This kids’ room mural has one of my favourite stories.
The family reached out with what seemed like a straightforward request: a hand-painted mural inspired by the foliage from the trees in their backyard — the lush greens of spring and summer brought indoors. Simple enough, I thought.
But as the design process progressed, we kept hitting roadblocks. After another in-person meeting to work through them, the mom finally had a confession to make: she was absolutely in love with teal, orange, and hot pink together. She knew it wasn’t a “conventional” pairing — and even though it was her dream colour palette, she hadn’t felt confident enough to ask for it upfront.
If you know me, you know exactly what happened next.
I completely flipped the script. I gave her every shade of teal she could dream of, the warmest oranges, and the most unapologetic hot pink — all woven together into a lush, hand-painted botanical mural that still honoured the original vision. The foliage came through in oversized tropical leaves and branches in deep teal and forest green. The birds were painted in connection to her children, perched among hot pink and gold-detailed leaves on bold coral branches. The result was a jewel-toned, wraparound kids’ room mural that was entirely, unmistakably hers.
The lesson I take from every project like this one: never let anyone tell you that the things you love aren’t beautiful. There is always a way to bring them into your space — and make everyone else see exactly why you love them so much.