August gets excited when we do something different to his room. “A new blanket? For me!? WOW!!!” He’s two though, and he is not the bundle of opinions that is four-year-old Eleanor. She’s a character, but I love that she’s so into personalizing her room. She has been steadfast in her wish for dark blue walls, so I wanted to make sure she would like it by showing her some mock-ups of her room before we paint.
E was making silly faces for me the other day, when she asked me to take pictures of her wearing her new shoes. As I looked through them, I realized that they were pretty representative of her opinions on the paint colors. So here we go! Mock-ups and reactions.
First up, pink. I don’t think pink is the way to go for her new room, but we had to start with a baseline.
What do you think, Eleanor?
That’s what I expected. Here’s aqua.
This could be nice. See? It works with the light, and the bedding. How about it, E?
OK, that’s a no. All right, all right. Dark blue? Yes?
Do you like it?
Ah. I see that I have your interest.
Oh, oops, I hit the lightness slider too far to the left. That’s really dark.
Let me just fix that. Wait, what? You like it?
Of course that’s the one you go for. DARK BLUE. All right, kid. It’s your room! Let’s make it work.
Comments
51 responses to “Eleanor Picks Paint Colors”
Well, it’s always fun to have a big change. Her expressions crack me up. I love four-year-olds. They are so uninhibited.
Your daughter reminds me of that lovable childrens’ book character, Eloise. So cute, and such a character!
Definitely one of my favorite posts from you, in a while! Thanks for letting us see a little more of your little lady’s personality.
Great post, Eleanor is quite the character. I love her faces!
She is hilarious. Love the expressions. One thing about four year olds is their propensity for being transparent!! :-)
Cannot wait to see how this works out!
This is the most clever blog I’ve read all week! Just joyous and delightful!! Thank you for adding some charm to my Wednesday afternoon!
Clever post, I agree completely. Perhaps I will have to take a few selfies the next time I’m picking paint colours to figure out my true reactions. :) I really like the dark blue. I think with some pops of white or bright it will look great. I’m sure you’ll pull it together with your usual style and flare.
She is too cute!!!! Kinda love her choice too. Unusual but could be gorgeous. Can’t wait to see what you do!
These are amazing! I love her physical comedy!… But I’m sad she didn’t choose the aqua :(
Completely off subject, but where do you typically shop for baby/kids clothes? I have a 7 month old and I love Eleanor’s outfits and style.
The kids’ clothes are about 90% from Old Navy, Gap, and Target. Sometimes Children’s Place or Carter’s, maybe Boden or Hanna Andersson on occasion, but usually it’s the first three. I don’t like to spend too much on their wardrobes because they outgrow everything so quickly.
Those shoes are too much for me! What a stylish little girl you have!
Adorable!
Oh my goodness, what a goon. She is too darn cute. Plus, she’s got good taste, that’s a lovely shade of blue
Her expressions are just too cute!
Its a great blue–i just re-finished a dresser for the nursery in that mid-range dark blue.
But, please, oh, please say that you’ll stay white above the trim line. Please?
Ah, but I have plans for the ceiling! It’s a surprise.
She is SO BIG! I remember when she was a tiny baby in that Eames chair!!! Super cute.
love this post- she is too cute!! I think the dark walls are going to look awesome, and I also think it’s awesome that you let her pick it out. :)
Bahaha I love this!
You’ve got to hand it to her, Eleanor knows what she likes. My daughter wanted royal blue walls when she was around 8 years old and she loved it for a long time. I think it was when she turned 14 that she was ready for a more neutral color. I was so thrilled to see that blue covered, but also glad she had enjoyed it for 6 years. It’s just paint.
I am loving how this is all transpiring! It’s so exciting to see how a designer works in elements that she doesn’t naturally love – but that are important to the person using the space. Excited to see the end result!
Most adorable post ever!
Eleanor, design intern at MIL!!!!!! Can’t wait to see. I love the dark. Your girl has some taste, which doesn’t surprise me at all!
I love the aqua but yes, she has to live in there so she gets what she damn well wants! Yay Eleanor!
That is a very cute post! I have a newly 6 year old daughter and so I am familiar with the faces and steadfast opinions! I actually like the middle shade of blue A LOT though:) You don’t have to make me happy though:) LOL
Laura
House Envy
You have inspired me – our plan has been to flip-flop bedrooms for our daughters and then decorate with their input (ages 8 and 12). The younger one will have two twin beds and the older one will get new furniture including a full bed. We had talked colors but until your post I was planning on choosing the paint that I thought would work best and then “selling” the plan. But, really, how fair is that?!
Now…I am going to be brave and let them decide the colors and bedding and well, the whole thing….yes, I’ll be braveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Thanks for the inspiration.
Eleanors always know what they want; mine does too. Love the leggings! Best wishes.
Dark blue seems so drastic and dark, but on the other hand I loooved the old Young House Love guest room. It’s definitely possible to have a bright cheery room in spite of the dark walls.
You’re a generous mama! But I think sometimes kids have the best ideas…even if they seem risky! I think it’s going to look fantastic!
nice choice, kiddo! that’s my favorite too! and look how much it helps that gorgeous wood to pop! :) can’t wait to see the finished result!
As I look at these pictures of your daughter, it makes me realize how long I’ve been following your blog (before she was born). How time flies. I love her personality! She seems like she’s tons of fun! Enjoy!
This post is too funny! Funny and creative! :)
Love all the pictures of your daughter – too cute! I saw she has a Jenny Lyn bed. My daughter had one too – til she broke it! My Mom found it in a dumpster and fixed it up. I am saving it for her, maybe for her daughter. Anyway we are also redoing our daughter’s room and she is the person designing it too. Here is our first post in the Emma room adventure.
http://cherneeshouse.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/who-painted-pepto-bismol-all-over-emmas-walls/
I love that your letting her put her personality in there! My little one wants dark blue walls, too, but is happy with any shade of blue.
YEAH! Dark blue FTW! :)
Our nursery is dark blue with some natural woodwork and I love the combination. I actually find the color to be realty cozy!
http://www.five2eight.blogspot.com/2013/08/wesleys-room.html
I am excited to see how you make this work. My boy’s two favorite colors? Blue and orange… which is the color our across the street neighbor just painted their house (not in a pretty way, might I add). I’d love to make it work for him, just like you would for Eleanor.
How clever of you to use that tool to allow your daughter to visualize her choice! I know I would have been doubtful that this was the hue she was thinking of – but sure enough – you gave her the visual and she said yes, yes, yes! Congrats on having such an adorable and decisive daughter with obvious great taste!
I {heart} this post too!
Good one, Eleanor – taking the ‘pain’ out of paint colour selection!
I had a navy bedroom as a teenager. It was navy with white Laura Ashley wallpaper and navy curtains. It was lovely and dark at night time, like a little cave and the white print made it bright in the daytime. So I approve of Eleanors choice.
Julie q
Oh goodness. My mother would have NEVER. We weren’t allowed to have knick-knacks, posters, or anything besides approved “decorations” in our rooms growing up.
If you haven’t already decided on an actual dark blue paint color can I suggest Benjamin Moore Hale Navy. We did our dining room in it and it is so absolutely gorgeous. I was so nervous about it prior to actually taking the plunge and putting it on the walls and I have absolutely no regrets now, it’s beautiful.
I’m really excited to see how you’ll tackle this as it’s unlike anything you’ve really done in your home before. It’s so exciting to push yourself and explore! Aaah kids making home decor fun.
Hilarious!
Hi Nicole! I’m actually working on a project right now and looking for the perfect blue for one of the walls. Could you tell me what color that dark blue is (the third room photo before you darkened it)? It’s pretty perfect for what we’re looking for. I’m looking at Mountain Lake by Olympus right now but yours has a little more green in it, and it’s more of what I’ve been looking for.
Ha, cracked me up! If only our Finn was interested in choosing paint colors. He was all, “I want green walls, like grass green.” I said: How was this green?” (pulling out a nice subdued sage green. He says: Yea, that’s it! Um, there was nothing grass green about the green I picked out for him, but I was thankful he was so easy about it! I remember really wanting pink walls as a young girl and I got them…go mama’s for letting us girls express ourselves how we want!
She is too cute. Personally, I like a dark wall color in the bedroom, if the room has enough natural light to bounce around. That could be really cute!
You know, I kind of love it. Maybe she will start a trend in the design blogosphere!
[…] kid’s facial expression says it all when picking paint colors. […]
E reminds me of my O. Who is also super-opinionated and only three years old.