Young Artist Fulfills Dream At Parade Of Homes
by CBS4 Producer Raetta Holdman

(CBS4) DENVER
Brooklyn Raile, 11, of Arvada, became the youngest painter ever to participate in the parade when she decided to paint a room in one of the featured homes."I was really excited when my grandma said I could do it," Brooklyn said. Brooklyn's grandmother, Jane Gates-Raile, is the interior designer of the home built by Berkshire Homes.

Gates-Raile owns Interior Settings and this is the 18th home she's designed and featured in the Parade of Homes. Gates-Raile originally asked her granddaughter just for paintings but loved what she saw and expanded Brooklyn's role. "I like the whimsy of her pieces, I liked the cleverness, the fun faces that she was doing, in fact, we're going to feature that in other parts of the house," Gates-Raile said. Brooklyn created an elaborate faux landscape in the room designed for imaginary 10-year-old twin girls and got some input from the soon-to-be pretend residents. Brooklyn was told what the builder imagined the fictional girls, named Jane and Jenna, would want. "Jane said she wanted sunflowers," Brooklyn said. "And the artist who is helping me said we should put some houses in to make it really cute." The artist plans to add plenty of her own touches in the form of several butterflies, birds and sleeping bugs.

Painting has long been a part of Brooklyn's life. "I've been painting since before I started kindergarten, but this is the first time I've painted on a wall," Brooklyn said.

The home, named "The Torciano" house, has 7,342 square feet with a price of $1.4 million. It is described as an Italian-inspired home blending old world charm with a relaxed Colorado lifestyle. This year's Parade of Homes is in Reunion, which is a Shea Homes community in Commerce City. The parade will run from July 29 to September 4.