Whether you’ve got kids who feel bored and cooped-up in the house on a rainy day, or ones who just want to express themselves through art, drawing or painting on walls is usually a major no-no. But rules are made to be broken, right? If you want to give your kids room for artistic expression using your walls as the canvas you should first set these two conditions.

A Defined Drawing or Painting Area

Defining exactly where your budding Vincent Van Gogh or Frida Kahlo can create their masterpiece is everything. After all, you don’t want the first wall your guests see when they enter your house to be the results of Art 101. So determine where your child’s museum-quality mural will be, and how large of a space you will dedicate.

Another thing to consider: does the canvas even have to be a wall? What about doors? Allowing your child to personalize their bedroom door can give them a sense of individuality. Designer and author India Hicks sees the benefits of allowing children to use either a wall or door as their canvas. She recently allowed her 12-year-old daughter to paint a cow print on her bedroom door. “I’m probably not going to let her paint my sitting room,” Hicks told House Beautiful this month, “but her own door is perfectly fine.”

A Sketch Before They Paint

Have your child draw a light, rough sketch on the wall before they paint. Once they sketch out their fire-breathing dragon, or ice princess, they may find that the amount of space allocated for their art is actually more than they need.

Consider Chalkboard or Whiteboard Paint

For smaller kids who just want to let loose on a wall, chalkboard paint or whiteboard paint, which comes in more colors than just white, can be perfect options to accommodate their desire to draw.