Desgn Tip: Pillow Cases

I was having a conversation with a Friend the other day about "wall stickers". I think we have all seen this DIY item that promises to add character to your home. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan. Although some of them are very unique and work with certain spaces I find a lot of them are not used properly, especially the script wall stickers.

Exhibit A -



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Do you really need a daily reminder beside your bed to "Live, Love, Laugh"?

 

I would much rather see a beautiful silver mirror on this table leaning against the wall reflecting light into the space, and a mirror is much more functional.

 

Exhibit B -

 



 

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To really make an impact I believe you have to have large scale wall stickers, and these are not inexpensive items to purchase.

 

I think this is a great idea for a children's room or nursery. The added cost can sometimes be too much when expecting a baby though. There are other ways to add impact to your child space through accessories, wallpaper, accent walls and furniture that aren't such large dollar amount items.

 

After talking with my Friend I remembered some images I saw on instagram. Personalizing pillowcase with script. Having your favourite quote stitched into your pillow case is a great idea. You are able to see it when you go to sleep and when you wake up. It can be easily hidden by turning the pillow over or putting accent pillows in front of it. And from a designer perspective it will not interfere with the overall space. I had told my friend to run the script up the side of the pillow case on the open flap, here are some other interesting ways to personalise your pillowcase.

 

 

 

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I saw this one on Kim Kardashian's Instagram. This could be done with fabric paint and a stencil or even iron on lettering.

 

 

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Rhianna's Instagram shows a lot of different embroidered pillow cases, this is just one of them. This could be done with a sewing machine at home if yours has the setting or at a fabric store for a small fee.

 

I think the bedroom is a great place to add some personal touches that not everyone will see but that wont affect the overall design of your space. Remember the bedroom is supposed to be a sanctuary, with minimal clutter and a place where you can escape to. This is a fun way to make it  your own and be playful all at the same time. So remember, have fun.

 

Come back soon, and ill share some more design tips with you

 

-AR



 



 







Wake Me Up, When September Ends...

Now that Summer is officially over, I can blog again....

If any of you follow my good friend Nicki, you will know that she outed me a few weeks back, about why I haven't been keeping up with my blog. I think she's really just upset she didn't come up with the idea first ;)

So what have I been doing this Summer?

Well... not much! I did spend a big portion of the summer planning an at times stressful engagement party. I have a weird passion for party planning, I don't know why I do it to myself.

I've also been dreaming big for this little blog of mine. Hopefully you will start to see some changes soon. I will finish my Desgn on a Dime as well as post some new projects I have on the go right now.

Come back soon, and I'll share my desgn ideas with you!

-AR

My First Canvas

I know that I have mentioned in a few posts before about the love of Our first apartment. It is something I will never forget. A first apartment means so much, freedom is the first word that comes to mind for me. Not having to answer to anyone, to come and go as you please. To do what you want when you want and not have to clean up the mess. It is just overall fantastic. I love being a host and having people over, that is why I insisted on a two bedroom apartment, and I wanted to have another space to decorate. Our friend penned it the Penthouse because it was the first apartment at the top of the stairs.

For me, I enjoyed every thing that happened inside those crooked walls. I spent time on every room and found the best pieces. I told a friend once that when it was time to move out I wanted to sublet my apartment fully furnished so I could re do a new place, and kind of pretend I was Carrie from Sex and the City. That did not happen though. Eventually it was time to move on to the next, and although I am enjoying making a new home for us, there is just something about Main St I will never let go of.

So, for now, here are some pictures of our apartment. I took these pictures on the day we moved out. It was kind of bittersweet. My Mom and Sister went to take the last things down to the car, and it was just myself and the camera.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone that helped us on moving day. First off, my Mom, who did such an amazing job packing up everything in my kitchen. Not a single thing broke, and tape over the salt shakers was genius. My Sister, who came to help even though she had a 6 month old baby to take care of. For packing all our clothes, which is a HUGE job, and scrubbing my fridge so well. To my little brothers, who aren't so little anymore. I told them not to lift anything heavy but they surprised me by being such great help that day. To my other brother Kenny who didn't have to help us at all, but did. Todd for waking up at the crack of dawn to take a bus from the city to help us move at 9 am, and then when we go to the new place tiled our floor so we could have our own toilet. Glen for letting us use his truck which was a huge help. We would of had to make 6 trips if we didn't have him there. Paula who could of spent the day at Ryan's soccer tournament but came and helped pack and let us stuff her car full of our crap. And Sarah for entertaining Lil'Miss Ava and helping me put together my new entrance bench, twice :) Couldn't have done it with out you guys!


Come back soon, and I'll share with you what I did with My First Canvas.

-AR

Pinterest

I have heard a lot about Pinterest lately. Everyone seems to have it, and everyone seems to be addicted to it. I have to admit, I LOVE the idea of it. Having everything you like on the Internet in one space that is just your own, genius.

I recently read a job posting that wanted candidates to actually have a Pinterest account. So I signed up, or at least I thought I was signing up. I was actually put on a waiting list, and had to wait to be "invited" via email to join. Well my prayers have been answered because today I was invited. I signed up and my account is www.pinterest.com/AmyRobertsDesgn .

Now, I just need to figure out how to "Pin" and I'm sure it wont be long until I am addicted also.

Come back soon, and Ill share with you my likes on Pinterest!

-AR

I Made That! - Baby Birthday Edition

It was my adorable niece's very first birthday on March 27! I was helping my sister plan her big party which happened on March 31. I was in charge of making the cake,

A "decorate your own cupcake" station for the little kids as well as a "memory book". A memory book is something I kind of made up of course. It is a simple scrap book that we filled with pictures of Miss Ava throughout her first year with various family members and friends. I cut up pieces of paper and set out markers for guests of the party to leave a special birthday message for the birthday girl. It is a simple keepsake and a cuter guest book that everyone will be able to look back on over the years.

For Ava's first birthday I really wanted to get her some TOMS shoes. Preferably the silver tiny glitters, but being so busy, I didn't order off line and was left to scour the malls and call as many shoe companies as I could. No one carries the tiny glitters in such a small size. So I was forced to buy her some hot pink Mary Jane's with a cute bow on the toe. She liked them just the same.

I also made her a gift of course. I am really glad my family taught me from an early age that hand made gifts really are the best. Not only are they one of a kind and personalized, they are cheap! I was on a shopping spree with my friend Nicki and she showed me this box on blank cards for less than ten dollars. The cards had cute little pastel coloured owls on the front, four different styles. Of course I bought them. I knew I could use them for something creative. As Ava's birthday approached, I found some simple wood frames unfinished at the dollar store, so I picked up four. I also found a pack of pastel card stock at the dollar store which went perfectly with the pastel colours of the cards. I painted the frames a cream colour,  cut the card stock to fit the frames and placed the owl cards over top. I also left secret messages in all the cards. I thought this would be a fun find for Ava when she was older and maybe replacing the owls with pics of her high school crush. However, my Sister found these messages about 30 minutes after I left her place for dinner.

This is what the final creation looked like,

After Miss Ava's birthday came Baby B's 1st Birthday. Ava was born 2 weeks before Brooklyn who is our cousin. For Brooklyn's baby shower I made her a sign-able frame as one of her gifts. It was Winnie the Pooh themed and had a jade green border. I wanted to make Brooklyn a growth chart. So I made it Winnie the Pooh themed as well and tied in the jade green colour scheme in the numbers and leaves.

This is what the final creation looked like,

I personalized this gift by making the characters appear like they were going to someones 1st Birthday with the cake with one candle, the party hats, and balloon. I like giving these personalized gifts to friends and family because I find that today, we get so much "stuff" we really don't need and we forget about the simple treasures that are so special to us. And keepsakes are something that can last a life time and be passed down the family.

Good tip for giving hand made items as gifts, sometimes guest of the party will approach you to make one for them, Cha-Ching! Might have a special something to show you all in July.

Come back soon, and I'll share some more hand made creations with you!

-AR

Tiny Tip

Visual clutter is something that can be really distracting, for me. If I'm at home and there is something out of place, I can't concentrate. If I go to a store, where there are 500 items for sale on the cash desk alone, I can't concentrate. For me, this is why I love using things like baskets and boxes to "hide" things. I am REALLY good at storing a lot of stuff in small places and not having it interfere with any one's sight lines.

Something that I've always found a pain to display/hide are books, DVD's and CD's. I know I know who has CD's anymore? But, I do.

Case in point, TV display units -

Minus the holiday stockings, and the side shelving units (we will get to those in a later post, but I bet your wondering what is in those boxes and baskets) You can see ALOT of stuff on either side of the television stand at the bottom cupboards. And most units have glass doors as a decorative feature. A rainbow of horizontal lines courtesy of our favourite DVD's, family photo albums, picture frames and even those media boxes and gaming consoles that never go with any decor style.

I had thought about using a decorative window film over the glass doors to disguise the insides of the TV stand, but I never really came across one that I liked. It wasn't until I was cleaning the accessories warehouse at my last job that I came across this punch out decorative sheet metal. I thought there was something I could do with it, but wasn't sure what. They no longer needed it and I got to take it home for free! Bonus, however, now I cant find any more like it, anywhere!!!

This is what I decided to do with it -

TA-Da! (Who else is in love with Modern Family?)

I had the glass carefully taken out in one piece, and sheet metal cut to size, and installed in place of the glass. Before installation I used a brown and hammered bronze spray paint and mixed the two together and with a rag blended together. I was trying to get the sheet metal to look like the door hardware. This is a really simple change that you can do, to any style of cabinet to make it unique, hide your mess, and personalize your furniture.

I was lucky with this cabinet that the glass was being held in the back of the door similar to picture frames. I have a second cabinet that I would like to pop the glass out of but the glass is actually installed between the front and back rails of the door frame. So, if this is something you would like to try just be sure to check out the installation of the glass in your doors before you start breaking it out!

I have yet to find some window film that I like for my second cabinet, but when I do I'll let you all know.

Come back soon and I'll share some more tips!
-AR

6. Accessories

So, I am halfway through my Desgn on Dime segment and it has brought me to Accessories. I hope that you are enjoying these how-to tips.  Now accessories can be a very tricky part of design. I’m sure with all the HGTV shows out there for the DIY-er’s it seems pretty simple when they show you that they are placing perfectly matched accessories in the space they just spent 25 minutes redoing. However, a very common behind the scenes aspect to design is the scouting aspect of the perfect accessory.

Some designers will have their own accessory line, Brain Gluckstein, Debbie Travis, Lynda Reeves, Steven & Chris. And some will spend, spend, spend, when they feel they have found the perfect piece but don’t quite have the perfect space, yet. Often these designers have storage units, sometimes more than one, to house their inventory of finds over years of flea market shopping, estate sales, antique road shows, and liquidated companies. This is something I would LOVE to do! Maybe, one day.

Accessorizing is something I can speak a little bit about because of the experiences I’ve had personally and professionally handling accessories for fun and for work. In school, we didn’t have these “real life” accessories to place in our spaces. Now when I think back to my school projects I don’t even think I put one type of accessory on my presentation boards. When I moved into my very own space, I went a little nutty. I didn’t really know what my personal decor style was, or what sort of themes I wanted to go with in my own home. I scoured department stores, clearance racks and even the dollar store for some good finds. I was watching one of Sarah Richardson’s shows one day, and heard The Great Tommy Smythe say something along the lines of ‘when dealing with accessories, take away 50% of what you have and that is all you need...’ I thought, IMPOSSIBLE! Where am I going to put all this stuff? What if I need it when I have a house instead of a two bedroom apartment? So I carried on, and continued to buy fun finds wherever they popped up.

When I got the opportunity to work as a Showroom Decorator, I distinctively remember being asked “Did you deal with accessories and room settings at your school?” I said, No. I didn’t want to lie in a job interview. But I was determined to try my best and I really was there to learn this aspect of design since it is something I did not learn in my studies. When I got the job, I really didn’t know what I was doing but, it is the kind of job you learn from quickly. You get to see your work displayed in a real life room setting, and then you get to see other’s reactions to this space. You get to walk away from the room and come back the next day with a clear head and start all over again if you need too. I loved this job. After about 4 months my confidence started to really grow and I felt really comfortable using accessories to show off a space. After all I learned at my job, I still did not down size my accessory inventory at home...

When I moved this summer, packing was a nightmare. I didn’t know I had so much stuff accumulate in almost 3 years into my sometimes small apartment. Because I knew the new move was temporary, 2 years max, I decided to not unpack everything. A) Because it would just be too much work to pack it up again in 730 plus 1 days, being a leap year, and B) I really didn’t want to do all that dusting. So I carefully organized my belongings in pretty little totes and stored a good chunk of what I owned. And you know what, that Tommy Smythe was right! Now I am so happy with my living spaces. They aren’t too cluttered; everything matches, and is visually appealing. He better not quit his day job ;)

So after all that, here are some tips I’ve learnt for to start properly accessorizing your space...

1.   Pick a theme – this might be hard for someone who is just getting their own space or even for someone who has their own space but knows it is way over cluttered. Try and find a common theme in the things you like. It could be their purpose, clay pots, or their colour, earth tones, or simply a collection of shot glasses over years of travel, alcohol? Lol. Each theme can branch off into a larger theme, clay pots could be bright colours, flowers and nature. Earth tones could be greens with natural elements of straw and organic shapes. Shot glasses could be showcased in a contemporary space with leather furniture and metal accents.

2.   Keep the themes consistent – Accessories should relate to one another if they are going to be in the same room together. If you chose to go with an Earthy theme, have picture frames that are wood tones, browns, and gold. Have accessories that relate, like animal figurines, different colour glass bottles or grass woven fruit shapes as examples.

3.   Keep the styles consistent – Whether you are a traditional person or modern, country, eclectic, contemporary, rustic, transitional (bet you didn’t think there were so many) find what you like and keep the style consistent for visual impact, at least within the same room. I like to change up styles and themes throughout rooms so it doesn’t become to minuteness for me.

4.   Most of all, Have Fun – It is VERY important for you to love the space you live in, not the space your in-laws visit once a year when your stuffing a turkey. Your home is yours and you should love it. Don’t be afraid to have fun and experiment with your style from time to time. Switch accessories up move them from room to room for a quick update. If you don’t like it, just move them back. I admitted I didn’t know what I was doing with accessorizing when I first got my home, but no one ever said “ hey, that giant blue apple doesn’t match anything”

Some great places I like to go to for room inspiration is in fact, furniture show rooms. You’ll know very quickly if they have a good decorator or not. One day I spent the afternoon near Vaughn Mills perusing the showrooms there, Leon’s, Lazy Boy, Urban Barn and Bowrings. You can really see all the different styles within these spaces and which demographic they are appealing to. If you can’t get out, just be aware of this next time you’re looking through your favourite magazine or on your favourite website. Tv shows can be a great inspiration too.

Come back soon, and Ill share with you some more Desgn on a Dime tips!

-AR

I Made That! - Baby Growth Chart Edition

Next up on my list of things to do for my sister, that was blessing me with a niece, was to make a growth chart. I 'borrowed' this idea from my cousin, Paula Roberts, who lives in Atlanta and is SUPER talented. If you’re ever in the area, look her up!

At the time, my sister was living with her in-laws and I knew that at some point they would be moving into a place of their own. Now every kid remembers standing up against a wall in their childhood home and having their parent mark their height and date on the wall. Sometimes when I go home I can still see my height marks in the garage. The only problem is, I can’t take that wall with me, and if the house ever sells that memory wall will be gone forever.

When my sister told me she was expecting, my design brain went into over drive. We didn’t know what she was having right away so I came up with two design schemes for a nursery. I found a card in a magazine with a Momma and Baby owl perched on a branch and thought it was so cute, so I convinced her owl theme for a girl. If she was to have a boy, I had a whole pirate ship theme for the lil’guy. When she found out it was 100% a baby girl, owls was the way we went. (I know your thinking 'way over contorl sister' but honestly she liked every idea I had)

My Inspiration:

I got some canvas from the local art store. Cut it to size, sewed the edges so they would be nice and clean. I made a space at the top to slide a dowel through, that I got at the local hardware store. I picked up some acrylic paints from the art store and got to work. I scanned the images separately and blew them up to represent a larger owl for the Dad and a smaller owl for the Mom. Baby I made a bit smaller for the bottom. I even painted the owls with their appropriate coloured eyes to represent each as well as their body colours.

Ta-Da!-

I got some pink vinyl for the leaves and cut them as hearts. I alternated them from front and back to show contrast between the leaves. When it was time to visit my sister and niece at home, I presented my sister with this baby gift.

I think this is a great gift idea for all children because no matter where you live it can go with you. It also is something that can match their room decor and is something that can be kept forever and they can have when they get older.

Come back soon, and Ill share with you some other things I've made.

-AR

I Made That! - Sign-able Frame Edition

I got the idea for this project from a family members baby shower. She got a sign-able frame that I thought was a really cute keepsake. However, it was kind of small, and therefore we were only able to really sign our names and not our wishes for our new little family member.
When it came time for me to throw my sister her baby shower I knew immediately that I wanted to make a sign-able frame. This was such an easy project for me because I was able to grab a few items and make something amazing.

I got a large photo frame from Superstore, unfortunately they no longer have these frames. I then got some pink paper, because I was being blessed with a niece, some scrap book sticker letters and some little flower appliques.

My sister had the wonderful opportunity of doing a pregnancy photo shoot with her friend and I got a copy of the photo for the frame. And with a pink pen for signing, the project was complete.
This is a wonderful idea for any occasion really, and that is why I've made some more for friends and family.

Here is a themed baby shower one. My cousin was going to do her baby's room in Winnie the Pooh so I printed off a picture to put in the frame, so that it wasn't empty when it was opened. And at a later date when the baby arrives, Mommy can put a more personal image in from the shower or of the new bundle of joy!

(Picture coming soon!)

Here is another baby shower sign-able frame. I wasn't sure if the skull and cross bone booties were appropiate for a baby shower, but it worked and the Mommy really enjoyed it!

Ive also made a sign-able frame for my friends birthday party. She was having a black and gold theme so that's what I went with here.

 



In the Summer, a friend of mine was having a baby shower and I wanted to send a lil gift for her new addition. Of course I decided to make one of my sign-able frames, duh! But this was a different type of frame, because this was the first one I made that was for a baby boy! I thought this would be SO easy, but when I got to Michael's and walked all the aisles in the scrap booking section I was stumped. I could not find the right size letters, I could not add my usual flowers and I needed to find something that wasn't teddy bears and rattles. I was told it was a "Rock Star" theme, so I tried my best to find the right pieces to make this frame complete. Overall I think my first boy frame turned out great and hopefully the next boy frame I make has as cute a theme as this :)



Some tips for making your own Sign-able Frames -

1. Make it personal by adding elements that match the theme or the person receiving the frame.
2. You can find many "pre made" sign-able frames at craft stores now. They often come with a thick black marker for signing. Purchase some coloured thin pens to use on the matt board as that thick black marker can be too much.
3. I usually give a coloured and black marker/pen. This helps give the matt board some depth and is also good incase one of your markers runs out of ink (this happened at my sisters baby shower)
4. Give the frame with a theme related image or photo already in place, but remind the one receiving the frame that they are welcome to take it out and replace it with whatever they like. Sometimes Mom's have pregnancy shoots to add, or a group photo from the shower or a photo of the baby are all great options.
5. Sign your name before you give the gift. This gives you a chance to use a colour no one else will :)

These are a great gift idea and are so easy to personalize for any occasion.

Come back soon, and Ill show you what else Ive made!

-AR

7. Lighting

Lighting is a very important part of design. I think it is something that is also over looked and people tend to go with just the “basic” lighting elements for their space. I mean, you spend all this time and money on renovating a space and then you put one little light fixture in the middle of the room and it hardly does the job of showcasing what you’ve just accomplished. To quote Rihanna “All of the lights in here, baby. Extra bright, I want ya’ll to see this”. Well I’m not saying put some extra bright lights, but maybe understanding the types of different lighting you will put the right lights in your space.

The number one type of lighting would be overall lighting. This is the light in the space you would use the most and would illuminate the entire room. This type of lighting is usually recessed down lighting, also known as “pot lights”. This type of lighting is placed throughout the entire ceiling and depending on the size of room will determine the amount of appropriate down lighting. It is recommended to put this lighting on dimmer switches. Depending on the time of day, and the task happening in the space will determine the brightness needed at that time. This is why dimmer switches are a great idea for overall lighting and can save energy which in the end will save you money.

The second type of lighting would be task lighting. Directional lighting could also be in this category. Task lighting would be lighting used in a space, other than overall lighting, to illuminate tasking. The main example of task lighting would be under cabinet lighting in a kitchen.

Task lighting would also be table lamps used for reading or desk lamps for working. Although side table lamps in a bedroom could also be considered accent lighting, they are also used for tasking at times. Table lamps are good for accent and task lighting in front hallways, dining rooms, bedrooms, or anywhere else you may need to task.

A new design aspect of task lighting is illuminating your stairways. This is something that can be done indoors or outdoors. Lighting up pathways is not only a safe thing to do it can be a great design aspect to any space.

The main type of directional lighting that comes to mind for me would be track lighting. Although some use track lighting as overall lighting, I tend to find it not such a great overall lighting technique. Track lighting works well in a space where you want to accent something on the wall or in the space. Think art galleries and museums. If you want to showcase some great art in your space, or show the three dimensional aspects of an accent wall (brick wall, plaster, and modular wall) then this is a great form of lighting.

The third main type of lighting would be accent lighting. Accent lighting could also be considered task lighting; they definitely cross over on to each other. Accent lighting can also be a really fun way to bring additional lighting into your space. With funky table lamps, hanging paper lights, delicate chandeliers, or wall sconces, the possibilities are endless. The great thing about accent lighting is that it can be a part of the design aspect that you have a little fun with because it will not affect the overall lighting that you already have in the space. And with the overall lighting on dimmers, you have the opportunity to let your accent lighting shine, no pun intended.

Whatever lighting you chose to have in your space, just remember to have fun and get the job done!

Come back soon, and Ill share some more design tips with you!

-AR

8. Flowers

I'm sure you have watched a HGTV show once in your life. Have you ever noticed at the end, right before the big reveal, the designer is running around buying fresh flowers for the space? Or maybe during the big reveal you notice the place is full of fresh blooms? This is a big thing in the design world.

Who doesn't love getting flowers? Especially with their new designed space. Flowers are a great way to add scent and colour to any room. They can fill the space with life, after all no one wants to live in a dead space.

Flowers can become rather expensive, if your trying to fill a house every week with fresh scents. Something I thought that could be an inexpensive way of getting blooms weekly (and something I will do for my 'future home') is to grow some yourself. Gardening can be a simple hobby and if you don't have a green thumb you can plant some perennials and they will just keep blooming year after year. Growing your own garden is going to save you money, help the planet, and help creatures pollinate. Win, win, win!

Another way to provide colour to your space is artificial flowers. Now, these are sold at the dollar stores and although they aren't terrible, there are nicer options. Silk flowers will last forever, even though they will cost a little more in the start. You can buy them as loose stem or already in arrangements usually accompanied by a vase. Fake flowers will not need to be watered, but they will need to be dusted, and sometimes, little insects make their way down into the vase because they mistake these for the real deal. So just beware come cleaning time.

Whatever way you decide to go, remember, this is a great one time special occasion design tip or and all year around way to bring life, colour and scent to your space!

Come back soon, and I'll share some more ways to bring life to your space.

-AR

Olioboard

The other day at work, I was day dreaming about my future "Home Office" I often day dream about spaces for myself. I try and keep it realistic and not get too crazy. I was thinking black and white colour scheme, kind of feminine, built-ins for storage, with a furniture piece desk...

Later at work I was checking Twitter and came across a tweet from Brian Gluckstein. He had asked if anyone had used Olioboard, what they thought, Polyvore vs. Olioboard? I had never heard of either (shame on me) so I instantly googled them.

Olioboard just looked a little more interesting to me and before I knew it I was at work making a design board for my future home office, it was just that easy!

This is what I came up with,

Built-ins, check. Black and white, check. Furniture pieces, check.

This is such a cool way to show friends, family, clients, what they can do with their space. It can be interactive, or they could do it on their own time and show you what they come up with and you can go from there. If I had clients, and an Ipad2, I would totally use this on a daily basis.

Something else that is so great about this program is that everything is already sourced for you. What that means is, often times in school we would make these presentation boards, and then have to jot down all the info, price, size, where to buy, etc. This program has a small box on the bottom left side, and when you chose an object, you can see who makes it, cost, and where to shop. These design boards can also be saved to your account, published or saved as jpegs. It is FOOL PROOF!

I was thoroughly impressed. I hope you are too! Go ahead, log on, try for free, and let  you imagination take you to a different room, have fun :)

-AR

Story of My Life

“What is Interior Design?” I have never really been asked that question...

 “What did you go to school for?” Now that is a question I am asked almost daily!

But to answer “what I went to school for” I need to explain what interior design is first. You see, it seems very few know exactly what interior design is. Sure I get the “Oh you pick paint colours for people, right?” and the “Why would you waste money on learning how to match colours?”  or, my personal favourite “When are you going to start your own staging company?” (My Grandfather asks me this every time he sees me)  I guess the effort is warranted, but it really annoys me! Something else that really annoys me is when I begin to answer the question and explain what interior design is, people often lose interest. I have always found this to be incredibly RUDE. Especially when the questions come from family members and they don’t even have the few moments to hold up their end of the deal by listening.  

So that is why I’ve decided to “blog” about it!

The quickest way for me to really get people to understand what Interior Design is, is to say “Interior designers can design any space up to 6000 square feet without an architect stamp of approval” 6000 square feet is a lot. What this means is, we need to know the Ontario Building Code, I have two copies. Lighting plans, electrical plans, interior and exterior elevations, and cross sections are some of the drawing titles you will find in a set of blueprints. Typically there are 32-36 drawing in a set of blue prints, and all need to be completed to acquire permits to build. These are all things I have done by hand drafting and by Auto Cad. We also do site plans, furniture plans, flooring plans, interior and exterior finish plans, create presentation boards and present our project that took an entire semester to the class and school faculty. These bodies would someday represent potential clients and business colleagues.

I have put a lot of blood; literally, I sliced my finger at 5 am one morning making a scale model of a structure I designed and had to have my friend drive me to the hospital in a snow storm. When you haven’t slept and used cola and chocolate to stay awake, the blood does not stop.  Sweat, often pulling all nighters, the longest I stayed awake was 3 days, so I’m sure I didn’t always smell the nicest. But never any tears, which is something not everyone in the graduating class of ‘08 can say. So you can understand why I would take offence to some of the comments the “un educated” people say to me regarding my schooling and current career.

I tried to Google the definition for interior design. Even the definition didn’t say what it was exactly “The profession of interior design is not clearly defined and projects undertaken by an interior designer vary widely.”

So I am going to paste the definition from the NCIDQ website which is the National Council for Interior Design Qualification.

Definition of Interior Design

Interior design is a multi-faceted profession in which creative and technical solutions are applied within a structure to achieve a built interior environment. These solutions are functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants and are aesthetically attractive. Designs are created in response to and coordinated with the building shell and acknowledge the physical location and social context of the project. Designs must adhere to code and regulatory requirements, and encourage the principles of environmental sustainability. The interior design process follows a systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals.

Interior design includes a scope of services performed by a professional design practitioner, qualified by means of education, experience and examination, to protect and enhance the health, life safety and welfare of the public. These services may include any or all of the following tasks:

·         Research and analysis of the client's goals and requirements; and development of documents, drawings and diagrams that outline those needs

·         Formulation of preliminary space plans and two and three dimensional design concept studies and sketches that integrate the client's program needs and are based on knowledge of the principles of interior design and theories of human behavior

·         Confirmation that preliminary space plans and design concepts are safe, functional, aesthetically appropriate, and meet all public health, safety and welfare requirements, including code, accessibility, environmental, and sustainability guidelines

·         Selection of colors, materials and finishes to appropriately convey the design concept and to meet socio-psychological, functional, maintenance, lifecycle performance, environmental, and safety requirements

·         Selection and specification of furniture, fixtures, equipment and millwork, including layout drawings and detailed product description; and provision of contract documentation to facilitate pricing, procurement and installation of furniture

·         Provision of project management services, including preparation of project budgets and schedules

·         Preparation of construction documents, consisting of plans, elevations, details and specifications, to illustrate non-structural and/or non-seismic partition layouts; power and communications locations; reflected ceiling plans and lighting designs; materials and finishes; and furniture layouts

·         Preparation of construction documents to adhere to regional building and fire codes, municipal codes, and any other jurisdictional statutes, regulations and guidelines applicable to the interior space

·         Coordination and collaboration with other allied design professionals who may be retained to provide consulting services, including but not limited to architects; structural, mechanical and electrical engineers, and various specialty consultants

·         Confirmation that construction documents for non-structural and/or non-seismic construction are signed and sealed by the responsible interior designer, as applicable to jurisdictional requirements for filing with code enforcement officials

·         Administration of contract documents, bids and negotiations as the client's agent

·         Observation and reporting on the implementation of projects while in progress and upon completion, as a representative of and on behalf of the client; and conducting post-occupancy evaluation reports.

Imagine if I recited that to everyone who asked me what I went to school for!

Decorating is yes, paint colours furniture, window treatments. Decorating is cosmetic and often for aesthetics.  Architecture is the exterior structure of a large building, over 6000 square feet, generally. Interior design is the interior of those large structures designed by architects. So we kind of cross both lines with what we know and do. In school it was often discussed that we should really be called “interior architects". And I think we should, it is technically what we do. Restaurants, malls, office buildings, banks, arenas, sports venues, bars, night clubs, theatres, the list goes on and on.  Next time you find yourself indoors, look around, and think of the space you see. Everything from the windows, to the carpet was part of a larger team of designers that worked together to make that structure complete.

I graduated when the recession hit and had to spend longer than I imagined waitressing. I didn’t mind, it was what I knew and had been doing since 2001, and quite frankly I was really good at it. I then took a job as ‘Showroom Decorator’ (I know I know you’re thinking didn’t she just say she isn’t a decorator?) for the largest Canadian furniture retailer, in one of the largest furniture showrooms in Ontario. That showroom was attached to their Home Office and I met a lot of the higher up people who had great things to say about my work. I helped on photo shoots in the studio for weekly flyers and helped on commercials that were shot in our show room. I was responsible for the overall look of the showroom. That included bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, children’s furniture area, and appliances and electronics. We would decorate the entire store for themed promotional events and holidays. It was a great job that helped me gain confidence in the “decorating” world, since we did not have these real life “props” to explore with in school. And decorating wasn’t our main focus in school. 

After 9 months, I moved onto ‘Kitchen Designer’ for probably the largest home improvement store in Canada and America. This is a career that is totally different from showroom decorator. It is a little more design involved. I enjoy seeing the finished project and having clients actually buy MY design. It is fulfilling and I am still learning something new every day.

I don’t know what I would LOVE to be doing with my career. I am just happy to be designing and learning right now. Something that inspires me to keep at it is that this career path can take me pretty much anywhere in the world.  So I am not worried about the money I spent on my education, the loans I need to repay every month, or the pay cut I took for taking a job in my field. Even if I never got the chance to work in design, I learned so much about the industry and myself, and the memories I made in 4 years at college, are ones I will never forget. 

So the next time I hear “You spent all that money on school and you’re only designing kitchens” I will respond with “Yes, I am. And what are you doing every day that you love and learn from, and inspires you?”

-AR