Yellowdoor Studio

12/16/2025

From solid black walls to pops of play. 🤩 Is this even the same house?!

Kid spaces are my favorite. This room was done in collaboration with my 6 year old—arguably the hardest, most opinionated, yet sweetest client I’ve ever worked with. I followed my typical process, down to presenting him moodboards and digital concepts, sharing a round of revisions and taking his feedback on color choices and the amount of squiggles needed to make it just right. I’m in love, he’s in love, and there are more collaborations to come.

03/28/2023

I’ve had a lot of 1:1 time with this ceiling lately. A very dear friend of mine lost his battle to cancer a week ago and I’ve been spending the majority of my time reminiscing our time together and pondering where to go from here. He had helped me move out and into this very room during my own challenging life moments. He installed the outlet in this room that I recently painted over in which many strangers lost their s**t about in my video that went unexpectedly viral. There was a lot of hate directed at me, both publicly and privately about the pink outlet, but my friend (who was a very talented electrician) would have told me the pink outlet was perfectly suited for me. And he’s right. Do the things that make you happy. Live in a space that makes you smile, even if it’s “too much” for others tastes. Be loud and unapologetic in who you are. Love freely. Nothing else matters. 💕

03/14/2023

Crane art hard at work. 🦺

02/27/2023

Helllooo. 👋🏻 I’m Jess. I’ve had a burst of new followers here in my quiet corner and I first want to say thank you for being here and that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the love. Here’s a little bit of what I’m all about in this space…

I love to create, design, paint, get weird, and get messy before I get neat & tidy. Color makes my heart flutter, dorkily dancing makes me feel alive, and joy checking everything rocks my world.

Using my hands and diving into your desires to cultivate an environment that brings you joy and has meaning is where I thrive and aim for you to thrive too. I love a good trend, but I prefer making design choices that speak to the heart of my clients rather than a magazine cover.

I believe some rules are meant to be broken. Who decided that a paint color must stop at the ceiling’s edge? or at the trim? the corner? or even the floor? Those limitations don’t exist here. Let’s get funky together.

On the personal front, I am the mom of one 2-legged toddler, dog mom of two 4-legged brindle beauties, and plant mom to an undisclosed number of houseplants.

I am not Instagram perfect. My hair is rarely tamed. My apparel is sometimes questionable. I’m an early morning person. You can catch me journaling on my porch, making extravagant breakfasts for my kiddo who will probably not eat it, practicing joyful movement or picking up dog poo in my back yard before sunrise. Sometimes all of the above.

I believe life is meant to be lived in the real world so I may not show up here as often as you’d like. I’m still figuring out what works for me online.

Thank you for following along! 💛

11/21/2022

Taking a minute to appreciate this oldie. 🌿 I painted it for my soon-to-be son’s nursery while I was 9 months pregnant. While I have painted murals on walls since I was about 12, this was the first time I had the thought of doing it professionally. It was painted with such care, tenderness, excitement and imagination for what was to come. It was a feeling I wanted to keep feeling; a feeling I wanted to spread into other people’s spaces.

A lot has changed since that vivid memory, and 3.5 years later I’m ready to paint over it, make space for something new and better.

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes over here and I can’t wait to share more of it in the new year.

Until then. 💕

09/26/2022

My yearly battle with the squirrels and acorns has come to an end so I can now enjoy the serenity of my patio without fear of losing an eye. 🐿

This space is my part time office so I wanted to reflect more of my personality and already existing pattern & color play on my furniture and natural landscape. It’s my fun zone. ☺️

The best part is that I can also see it outside my window of my home office. ✨

My 3-year old witnessed some of this ex*****on for the first time, so naturally I was excited to share the big reveal with him. He quickly remarked how much he didn’t like it and was very disappointed that I didn’t paint his recommended dump truck art direction. 🫠

So a new battle has commenced.

09/26/2022

Sneak preview of this little patio plant box makeover. Colors on shapes on flowers on fun; my specialty. ☺️

09/06/2022

When your camera roll makes its own little art piece. ☺️

09/03/2022

A Sunday kind of love indeed. 🌈

08/26/2022

Imposter syndrome, am I right?!!

It’s been a pesky little bu**er over here. It’s SO EASY for me to be ultra critical of my work, think I’m not good enough, and play the comparison game. Talk about a creative buzz kill.

Tiny me would be so proud. Tiny me was excruciatingly timid and afraid of the world. Tiny me didn’t ask questions and fell perfectly in line with what was considered “good” and “right”. Tiny me experienced some hella trauma.

Never in a million years would I ever have guessed my path would lead me here, getting to design and paint murals in epic spaces, bringing excitement and authenticity to those who see and live with them. I’m living a dream and today I am celebrating the hard work and hard truths it took for me to arrive here.

JUST KEEP GOING. ❤️

08/17/2022

Paid a visit to just to see those orange Eames chairs perfectly tie this space together. 🧡🧡

06/23/2022

My story of navigating single parenthood, starting a business during a pandemic & personal hardship, and cultivating a life of joy was chosen to be featured on the Mom Mastermind website this week!

Mom Mastermind is a local Minneapolis based company who focuses on empowering working moms with the right tools, community & support systems to thrive.


Amanda Schwager
Tricia Dege
Jess Staude

We are beyond excited to be featuring one awesome woman and an amazing mom, Jess Staude this week! Jess is the business owner of Yellowdoor Studio where she does mural art for businesses, commercial space and also for individuals, while also being a single mom raising her sweet 2-year old son, Levi.

Her story is unique and yet relatable to so many. I think about how many single moms have, and continue, to go at it alone, and it's not surprising that many are exhausted and burned out. Jess is strong willed, determined, focused and simply brings JOY to those around her, despite the challenges life may throw at her. This is why we felt the need to feature her and share her story.

Check out her story: https://www.mommastermind.com/jess-staude
Check out her website and some of her amazing work at: yellowdoor-studio.com