...to hiring a professional)? Well we decided to paint our living room and kitchen ourselves, partly because it's kind of fun (at least for me) and partly in order to save money.
But my mother is ashamed to admit to her CLOSEST friends that we're doing it ourselves. I told her there's nothing to be ashamed of, and she replied that she doesn't want people to 'talk about her'.
Now, we aren't a bunch of old misers or anything. We're pretty normal people! Why would she have such a complex? It's beyond me!
And today, she asked me whether I told my friends about it, and that I should lie and say we hired someone...
I mean, wtf?!?
If my friends thought less of me because of such a stupid reason, I wouldn't even want to hang around with them!
How can I help her change the way she thinks?
OR am I in the wrong here?

No, you're most definitely not in the wrong here.
I can´t fathom why she feels ashamed -- she should
feel proud, but then again, we never truly know what
makes others tick.

So, follow your own sound advise -
paint away, enjoy it, and be proud of it.

Your Mom should deal with it the way she
feels she should, but ask her to keep you out
of her 'equation'.

Happy painting!

I think it's better to do it on your own, that way it's done the way you want. I find it to be a stress reliever to do home repairs or remodeling on my own. No need to be ashamed.

I personally feel a sense of accomplishment painting a house. I never had a house of my own, but even if I did, I surely would not feel ashamed about painting it myself. I think hiring someone else to do it would be more shameful than anything else.