I can’t believe the internship is already over halfway
completed! I have had quite a few experiences this week. I will start with the
Dean Residence.
Scenario: Scott’s brother and his wife are building a new
home in Cedar Falls.
This project was given to Rachel, the other intern who, due to personality
conflicts with Scott no longer works here. Now I am working on the project by
myself and all I really knew about it was that they were building new and had a
LOT of Victorian antiques they wanted to use. As I’m sure this is a problem
most designers face at some point or another, this is not my style at all. I am
a fan of the modern Victorian style that has become popular in recent years,
but definitely not the traditional Victorian.
I reached a point of frustration
when creating the boards because I only had the information that was given to
me and nothing else. In order to really grasp what the Dean’s wanted, I felt I
needed to talk to them myself. Communication is so important and it was
definitely proven in this case! My original intentions were only to get the
measurements of their existing furniture they wanted to use but I decided to
just start from the beginning with them since I am now the person working on
their home. I wrote up an email telling them what I knew of their situation
(building new/Victorian) and I asked them what their needs were as far as
designing (I didn’t even know what design help they wanted! Everything vs. just
furniture layouts etc.), their budget, timeline, if they considered themselves
quick decision makers, if they’d ever worked with a designer before, and the
style they were going for. Her responses helped SO much. It turns out they
didn’t want Victorian at all, but were trying to move away from it while still
using a few pieces of their traditional furniture. A lesson I learned is how
much easier it is to just be in direct communication vs. hearing it from
someone else. Also, that email is very useful because then I have a record of
it and I don’t have to try to remember every detail or try to scribble it down
if we were to talk on the phone. I also think it helped her feel comfortable
with me and know I want to help make things go as smoothly as possible.
Wednesday was a big learning day as
well. Scott shut down the office and had us all come out to help at his lake
house that he is getting ready for their tour this weekend. I thought this
would be a lot of cleaning and housework but I ended up learning how to do a
lot! I got to make some valences (albeit ugly ones, in my opinion) for his
lower level windows. It was a lot of fun and although they aren’t my taste, it
really shows how creativity can get you some interesting results. Scott seems
to always have a million ideas running through his head and even though he has
a different style than I do, his creativity is definitely VERY inspiring!
I also learned how to create a
distressed wood look on some furniture. He has some unfinished dresser drawers
that needed distressed. First, I took a hammer to them, then a blow torch to
get some dark spots, then a couple coats of stain and varnish. It turned out
really cool! It’s amazing how much money one can save by doing the work
themselves.
Images from his lake house:
I was also fortunate enough to be
picked in a drawing for lunch with Jay Byers and Mary Bontrager, CEO and Vice
President of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. This was a great experience in
which I found out Mary also graduated from UNI with an interior design degree
and marketing! Not only was that a breath of fresh air because everyone in this
intern program seems to be corporate- based, but she actually knew a little
about the DSM design scene. It was mostly commercial, but it was nice to have
something to talk about. She also said a lady in their office has a daughter
that works for RDG. Networking, networking, networking…
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