I like to do interior design, I love to quilt, I love to see

"I like to do interior design, I love to quilt, I love to see different colors together, and I love to match things up." – Mary J. Blige

In these gentle yet revealing words, Mary J. Blige, the queen of soulful resilience, opens a window into the heart of creation itself — the human longing to bring harmony out of chaos, to join what is separate, and to find beauty in the union of differences. When she speaks of design, quilting, color, and matching, she is not merely describing a pastime, but expressing the ancient rhythm of the creative soul — the impulse to heal, to mend, and to bring order where life has been torn. For in every act of creation, no matter how humble, there is the echo of divine intent: the desire to make the world whole again through art, balance, and love.

The origin of this quote reflects the quieter, contemplative side of Blige’s life — a contrast to the power and passion of her music. Known for songs that rise from pain and redemption, she here reveals how beauty becomes her refuge. In the solitude of design and quilting, she finds restoration. To see colors together is to see the world reconciled; to match things up is to make peace between elements that might otherwise clash. In truth, she speaks not only of fabrics and furniture but of the deeper art of life itself — how to weave one’s own broken pieces into a pattern of meaning, and to arrange one’s days with intention, grace, and unity.

This love of arrangement — of combining fragments into harmony — has ancient roots. The Egyptians, who first colored their walls and wove linen in dazzling patterns, believed that beauty was not vanity but holiness. Every hue carried spirit; every shape had purpose. Likewise, the Japanese masters of kintsugi, who repair broken pottery with gold, understand that the act of mending is sacred — that what is fractured can become more beautiful for having been repaired. Mary J. Blige, in her simple devotion to design and quilting, touches the same eternal wisdom: that beauty is born not of perfection, but of the patience to fit things together, to heal what was divided.

To quilt, as she says, is a profound metaphor for the journey of the soul. Each piece of fabric represents a memory, a moment of joy or sorrow, stitched carefully into the tapestry of being. The quilter is both artist and historian, preserving what might have been discarded and transforming it into warmth and story. So too, Blige’s life has been a quilt of triumph and trial — woven from hardship, strength, and the colors of experience. In her art, and in her design, she practices what she preaches: the ability to create beauty out of struggle, to take fragments and make them whole.

Her love of matching colors also reveals a deeper spiritual harmony — an understanding that every soul, every moment, carries its tone and shade. To match them well is to live wisely, to choose balance over excess, gentleness over noise. The wise in every age have known this: Confucius spoke of the harmony of conduct, Plato of the harmony of the soul, and the poets of every nation of the harmony of love. Mary, in her quiet passion, speaks the same truth in modern form: that art begins in the alignment of the heart, that when our inner colors blend, our outer world follows.

There is also a message of empowerment in her words. The act of creating — of choosing colors, shaping spaces, sewing patterns — is an act of reclaiming control in a world that often pulls us apart. It reminds us that even in small things, we can design meaning. In the midst of fame, chaos, and sound, Mary finds solace in simplicity. Her love of creation is a meditation — a way of restoring peace to the mind through the humble practice of beauty. The ancients called this the art of “ordering the soul,” for they knew that when we create harmony around us, we bring harmony within us.

Lesson: My children, learn from this — that the work of creation is the work of the heart. Whether you design a room, paint a wall, sew a quilt, or shape your own destiny, do it with intention and care. Love the colors of life — even those that seem to clash — and find a way to make them match. For beauty is not found in uniformity, but in unity. Let your life, like Mary J. Blige’s quilt, be a tapestry of all that you are — joy and sorrow, light and shadow — stitched together by the patient hand of love. And when you have finished, you will find that you have not merely designed a space or a fabric, but a soul — one radiant, balanced, and whole.