Elizabeth Thielke writes Busy Mom (go figure). “40 years old, married to Busy Dad for 15 years. 3 kids: Busy Girl (10) Busy Boy (9) and The Preschooler Formerly Known as Busy Baby (3).”

I may or may not have a talent for home design and decorating, I’m really not sure. When faced with a room that needs that special something like oh, say, paint, I tend to freeze up and not know what I want and, therefore, don’t end up doing anything. I think it stems from growing up in a home with all white walls and linens; my father wouldn’t tolerate anything else. Fortunately, I live in an old house that is detailed enough to be interesting on its own and I don’t have to do a lot to it downstairs. Upstairs? Not quite as interesting. It needs a little more effort.

The bedrooms are upstairs and I feel like I can take a little more risk there, especially with the kids’ rooms. My daughter’s room has been the testing ground for my newfound “daring” decor moves. It’s been through a lot, but we have finally settled on bright, bright green walls with coordinating blue and purple accents (Hey, she’s 10, I would have killed for something like that when I was her age). This was no easy task to make it look right, since all the house trim is dark wood and you have to consider that with every color and furnishing you choose.

I was excited to do my son’s room, he’s my first boy and there was so much I wanted to do. I planned carefully, knowing that “boy” colors would be easier to incorporate when you consider the details of our old house. I used colors from a cowboy poster print in his room. It has denim blue, dark greens, khaki and dark reds, all great boy colors. I took my time choosing furnishings and accessories that looked great with the color scheme. We painted the walls a dark khaki and when we finally finished, we realized the one detail we didn’t consider: he’s colorblind. We had decorated primarily in the colors that give him trouble. But, he was thrilled. He exuberantly thanked us, saying, “I’ve always wanted an all-green room!”

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