During Times Of Change, You Might As Well Sweeten Your Changes With Color!

These are changing times. I see people all around me going through changes: with the economy and their employment (or possible unemployment); their homes and spouses; and especially this time of year, there is always the issue of kids going away to school of coming back home after graduation. In fact, some people are content with just changing their minds!  Change is a part of our daily lives and we all know we have to roll with it.  If we have a choice in the matter, change becomes much easier to deal with. But whether we choose it or the change just happens, different degrees of loss or uncertainty are inevitable, even if the change is for the better.

I always find myself with a paint roller in one hand, and a brush in the other like a warrior ready to charge ahead into Change. For me, paint rolls over any "change" with a new and fresh visual perspective that allows me to welcome this change and new experience with anticipation and acceptance instead of worry and dread...for me, paint is my way of sweetening the "change" with a new vision.

Our youngest of four is leaving for college this fall. My husband and I will officially be "empty-nesters."  Sure, they come back for breaks and holidays, but rhythms and patterns change. No more high school football games, choir concerts, auctions, band concerts, dance team competitions, debate tournaments, tennis matches, basketball games, plays, musicals, or any of the other activities that announced the coming of each season in the school newsletter, often before the changing weather arrived. I had been warned that this change would be hard, and they weren't kidding. Even with all the personal fulfillment in my life, in my marriage, and in my work, it still feels bittersweet.

So with this in mind, and one month to go, I decided to make the change sweeter with color:

First in line: Us!

A rollover change with Devine Trillium, (from Devine Icing walls), trim is Devine Piping, and ceiling is Devine Icing. I can't tell you what  a little bit of color can do to spruce up change. We feel like we are ready to sleep in more, read the Sunday Times in bed while having breakfast...this green is making us feel smarter, but don't ask me why!

 
 

Second in line: The Baby!

Instead of walking into her room and feeling sad when she is off to college, we took her desk out, rearranged her room, found color intuition visuals, and painted the colors she craved: Devine Twilight (ceiling), Devine Damask (main walls), and Devine Goslin (accent). Her old color was Devine Mocha so this was a big and very colorful change for her.  She and I experienced getting ahead of change by making the room ready for her next stage in life: coming home and "chillaxing" with her family. She gets to live in it for a month before she goes off to college, and she knows she can look forward to seeing it again when she comes home. When she saw the change, she was so happy that she almost cried. She loved opening her eyes in the morning and waking up to the visualization of colors that she had only in her mind for so long--colors that make her feel confident about her ability to make choices and embrace change! 

 

Third in line: The Junior

Our oldest daughter, a junior in college this fall, will get a grown-up makeover with an open-minded palette: Devine Sand, Devine Reflection, and Devine Foam. We are even doing stripes (maybe). It's true that you always learn from the first one: why did we did leave her room as she had left it for 2 years? I even kept the door closed for the first month after she left for college. I guess I didn't consider myself an "empty-nester" at the time because I had the others to keep me busy. Suddenly, my oldest daughter and I are ushering in her adult life, here at home--as she turns the corner and turns 21 soon.

Last but not least: Sons by Marriage

When we moved into our current home, they were in college so the big changes had already occurred by the time we got around to making our own adjustments, so when they came home, they were able to move into their rooms as college students. We did eventually modify the rooms to accommodate their constant "coming and going," and thank God they love to come back!

So ask yourself: are you experiencing change? Why not give yourself a new way to embrace that change with color and paint! Let me know how it works out!

Comments

[Peggy Long]

What a wonderful concept, which speaks to all of us. Change in our life and how you made the change easier with color. Building color confidence even for the reader. Thank you for letting us into your life, your home and your bedrooms! LOVE IT.

[Peggy]

What a wonderful concept, which speaks to all of us. Change in our life and how you made the change easier with color. Building color confidence even for the reader. Thank you for letting us into your life, your home and your bedrooms! LOVE IT.

[g]

What a great question, because it's NEVER about a color no-no, it's about color combo no-no's! Just like an evening sunset, you can have yellow among the glory of purple reds, and dusky purples...the question is where should the stroke of yellow be on the canvas? My daughter does have beautiful golden yellow sheets. With Twilight and Damask, yellows like Devine Sand, Maple, Teak can be splashed all over the room! see about our yellows:http://www.devinecolorblog.com/about-our-yellows/

Let me know if you follow down this path and how your journey ends!

[Harasen]

I LOVE the combo you youngest daughter came up with - Devine Twilight and Devine Damask. Is there a Devine yellow that would go with them, or would that be a no-no?

[g]

Girl after my own heart!

[Jody Haagenson]

Love this posting -- I will start making change paint brush in one hand roller in the other.