Josie & Kelton 7: So Boring that No One Discussed Her Baby Shower

[just_ordinary]

I agree that the room looks boring BUT it’s not as if children suffer when their rooms, toys at home and clothes are more on the neutral side. They have a whole world around them to experience colours. And I don’t think generations of children were developmentally/intellectually stunted because their toys didn’t have bright colours. 
I will criticise them when their children start to express the wish to wear (and later choose things/paints in) a specific colour and they keep on denying it because they dislike it or it doesn’t fit their ideas.

[Keys]

I feel guilty haha… we’re in the process of slowly renovating our house (right now it’s all painted in dark colours), and so far we’ve chosen neutrals - soft greys, oatmeals, etc. Babe’s nursery is a soft oatmeal colour. BUT, we are going to do some red accents in there and make it teddy-bear themed. We’re doing an accent wall in our bedroom, and I’d actually proposed to my husband that we could paint it a nice green and the rest of the walls neutral - Carlin’s bedroom is actually the inspiration haha. But he didn’t like the idea of green because we’ll probably sell the house in a few years, and he thinks future buyers will prefer neutral tones. He’s probably right. 

[front hugs > duggs]

My favorite part was that she called it an accent wall- IMO, accent walls/chairs/rugs etc. means they are meant to stick out, not blend in.

[JermajestyDuggar]

8 hours ago, Keys said:

I feel guilty haha… we’re in the process of slowly renovating our house (right now it’s all painted in dark colours), and so far we’ve chosen neutrals - soft greys, oatmeals, etc. Babe’s nursery is a soft oatmeal colour. BUT, we are going to do some red accents in there and make it teddy-bear themed. We’re doing an accent wall in our bedroom, and I’d actually proposed to my husband that we could paint it a nice green and the rest of the walls neutral - Carlin’s bedroom is actually the inspiration haha. But he didn’t like the idea of green because we’ll probably sell the house in a few years, and he thinks future buyers will prefer neutral tones. He’s probably right. 

I have zero issues with white, beige, or gray walls. My issue is that they often don’t even bother to add color in some very easy and cheap areas like throw pillows, blankets, wall pictures, a small accent rug. It’s all neutral and all so very boring. Yawn. 

[hollyfeller]

20 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I just bought my younger son the ugliest bright red sketchers I’ve ever seen. But he loves them so much. Red has been his favorite color for years. He says he can run super fast in his amazing new shoes.

^^^^they are so much brighter in person! 

I used to get annoyed when my husband (ex now) bought red running shoes because I was so jealous.  I was always stuck with pastel colors for my running shoes because I have to wear a narrow width and those are limited.  I wanted red!

[Melissa1977]

I like neutral colours and decor, but Josie is an extreme.

This said, in my country the trend in preschool classrooms design is absolutely bland (soft grey, soft beige, lots of white and natural materials like wood with the lightest tone -not dark wood- and organic fabrics like cotton with its natural unwashed tone). 

I remember when I was young and preeschool classrooms were painted with bright colours, chairs and tables were coloured too, many plastic toys were on display etc. It is suppose to create an overexcited environtment. Teachers that have been working in bland classrooms for years say there is an overall improvement in attention and behaviour.

I doubt Josie has heard about that theory, though.

[SassyPants]

2 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

I like neutral colours and decor, but Josie is an extreme.

This said, in my country the trend in preschool classrooms design is absolutely bland (soft grey, soft beige, lots of white and natural materials like wood with the lightest tone -not dark wood- and organic fabrics like cotton with its natural unwashed tone). 

I remember when I was young and preeschool classrooms were painted with bright colours, chairs and tables were coloured too, many plastic toys were on display etc. It is suppose to create an overexcited environtment. Teachers that have been working in bland classrooms for years say there is an overall improvement in attention and behaviour.

I doubt Josie has heard about that theory, though.

I could see that, but that trend indicates that there is some color variation using neutrals. The bedroom Josie designed has white walls, flowers, bedding and blonde wood furniture. If she had added in some soft grey, beige, oatmeal it would have been much more palatable, IMO.

[indianabones]

12 hours ago, Keys said:

I feel guilty haha… we’re in the process of slowly renovating our house (right now it’s all painted in dark colours), and so far we’ve chosen neutrals - soft greys, oatmeals, etc. Babe’s nursery is a soft oatmeal colour. BUT, we are going to do some red accents in there and make it teddy-bear themed. We’re doing an accent wall in our bedroom, and I’d actually proposed to my husband that we could paint it a nice green and the rest of the walls neutral - Carlin’s bedroom is actually the inspiration haha. But he didn’t like the idea of green because we’ll probably sell the house in a few years, and he thinks future buyers will prefer neutral tones. He’s probably right. 

I had the same thoughts because I'm probably selling my house in a few years, but then saw this Instagram reel and it changed my perspective.

I also think that with the housing market being as it is, most buyers will overlook paint colors that they dislike.

[JermajestyDuggar]

My front door is 6 shades of green so I’m obviously biased 😛

[CaptainFunderpants]

5 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

I like neutral colours and decor, but Josie is an extreme.

This said, in my country the trend in preschool classrooms design is absolutely bland (soft grey, soft beige, lots of white and natural materials like wood with the lightest tone -not dark wood- and organic fabrics like cotton with its natural unwashed tone). 

*snip*

The Waldorfs do this and it looks incredible + I loooove the Waldorf method/style of education, but where I am (not sure if it's national/international) they're all anti-vaxxers and so I could never justify sending a child of mine to one of their schools. But without the anti-vaxxing, it would absolutely be my #1 choice far and away.

I'm hoping we'll have a swing of strict vaccination requirements being pushed coming up here, meaning almost zero exceptions and vaccine verification even for things like swim lessons and youth soccer/baseball/etc. but something tells me I shouldn't hold my breath.

[Mrs Ms]

16 minutes ago, CaptainFunderpants said:

The Waldorfs do this and it looks incredible + I loooove the Waldorf method/style of education, but where I am (not sure if it's national/international) they're all anti-vaxxers and so I could never justify sending a child of mine to one of their schools. But without the anti-vaxxing, it would absolutely be my #1 choice far and away.

I'm hoping we'll have a swing of strict vaccination requirements being pushed coming up here, meaning almost zero exceptions and vaccine verification even for things like swim lessons and youth soccer/baseball/etc. but something tells me I shouldn't hold my breath.

The Waldorf anti-vaxx stance differs school to school where I live. Weleda, the medicine, health and beauty company closely linked to the schools is selling a vaxx-pack here to help with side effects the vaccine might cause, so they are definitely expecting people to get vaxxed… Unfortunately the Waldorf schools attract a lot of people who are just anti-mainstream and not actually pro-Waldorf and depending on who the larger group at any individual school is will seriously impact the sanity or nuttiness of that particular school. 
Btw, Waldorf isn’t just beige and wood. Any fabric/wool will be dyed a so-called natural colour, so no fluorescent or vivid colours, but still colourful.

[Keys]

19 hours ago, indianabones said:

I had the same thoughts because I'm probably selling my house in a few years, but then saw this Instagram reel and it changed my perspective.

I also think that with the housing market being as it is, most buyers will overlook paint colors that they dislike.

That’s a good point! I think a lot of it too is how you decorate and stage it. I love pops of colour! The couches we got for our living room are blue, so while the walls in there are light grey, it really doesn’t feel like a boring room.

[GreenBeans]

23 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I have zero issues with white, beige, or gray walls. My issue is that they often don’t even bother to add color in some very easy and cheap areas like throw pillows, blankets, wall pictures, a small accent rug. It’s all neutral and all so very boring. Yawn. 

Yes, I can understand keeping walls/floors neutral. It’s what we did, because these are things you can’t change easily when your taste or a trend changes. But why not add colorful rugs, pillows, throws?

Baby boy LOVES all the quilts I made (low volume/scrappy/rainbow colored mostly), as well as the quilted pillows. We have a big box with all the quilts in our living room, and he loves pulling them out and having them spread out on the floor. He loves the colors, and he loves pointing out and naming animals and things he knows when he discovers them in a quilt block.

Yes, white/beige/neutral/light earthy pastel colors are the current trend and nurseries in these colors are considered “tasteful”. But kids will often be drawn to the most crazy, bold colors and patterns.

We have picture day at daycare coming up, and the photographer recommended to dress kids in “soft or earthy pastels” for a “coherent esthetic” in all the pictures, and the examples she showed were typical current instagram influencer style. The look can be pretty, but we will dress baby boy in his favorite tights (blue with red bobby cars all over!) and favorite non-slip socks (fire engines!) on top and his softest, most comfortable cashmere sweater (in neon green). We want photos of him the way he ACTUALLY looks at his current age, not a Pinterest-perfect curated version of him.

[llucie]

Honestly i think the problem with the wall flowers is not that they are white, but that they look ugly. I dont know what exactly they were going for but i doubt it was this since Josie style looks pretty good usually.

[Sheltie]

5 hours ago, GreenBeans said:

We have picture day at daycare coming up, and the photographer recommended to dress kids in “soft or earthy pastels” for a “coherent esthetic” in all the pictures, and the examples she showed were typical current instagram influencer style. The look can be pretty, but we will dress baby boy in his favorite tights (blue with red bobby cars all over!) and favorite non-slip socks (fire engines!) on top and his softest, most comfortable cashmere sweater (in neon green). We want photos of him the way he ACTUALLY looks at his current age, not a Pinterest-perfect curated version of him.

I agree with you wanting him to look like he actually looks.  I’ll be curious though to hear how that turns out since it’s the opposite of what they want for the pictures.

[GreenBeans]

5 minutes ago, Sheltie said:

I agree with you wanting him to look like he actually looks.  I’ll be curious though to hear how that turns out since it’s the opposite of what they want for the pictures.

It was worded rather softly, kind of like “if you would like your photos to fit this esthetic, then these kinds of clothes / colors would be recommended”. It will mostly be individual photos of each child, I think, so he won’t mess up a big group picture. Not sure what other parents will do, either. Most aren’t the Pinterest-y type, and most kids are usually dressed for being comfortable playing, not for looks. 

I think it will be hard for the photographer to capture baby boy’s personality anyway, because he takes a while to warm up to new people/situations, and while he doesn’t usually cry, he does turn into a very quiet and very serious little boy (perfect when we took him to take biometric photos for traveling, actually 😁).

[GuineaPigCourtship]

My husband hates yellow - it is kind of a running joke because we bought a yellow house from my extended family and I refuse to paint it any other color because I literally grew up calling it "the yellow house".  Also, it gets a lot of direct light and any other color but white would fade badly within a few years.  He put all of our daughter's clothing that was yellow right in the donate bin and when she picks out something yellow these days (she is just over 1 and starting to have Opinions) I laugh at him for it.  I'm pretty color tolerant so no equivalent for me, but he sure gets me in other ways.

[Karma]

Josie’s white flowers would, I think , look nicer and more appealing to little girls in pinks, mauves, greens or any colour. But what happens when they no longer want the flowers on their walls? They were nailing them on, so I don’t see why they needed to be glued as well. When they want to change to their next boring white idea they’ll probably have to redo the gyprock on that  whole wall. They’d have got the same effect by using wallpaper like Alyssa used in one of her daughters bedrooms.

[patsymae]

On 3/15/2022 at 3:32 PM, GreenBeans said:

It was worded rather softly, kind of like “if you would like your photos to fit this esthetic, then these kinds of clothes / colors would be recommended”. It will mostly be individual photos of each child, I think, so he won’t mess up a big group picture. Not sure what other parents will do, either. Most aren’t the Pinterest-y type, and most kids are usually dressed for being comfortable playing, not for looks. 

I think it will be hard for the photographer to capture baby boy’s personality anyway, because he takes a while to warm up to new people/situations, and while he doesn’t usually cry, he does turn into a very quiet and very serious little boy (perfect when we took him to take biometric photos for traveling, actually 😁).

Christ on a cracker, this sounds like pics from a wedding from hell. What's next--preferred hairstyles? It is a class picture of little kids. They're all gonna look goofy and hopefully, like a bunch of little kids. 

[GuineaPigCourtship]

I would guess the photographer doesn't care what the kids are wearing, but would like to take photos that people will buy and many parents want nice photos they couldn't have taken themselves.  They do pictures at my daycare and when they did them in the fall, I sent her in play clothes with a dress to put on before it was her time for pictures.  She was about 9 months old and in and out of clothes all day anyway so didn't seem a big deal for them to put the dress on instead of her onesie.  We'll have to care a little more when she's got hair to comb.

[eljayem]

I feel like the white flowers could of worked if the wall was painted darker. I'm surprised Josie didn't go bolder, she's never gone for the traditional girly colours, or baby pastels, but I could imagine those flowers in a burnt orange colour, or a rich yellow.

[backyard sylph]

My son and his partner are going to have a baby. I went to the zoo with her yesterday, we talked over favorite animals, and she told me they plan to have woodsy foresty nursery colors with bear decor. I think it sounds cozy. 🙂 

[JermajestyDuggar]

19 hours ago, eljayem said:

I feel like the white flowers could of worked if the wall was painted darker. I'm surprised Josie didn't go bolder, she's never gone for the traditional girly colours, or baby pastels, but I could imagine those flowers in a burnt orange colour, or a rich yellow.

I think coral would be really cute. And then a hint of some sage green.

[GreenBeans]

On 3/16/2022 at 11:33 PM, patsymae said:

Christ on a cracker, this sounds like pics from a wedding from hell. What's next--preferred hairstyles? It is a class picture of little kids. They're all gonna look goofy and hopefully, like a bunch of little kids. 

It did mention hair styles. *lol* But it will be a while before baby boy has enough hair to do anything with it. 😂 

Its not a class/group picture, it’s individual photos of each kid, and seems to be an actual photo session rather than each kid being sat down on a chair to have their photo taken in 5 seconds.

They want parents to buy the photos afterwards, so I get that they are going to recommend things that they know will likely result in more on trend photos.

 

[Mrs Ms]

8 minutes ago, GreenBeans said:

It did mention hair styles. *lol* But it will be a while before baby boy has enough hair to do anything with it. 😂 

Its not a class/group picture, it’s individual photos of each kid, and seems to be an actual photo session rather than each kid being sat down on a chair to have their photo taken in 5 seconds.

They want parents to buy the photos afterwards, so I get that they are going to recommend things that they know will likely result in more on trend photos.

 

Our school and kindergarten photos the last few years have been so photoshopped, we only got the full class ones. None of the individual ones or sibling sets. Think of everything we slate Taryn for: Blur-tool gone mad, messed up colours, off angles. This year was the best so far. All siblings had the same skin colour. One year, one was yellow, one VERY pink and one off-white. This is a professional with corresponding prices!