Creative Advise Requested

Today my new friend Angela asked me for advise on picking colors for her home. How exciting!!!

This was interesting to me, since recently I met a lady who does this for a living and I thought to myself, "that sounds like a wonderful way to make a living". I LOVE color...vivid, and lots of it!!! Needless to say, I was quite flattered that in the short time I have known her, she would ask my advise on something so big as coloring the interior of her home!

So, I piled J&J in the van, and headed to her home. Road trip-YAY!

Ok, getting off on a tangent here...but have to get it off my chest:
Now, my daughter J #1...Jordan is 11, and sometimes forgets that she is, in fact, 11. About 1/3 of the way into the process, she jumps right in to what we are doing, and wants to begin making color choices. She did not get the subtle or blatant messages several times over from me, that her place was not to make these types of decisions right now. She was quite persistent! =)

I'm trying to teach her to respect adults, and to remember that she is still a child. Whereas I do allow her to give input many times, and to use her creativity and ideas in our home, there are times where she will not be able to. Quite often I will ask her advise because she truly has a flair for decorating, yet in this case, it was not the time. Choosing paint colors for a home is a BIG deal, and it takes a lot of thoughtful consideration. There were several instances where I had to redirect her while we were working.

Later tonight, Jordan and I had "a talk" about how important it is to respect other adults and their space, and most of all to remember how important obedience is. I told her that she is very creative and talented, and reminded her that as she matures she will have opportunities as she grows older to use her talents in big ways.

It is hard because I do understand that feeling of being child, and wanting to do what the grown ups are doing...(even as OLD as I am, I can remember how strong willed I was too! And still am! hehe).

On the other hand...my son Josh, I hardly knew he was there... except for an occasional, "I'm going outside mom".

Anyway, sorry to get off on a tangent there...back to the color! I had no idea how much fun I would have helping decide on interior colors. It was interesting to see Angela's personality come through her color choices, and to see what makes her feel calm, bold, and cozy in her home. It was really neat!

Now...I have to admit it is a little unnerving to think that once the color gets on the walls, all of this good feeling "could" change. You know how unpredictable paint can be...how mysteriously it can change colors once it is dry on the walls. So I pray that the decisive opinions I gave regarding her color choices will be "true" from the can to the walls, and enjoyed long after the paint dries!

It was inspiring to me to be a part of this, and perhaps when we are in a place where I can put color on the walls (we are renting right now and not allowed to change our wall colors), I'll "go for it" too with something rich and bold. I love the colors she decided on. I'm looking forward to seeing the end results, and hope she will be happy with it too. Can't wait!!!