Secret Spaces

I was in the middle of a conversation the other day about designing my own home someday. In the middle of listing all the must have elements, secret passageways and spaces was mentioned. The thought of a house filed with all kinds of hidden secrets got me thinking. What would it be like to have a house that was absolutely amazing when you walked through it, but then even more amazing when someone showed all the things you can't see?

One of our jobs as interior designers is to create an experience for the end user. How amazing would it be to have two completely different first experiences of the same space! One time through the space you experience the things that are seen. The second time through the space you experience the unseen. If both of those experiences are made mind blowing by the interior design, then you have just created something special, original, and a design that people will continue to talk about after they leave. As a christian, it is a great metaphor for how beautiful life is in the things we can see and how amazing it is when you take into account the things you cannot.

In order to create this experience through design, you need some ideas of how to create secret spaces. So, I have compiled a bank of images that show secret hideaways and passages for your viewing pleasure...and mine.

This company is called Creative Home Engineering. They can be found at hiddenpassageway.com. Their most popular types of hidden passageways are bookcases, dressers, fireplaces, and mirrors or paintings. They also have security options that include concealed vault doors, panic room doors, armored doors, biometric access control, and surveillance.






A designer named Lolly Lindeman came up with a design called the grensgeval. It is a door or wall that can change positions because of the two hinges that it hangs on. This changes the way you can open it every time you do. The base design could easily be disguised by whatever is attached to it as long as it does not interfere with the was the hinges maneuver. You can find more information on her website www.lottylindeman.nl.

Evaluation of Myself

I am currently in the midst of searching for a summer internship. I thought it was a good time to take a good look at my personal goals, my mission, and my life in general. It is slightly scary for me to be so personal on my blog instead of evaluating the designs of someone else, but I think it will be beneficial.

Personal Mission Statement

• To strive to achieve the most excellent work to my capability while enjoying what I do
• To balance my personal life with my professional life, so that my quality of life will be wonderful
• To try new things, never pass up a unique opportunity, and always seek personal growth
• To always base my decisions on my spiritual beliefs and never betray them for success or money
• To make a positive impact on the people and places I come in contact with throughout my life

Profession Goals Evaluation

What is your number one interest in interior design?

• Restaurant Design
  

What or who influenced your interest in this profession?

• When my mother was trying to decide on a floor plan for the house they were going to build, there were many magazines full of residential floor plans. I would take parts of each floor plan I liked and combine them into one dream house. Plus, the fact that I was also surrounded by the construction business through my families careers factored into my career path a bit.
  

What kind of skills in interior design do you have right now?

• Experience in AutoCAD, SketchUp, Revit,
  
• Experience Hand Drafting, Hand Rendering, Hand Sketching
• Most stages of the design process: Programming, Schematic Design, Design Development, & Contract Document Preparation
• Best Skill: Space Planning
  

What special skills do you have to offer your present employer or another employer?

• Excellent communication skills, easily flexible, very organized, strong work ethic, relates well to others, problem-solver, eye for detail, creative thinker, eager to learn

If you were going to a job interview tomorrow, what specific career goal would you share
with the interviewer?

• I want to expand my knowledge of interior design in every area that presents the opportunity
  

What could you do right now to improve the chances of getting the job you most want?

• Consistently present myself as a profession in the profession of interior design
• Complete an internship that teaches needed skills and knowledge while conducting myself as a professional
• Networking with professionals in the field of interior design
  

List three of your biggest successes.

• Winning first place in the Arkansas Third Congressional Art competition and having my art piece hang in the U.S. Capital for a year
• Completing Studio 2, 3, 4, & 5
• Maintaining a GPA of over 3.7/4.0 throughout my college career
  

List five goals you wish to accomplish during the next calendar year.

• Intern at an interior design firm or an architecture firm with an interior design department
• Complete my Bachelor of Interior Design
  
• Begin a career in a field of interior design that interests me
• Maintain a GPA of 3.5/4.0 or greater until graduation
• Learn to play the piano or keyboard
  

List three goals you hope to accomplish by the time you are 30 years old.

• Become a licensed interior designer
• Pass the LEED exam
• Become a licensed real estate agent
  

List three goals you hope to accomplish by the time you are 50 years old.

• Create many award winning designs
• Build a 401K
• Have many of my designs published
  

Assuming it were possible for you to achieve any goal in interior design, what would it
be

• Run an interior design business
  

List ten mini-goals needed to support the goal stated above.

• Complete internship
• Graduate with B.I.D
• Work for 2 years under a licensed interior designer or architect
• Pass the NCIDQ
• Maintain the requirements to keep my license in interior design
• Pass the LEED exam
• Start a career at an interior design firm
• Receive promotions at an interior design firm
• Take classes or gain a degree in business
• Build my client base
  

Art Nouveau

Retrieved from dictionary.com

From the first time I saw the style of Art Nouveau, I loved it. If asked, it would be my favorite historical period of interior and exterior design. The famous whiplash imagery is what draws me in. One of the countries booming with Art Nouveau influence in the 1890s was Belgium. There are many things that are distinctly Belgium: Belgium waffles, Belgium beer, and Victor Horta. I admire Victor Horta's Art Nouveau style. Therefore, I am providing a tribute to Art Nouveau and Victor Horta. These are so beautiful.

http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/teach/slide_11fs.htm

http://www.visitbelgium.com/index.php?page=unesco-sites

http://www.interiordesignpro.org/blog/art-nouveau-interior-design

http://www.artandculture.com/users/61-antoni-gaudi

Big Small Rooms

I was recently reading a journal article about what are the best colors to use in a small room that will give the illusion of the room being larger. The answers were actually very diverse. Some said that lighter colors opened up the room to give it an airy feel. Others said deeper colors would remove the visual of boundaries. I thought it would be interesting to look up the colors that designers suggested. So if you are dealing with a small space, try using one of these colors. I think that stark white and solid black would be too extreme and defeat the purpose. These are collors listed in the House Beautiful article (Pittel, C. (2008). Color for small rooms. House Beautiful, 150(4), 26. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.):

Benjamin Moore
Super White 02

Benjamin Moore
Witching Hour 2120-30


Dunn-Edwards
Nomadic Taupe DE6192

Fine Paints of Europe
Delft Blue 4003

Farrow & Ball
Claydon Blue 87

Forrow & Ball
Brinjal 222

Christopher Peacock Paint
Mercury CPP1 18

Benjamin Moore
Horizon 0C-53



Benjamin Moore
Alexandria Beige HC-77



Porter Paints
Fresh Curry 6254-2

Benjamin Moore
Shades of Spring 537



Benjamin Moore
Appalachian Brown 2115-10


Websites:
http://www.benjaminmoore.com
http://www.dunnedwards.com
http://www.finepaintsofeurope.com
http://us.farrow-ball.com
http://www.peacockpaint.com
http://www.ppgporterpaints.com/

Brand & Price Tags

http://shopmasons.com/about/

Now that we have done a few commercial projects, we have been introduced to the idea of branding the design environment. I was recently on a shopping trip to buy a pair of Tom's shoes. Since Tom's shoes are only sold in a limited number of stores, my quest took me to Mason's.

It is a high end clothing, shoe, and accessories store located in the Northwest Arkansas Mall and on Joyce Street. The Mason's on Joyce Street definitely had a brand appearance to it. As a college student trying to pay my bills, I felt very out of my element in such a high end store. I started to analyze that the sophistication of the store was not just because of the high price on the tags, but also because of the interior design.

High ceilings give the space a lofty feeling. There are also very large chandeliers with down-lights that made the crystals sparkle like diamonds. The area set aside for the dressings rooms had sweeping curves and upholstered walls. The sconces on the wall were glass shells over a mirror faux fireplace.

Everything about Mason's says luxury. The visual appearance of the store aids in giving the products greater perceived value. A person who desires luxury would definitely feel that they were getting a luxurious and sophisticated product. The experience further emphasized the importance of giving our commercial clients a brand appearance that fits their products and needs.

Igloo

The last two weeks have been marked with record snowfall in the area. School was canceled, and there was more snow outside than I had ever seen in my life. We decided to let the children inside us out and build an Igloo. Of course, we built it for fun as southerns that already had a home. Our method was to pile the snow into a large mound, pack it down, and then carve out the inside. The entrance was on a downhill slope. So, to enter we would lay on a sled and slide all the way in. The inside was comfortable enough for three people to sit up in. It was also surprisingly less cold inside our southern style igloo than it was outside.

It got me thinking about how igloos are often the primary homes of individuals in colder climates. I can begin to understand how proper construction of the igloo along with furnishings can make an igloo comfortable enough to live in.

As the snow melts and the temperatures rise, our little temporary igloo is shrinking. In colder climates, I imagine that the low temperatures keep igloo homes from melting.

For your viewing pleasure, I am including more sophisticated igloo designs. After all igloos are a form of residential design.

http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/inupiat-eskimo-igloo-438-pictures.htm

http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~rjs/index_rjs_kiruna2010.htm

http://ameenanotamina.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/i-love-igloos/

Wedding and Event Design

An unexpected career path has found its way into my head lately: wedding and event design. The joy and excited that surrounds weddings and other special occasions would be a wonderful thing to be a part of on a regular basis. The design process that we undergo for other interiors would be similar, if not the same, as that of a special event space.

Research: to start, the designer would need to sit down with the client and find out all of their expectations, desires, wants and needs. The designer could get an idea of the style of wedding or event that the client desires and then look up some precedent studies of that kind of style. In this stage, the main goal is to get inspired in the right direction.

Concept Development & Ideation: many soon to be married couples and hosts of events have a theme or some kind of style on what they want. This theme can be the co ncept for all the design that follows. The development of the concept will begin to give shape t o more specific ideas for the design solution. The designer could then show the multiple ideas to t he c lient and get feedback for which one the client would like best.

Space Planning: This is my favorite step in the design process, so I know I would love it in wedding and event design. The two main spaces for a wedding would be one for the ceremony and one for the reception. The image above is a furniture floor plan for a wedding reception space from http://www.maisondesbontemps.com /reception.html.
As I was looking around I found that sometimes event designers use the same software we use. The images below show an AutoCAD creation juxtaposed with the end result (see http://www.pacificpartycanopies.com/resources/cad/weddingfor250/ for more).















There are many design steps in between space planning and final decoration decisions (FF & E or furniture, fixtures, and equipment in interior design). The final design is completed and specifications are made for installation and set up.

All around I am intrigued by the thought of carrying a design out to the end for a wedding or event. It would take attention to detail, meeting and exceeding the clients needs and desires, and creating a space that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. This career path could be very exciting and rewarding, so I will keep it as a definite option.