest with a brush in her hand and a can of Sunny's Goodtime Palm Beach Pink Colour Wash in the other. She has painted plenty of frothy princess rooms as well as medieval chambers with faux stone walls for princes. Goode's own children are 11, 9 and 6, so she's had plenty of inspiration and practice.

Monograms often turn up in Goode's kid jobs, not only because they are ubiquitous in Southern decorating but also because she says she believes that they encourage family- and self-awareness in a child. Sometimes she paints them freehand or uses stencils. She sells a removable, laser-cut adhesive monogram sticker in 12 colors. The 22-inch custom version is $95 and is becoming popular in dorms, Goode says.

Goode and business partner Lucy Ackerly have hired a branding consultant to step up their business nationally. Plans include creation of a team of trained and certified Sunny's color consultants and artists for those who want to call in a pro for an in-home consultation. They are exploring re-creating Sunny's prototype shop in Richmond as an in-store boutique, possibly as part of a high-style national home furnishings chain. Podcasting is also in development, including how-tos on painting stripes, stenciling ceilings and glazing walls. Goode's next book, on painted floors, will come out in December 2009.

We caught up with Goode and Ackerly a few weeks ago as they painted a playroom for Isabel and Randolph Minor in Alexandria. The duo painted bedrooms for Minor daughters Ellie, 2, and Caroline, 9 months, using polka dots, initials and fanciful ribbons. "It's different, and you don't see the same designs everywhere," says Isabel Minor. "Their painting made the rooms really special for both little girls."

What was the most unusual request you've had for a child's bedroom?

A room based on "Where the Wild Things Are." They wanted monsters painted five feet tall all over the pink walls. The girl was 7 years old, and this is what she wanted. It was cute. The characters had smiles on their faces, but the big, huge eyeballs were a bit scary.

What's a good age to start involving your kids in the design of their bedrooms?

At age 5, they know what colors they like, and they are totally honest about what likes and dislikes they have. Three- and 4-year-olds change their minds all the time about what they want, so it's too soon. What you have to watch out for is that kids pick out a much stronger color than you would probably want to paint a room. They often pick out the most obnoxious pink or purple or green. You have to take that and taper it down into something that will be fun and bright, but that they can live with.