Week Five: It's time to Dive (Lake house)

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…

Week Four: Kind of a Bore

Well, I knew this would be coming at some point. The slow week finally hit. Not that I don’t have stuff to do because I do, it’s just that a lot of computer work makes the day go by extremely slow. I have been working a lot on creating Olioboards for our pinterest page as well as our website. They are coming up with a new plan here to do e-design work so these boards will be a part of that. You would think it would be pretty easy to pull stuff together for a board, but it takes a really long time. Scott wants me to use products and manufacturers we sell and use so that limits what I can pull from and also means I have to look through their catalogs/website to create my design and put the images on a board. That has been a challenge for me this week.

The highlight of my week would have to be Thursday afternoon. Scott took me to a client’s house (who happened to live almost right behind where my sister lived up until last summer) in the Beaverdale district of Des Moines. Beaverdale is a nice area with really charming, old (and tiny!) homes. This client is one of Scott’s good friends and he has wanted to remodel her living room for a long time. He finally talked her into it and the first time she really saw it all together was Thursday, so it was like a big reveal. From what I understand, she got a new fireplace/mantel, reclining chair, coffee table, end table, bookshelves, pendent light, accessories, and paint. She was so happy when she saw it all, there were tears. To change the way someone feels about their home, one of the dearest places to them, is amazing! She was so excited. Scott said afterward that it’s what the job is all about.

Something I love about this place is the ability to work with different people. Everyone kind of takes me under their wing; it has really made this a great experience for me. Friday I ran a few errands with Megan including running downtown to Vets Auditorium. There was a convention and one of the booths rented furniture for their seating. It was actually strange because I heard my name called and it ended up being a girl about four years older than me from high school whose organization was putting on the convention. I guess it goes to show that you never know when you’ll reconnect with someone. The power of networking is amazing.  Speaking of networking, I attended another event with the Greater Des Moines Partnership intern series and I ended up winning a lunch with 5 other interns and Jay Byers, CEO of the GDM Partnership! I’m not sure when that will be but that will be awesome. They are striving to get us connected with CEOs from the Des Moines area which is amazing. Granted, most of the interns are corporate business-focused but I’m sure I could still learn plenty from it. Most are interning at Wells Fargo or Principal and then a few other larger corporations sprinkled about. But once again, I did reconnect with a friend from Iowa State who just started interning at Wells Fargo last week. Either way, I am grateful for the experiences that will be had.

In reference to my future plans, one position I am looking at is actually as a baker at the Cedar Falls Hy-vee. If you happen to hear of any design positions in the Cedar Valley please let me know; my goal is to have both.  The future is a scary and exciting place…I can’t wait to see what it brings!

Just for fun:

I went home this weekend and my mom and I went to the humane society. I wish I could adopt them all! 

And I made this for Father’s Day!

I also think I may have found my book for my final project! I’m excited!

Week Three:Inspirations & Aspirations

Wow- already done with week three! I thought this week would go by a little slower considering we had a short week last week but it flew by all the same. This week has been a lot of computer work which surprisingly hasn’t given me a headache yet! I’ve been showing the ISU interns how to use SketchUp, which is pretty satisfying. :) It’s crazy to think they haven’t even really dabbled in it, let alone, know it enough to do a project. It is pretty cool to work with girls from another school and to hear about the differences in our programs. This week I was able to sit in on my first rep meeting which was with a guy from Top Knobs. He brought in a few boards and catalogs to show us since we carry their lines and it was nice to be able to hear the questions the designers asked him. We also went to see Rachel’s furniture to see what we could use in the home show and what we need to order. Since it’s her actual house and not just a model home, she is planning on buying a few new items. One thing that is hard to deal with is the fact that she says they are already $20,000 over budget without purchasing any furniture. This makes it hard for us to get her new things.

I often think of random design-y things as I go about my day and one of Friday’s thoughts were about how awesome it would be to be a set designer for movies. I have seen so many romantic comedies where I remember the interiors more than the actual plot! It started off on my drive to work with me picturing how I would design my apartment if I had money to do so and I immediately scanned through the different styles I’ve seen in movies. Granted, most of these interiors are extravagant apartments in large cities that are not economically feasible for the character’s occupation but I can dream right?

A few of my favorites include:

Ps. I love you

What’s Your Number?

(LOVE her artist nook!)

The Vow

This might be my favorite room- the BOOKS!! 

How amazing would it be to have a separate garage purely designated for creativity? If only we were all so lucky.

There are others that don’t necessarily have any good images on the internet, but they are definitely envy-worthy.

Anyway, this is one of the many design thoughts I’ve had this week. If it’s possible, maybe I could create my dream apartment for my 20-hour project. I’m still trying to think up ideas for that. I was going to do the chair-design but I’m not feeling too passionate about it at the moment. I think it would be an interesting research project to see how much a person’s style costs. I would approach it by going in without a budget and seeing how much it would cost in the end to have my dream apartment; I think I could make a pretty cool presentation out of it.

Although nothing overly-exciting happened this week, I’m still learning lots! I’ve also been keeping an eye on the job market – it will be here before I know it. I’m currently facing the tough decision of going straight into I.D. or pursuing the pastry arts side of life I am also passionate about. I’m trying to decide whether to do schooling for that or just apprenticeship-like work where I can get hands-on experience just like this internship. This is such a necessity if I ever want to open my own bakery. The hardest decision I’m facing is whether it makes more sense to do it now when I have a fresh start (no school, no real job) or if it would look bad to future employers that I took a break from I.D. if and when I go back to it later. I’m trying to be able to do both at the same time but it’s hard enough to get one job, let alone two! :) Any input you have would be appreciated!

Internship: Week Two (Original, I know)

Week Two has been an exciting and exhausting one. I could definitely tell the days I didn’t have coffee; I needed a nap after work! Since we were closed for the holiday on Monday, we jumped right back into things on Tuesday. Rachel and I continued to update the sample library, this time turning to the rugs library. In the afternoon I went with Kassie to Pier 1 Imports to meet with the Parade of Homes builder, Chris Gardner (of Bella Homes) and Chad, the Urbandale Pier 1 Imports store manager. We had to discuss how Pier 1 could work with us to stage the homes for the home show. Chad needed a “wish-list” of everything we wanted to use which he would need to get approved by the regional level. The tricky part about this is anything we order from their Ohio warehouse, they have to keep in the store. If you haven’t been in a Pier 1 Imports store, they are super-crowded already and to order a sofa that would have to stay in the store until it is bought would be really hard to deal with. The amount of free advertising that Pier 1 Imports would get for having their stuff plastered all over a show home is crazy. Thousands of people will be walking through these homes, and if they like what they see, they will realize that it is actually affordable at a store just down the street. We left Pier 1 kind of stressed that we have to have this “wish-list” made up in a short period of time.

Wednesday has been the most educational day for me so far. I shadowed Kassie all day because we were working on the Home Show and she had quite a few client meetings. We started the day off by going to the Parade of Homes sites. They are still under construction, so it will be really awesome to see the progress as we are working on it! Lesson #1 I learned was do not wear heels to the work site. (In my defense, I was not aware it was still under construction!) Some of the stairs were scary. We met with Chris G. and the owner of the home, Kris, and discussed the game plan for the home. Kris is hoping to sell the home through the Home Show so she definitely wanted a say in the way it was designed. We walked through room by room and discussed what we thought would be best for each space. Hunter Douglas does Home Show deals when they know thousands of people will be seeing their product, so they are giving us $5,000 worth of window treatments to use on this home. That being said, we also had to decide which windows got to have these treatments. After we went through this house, we went to the house down the street which was smaller, but similar to the first (Also built by Bella Homes). We were able to meet with Rachel, who will actually be living in the house with her husband, Jack, their 17-month old daughter, Ella, and a baby on the way. The unique part of this planning project was that they are going to be living in this house so we are potentially using a lot of their existing furniture as well as searching for new furniture that they want. They have a very small budget left so this will definitely be a challenging task. After we finished meeting with Rachel, we went back to the first home to take measurements for window treatments and photos.

Once we left the Parade of Homes site, we went to pick up samples and check measurements at one of Kassie’s commercial client’s business and then went to her next client’s home. Kassie worked for another company before she joined Creative Home about two months ago. Because of this, her previous clients wanted to stay with her so they still keep in contact with her. Obviously, you need to create good relationships with clients so they stick with you so I was excited to see how Kassie interacted with her clients and to take note of it! This client had just moved into a new home and Kassie had helped her basically design her entire living room. After three months, her furniture finally arrived so Kassie was going to see how she liked it and help her arrange it just the right way. Kassie said this furniture was around a $10,000 investment which, of course, makes the client nervous that they picked the right thing. After arriving, we realized that the client loved it and it looked great! It was pretty contemporary so I definitely loved it. J Kassie also helped her decide between a couple pieces of art to hang in the kitchen. From this visit I realized some clients just need reassurance that they made the right decision. She loved it, so that was exciting. Our next visit was another living room client who seems to be taking her house one room at a time. This client was a prime example of relationship building; after the design consultation there was a lot of personal talk which I realize is an important part of making a lasting relationship. In order to earn their trust and create a bond, you often times have to become the client’s friend. I did learn she was originally from Cedar Falls and was actually going up there that night for her father’s birthday. She asked about me and I told her I had attended UNI and was doing this internship to finish my degree. Already, we had a little connection! I had a great day being in client meetings first hand. It was definitely knowledge I couldn’t learn sitting in a classroom or at a desk. I still have so much to learn, but there was definitely a great start!

Friday I was able to use my scale as well as the paper scale we learned how to make in class. I try to do things a step above so my employers know I can bring something to the company. It feels great to know a few tricks and programs they don’t so when they see what I’ve done they are impressed! J I used Olioboard.com to make a few quick “sample” boards for us to show the POH homeowner so she could see what our ideas were. Alison, who is only a few years out of college came in and asked what program I used for that and Kassie loved them and thought they’d be a great way to showcase our ideas. I also used my past summer job experiences in an office to put together a really organized binder for our POH project. Everyone has their own methods of organization, and Kassie’s is what I call “chaotic organization.” By this I mean she has each project stuffed in manila folders which are piled all over her desk. I could tell she really appreciates my organization and my ideas and that makes me feel great!

I am being proactive about getting the most out of my Des Moines experience; I am following many Des Moines social networking pages such as the Des Moines Greater Partnership. Through this I learned of an event Thursday night called “Do More in the City.” It is a networking event for all interns living in Des Moines for the summer. I also would like to attend NeoCon this year but I am still looking for someone to go with. It would be a bit of a trip from Des Moines (about 5 hours) but I think it would be a great experience, especially while I am still technically a student. There is a career fair too which I would like to attend. 

This concludes my second week, the time is flying by!

Images of the POH!

The outside – it’s huge! The dark side walk was wet so we were trudging through that dirt to the left in our heels.

Sitting room that is to the left when you walk in the front door (That’s the front door through the window)

Other side of sitting room

The kitchen so far!

Kitchen again – the sink is under that window to the right

Dining nook off of the kitchen!

The great room – those humongous windows/doors go out to a really awesome deck.

Pantry off of the kitchen – that little door is connected to the garage- makes it easy to bring the groceries in – unique!

Bed room #1 – Girl’s room. (It’s hard to get a good picture of these right now.)

Jack and Jill bath between kid’s rooms.

Boy’s room.

Master Bedroom through French doors.

Master bath – there will be a free standing tub- cool!

Where the shower will be in the mast bath – I’m excited to see how this turns out!

This was a tour of the first floor. I did not have time to get pictures of the basement but it consists of two more bedrooms, a large storage room, a bathroom, media room, another nook below the dining nook which will be a game table area, a bar, and a wine cellar.

Hope you enjoyed the photos – I can’t wait to see the progress! J

Dining Nook Ideas – Olioboard

Great Room Ideas

Upper Deck Ideas

The start of my career: The Internship

I'm back! I figured since I have to write a weekly journal for my internship, I would share it on my blog! :)

(This was last week's journal)

 This week I started my internship at Creative Home Consulting in Urbandale, Iowa. I was really excited about this because Des Moines a is great area that I could see myself locating to, at least semi-permanently. The business I am interning for is actually three companies that are currently combined. The first company, Creative Home Consulting, is the interior design business. The second business is Designer’s Edge Showroom which allows other designers in the area to access our large sample library and check out items to use in their client meetings. The third business is called Furniture Handlers which is basically a receiving port for furniture orders for designers and the public. They also rent out furniture for home staging. The owner of this company is Scott Dean. Other employees include Megan Baccam, the office manager, assistant designers Alison and Cassie, two graduate interns; Jillian and Jen, and two under graduate interns; Rachel and I.

This week has been such a fantastic week! I was feeling hesitant leading up to the start of this internship because I have been so set on not doing residential design. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to give it a shot before I decided I didn’t like it. I had created a stigma for myself in relation to residential design because I was so tired of hearing everyone say, “Oh cool, you can come decorate my _____ when you graduate.” I felt like it degraded the realm of design that I have learned about at UNI; that residential was easy and only required picking paint colors.

The more I am in my professional environment, the more comfortable I feel about it, thankfully. Even though I’ve been doing the normal “intern” work such as updating the sample library (more on that later) it has been great to be in the environment and get a secondhand experience of what the other designers do on a daily basis. The first three days Scott and Megan were at a conference so I got to know the other interns and assistant designers. All of the other interns had started earlier in the month so I jumped in with Rachel to continue updating the sample library. This library includes approximately four rooms of floor to ceiling bookcases full of samples (window treatments, fabrics, trims, wallpapers, etc.) This will be an ongoing project throughout my internship because there are so many samples and it is a tedious process. We have to contact the company for each brand we sell and get an updated list or discontinued list on their products. From that list we have to discard the pattern/product/entire book so designers aren’t trying to use products that are no longer carried. (by this point in the week I have blisters and feel like I have arthritis!).

 The silver lining to the library update is definitely the chance to get to know a LOT of manufacturers and products in such a short amount of time. I have been given little projects from Jillian who is working with clients. Her clients have requested example images of pieces of their project; ‘would this color of flooring look good with this color trim’ or ‘what back-splashes look best with white cabinets and a black counter-top?’ My job has been to find examples of what the client could do in their project. This actually requires a lot more research than I had approximated. This has been fun because I get to take their style into consideration and find what I think would be a best fit for them.

One of the most rewarding moments this week was being a fly on the wall in one of the sample rooms while a customer was looking over some custom chair cushions she had ordered. There were no designers around and it was her and her husband and she was just THRILLED at how great they turned out. I couldn’t help but smile to myself and think “That’s what makes it worth it.” Another reason I didn’t want to do residential is because I heard you deal with a lot of difficult clients with whom the design is personal. This may be true, I have yet to find out, but I know that making these people happy is an amazing feeling!

Building Endurance

I ran two miles in a row AGAIN last night!
But today my back is really sore. That is kind of weird. But i'm slowly getting better! :)

Des Moines Trip

So, I said I would write about the weekend so I guess I will.

T hursday after work my parents and I drove to Des Moines because I had a design event to attend Friday (more on that soon.) We went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner which was delicious (shrimp!) and then hung out in the hotel room for the rest of the night which was nice. Friday I met up with Christina and four other design classmates to attend Neocan't 2011 which is a design expo for those who can't attend the NEOCON expo. This is a place where tons of vendors gather and there are also little sessions designers can attend to learn about different design topics. We got lots of information and free stuff! After we walked around the trade show, we went to lunch at downtown Court Avenue Brewing Co. I had Chicken Pot Pub Pie and it was delicious. After lunch we met up with one of Laura's friends who happens to work at RDG, a design firm in Des Moines. The firm itself was awesome- lots of natural light, industrial elements, and levels! They said it used to be a parking lot previous to the building of the firm and you could really tell, especially by the lines that were still painted on some of the pavement they kept!
After the tour, we split up and went our different ways. My parents picked me up and I went back to the hotel and passed out for a couple hours. That evening, my parents and I met my sister & family at the mall and we did some "looking." Shopping at Jordan Creek mall with no money is one of the hardest self control tests I've ever endured. I didn't by a thing! (Other than part of my sister's birthday present.)
Saturday we went to my sister's house and visited during the morning hours and then went to Ankeny for the afternoon. My mom wanted to go to a scrapbooking store but my dad and I went to Goodwill. Talk about deals galore! I got a big stack of books (hardcovers were only $1.49-WHAT!) a couple old cds, and a dvd of a DMB concert!! I also picked up what I thought was a curtain to make a purse out of but it's actually a valence so it will be even EASIER to do! I'm really excited about that. Then we went to the Pro Bass Shops store and spent a good couple hours in there. I did manage to get a pair of white wedges on sale which I'm excited about. After that, we met up with my sister&family to go out to eat for her birthday. We went to Dos Rios but they had too long of a wait so...we went to Court Avenue Brewing Co.! haha After that we went to the Sculpture Park which is in downtown Des Moines and it was cool! (I will upload some pictures later.) My dad and I had to go to the bathroom so we stopped in this little coffee shop. We picked up some beverages and there was a live musician playing so we stuck around and listened for a little while. It was awesome and made me really excited to move to a big city where that is a common establishment.
Sunday, we went to sister&family's house to visit a little more then we went out for lunch at the Drake Diner. It was delicious! I wish we had something that great in Cedar Falls. It was kind of a bittersweet day because it was our last time at my sister&family's current house because they sold it and are moving to a bigger house in a couple of weeks (which I am helping with.) Their current house is so cute, quaint, and old --I love it! But they have easily out grown it so it's time to move. We drove by their new house (can't go in yet) and looks really nice so that will be exciting!!
After lunch we left Des Moines and stopped at the Williamsburg outlet mall where I DID shop a little bit because the deals were so great! That was the extent of my long weekend. This week isn't as interesting except one of my best friends Lindsay comes home from her two week trip to Nicaragua tomorrow (Wednesday) so I'm excited to see her!

That is all for now.