4 Home Trends to Look Out For

A few new trends are coming around, or coming back, in the world of home decor..

The first being anything that is "Made in America." These items reflect handmade, hand tooling details containing the all-American quality.

The second is the color blue, in any shade. Any store you walk into right now containing home decor seems to really be catching on this trend. The color is everywhere, blue is the color of the year for home furniture and accessories. 

Next is nature. Needless to say, nature is a timeless trend that can always be used. It is proven that people work and feel better in spaces that contain inspiration and aspects from nature. 

Lastly, the forth trend is metallic. Metallic finishes and threading are very in right now, especially gold, silver, pewter, and bronze. Metallics add elegance and drama to any space. 

Taking inspiration from the Pro's!

I constantly find myself being the typical twentysomething devoting countless hours to Pinterest. Sometimes, however, I do find that it pays off. Recently I stumbled upon a number of Interior Design related quotes, that were just the motivation I needed going into my last project of my last semester at Purdue.

When you don't know what to "google"

Sometimes as Interior Design students, we run out of options for specifying items, and constantly find ourselves using the same manufacturers, project after project. I often find myself challenged with not knowing where to look for specific items. I was recently introduced to the website "4specs.com," which reminds me of Google, but for the design industry. You can search things as generic as "lighting," or something more specific and have your eyes opened to a whole new world!

The Power of Feng Shui

Hong Kong is a city famous for its vertical architecture and ultra contemporary building designs. A lack of space within the city has created a need for compact and rapid development. As futuristic as the city is, however, few of Hong Kong’s residential or commercial buildings have been constructed without the use of the ancient discipline of Feng Shui. At least 90% of businesses in Hong Kong have a full time Feng Shui consultant on staff.

Thousands of years old, Feng Shui is a system of mathematical, geographical, psychological and aesthetic rules to manage the flow of energy in a room, as to be harmonious with the environment. Feng Shui is based on traditional Chinese medicine, which is built on the foundation of Yin & Yang and the five elements- water, wood, fire, earth, and metal.

Countless corporations use Feng Shui to increase the potential of the company and protect their assets. Feng Shui-surpporters include Coca Cola, Disneyland,  McDonalds, Virgin Mobile and leaders such as Bill Gates and Donald Trump.

In conclusion, Feng Shui may seem like a cheesy cliché, but in other parts of the world, designers wouldn’t think to create a space without using it.

Design Tips to keep in Mind

#1: Personalize your space.
Your space should reflect who you are. The best way to achieve this is by including accessories that reveal your hobbies and interests that express who you are. What colors are you drawn to? Do you prefer mod or modern? Use your taste in clothing as a style guide for your home and other aspects of design.

#2: Work with your surroundings.
It’s important to understand your design limitations. Be familiar with the size and scale of your space. Also, consider your environment and respond to it to help you narrow choices down based on your space.

#3: Keep comfort in mind.
Comfort is key. Try to pick furniture and key components that are aesthetically pleasing but also functional and comfortable to use. Although some furniture may look cool they may not be practical to use.

#4: Stick with the classics.
Incorporating pieces that have withstood the test of time gives you the freedom to interpret them as your design style advances. Using classic furniture, prints, and fabrics offers you with a basic foundation to build on with trendy or personalized accessories and finishes .The possibilities are endless when it comes to updating a classic piece.

#5 Less is more.
As Mies Van De Rohe states this famous quote. We may fail to use this in design as we get caught up in all the possibilities we can do! We can sometimes forget to keep it simple. You don’t want to overcrowd your space. If you edit the items in each room to create a balance. 

Why we Should Organize by Color-Coding

Everyone likes to be organized, or at least try to be, but sometimes being organized gets a little hard. We don't always have time to organize our books by genre or our shirts by size. We want our belongings and our spaces to look clean and thought-out, but what is a simple way to achieve this feel? Color-coding! 

For starters, color-coding any type of collection automatically has an obvious, visible sense of organization. This simple method of organization doesn't require too much thought and establishes a sense of cohesiveness throughout an otherwise cluttered space. The look can be taken to another level by strategically placing complementary tones together and breaking away from the classic gradient color-coding look. Displaying a monochrome collection instills a continuous flow within the decor of a space. This simple organizational method is also very easy to maintain! 

Color-coding brings an aesthetically-pleasing essence to a space with minimal effort, perfect for a little change up in your everyday spaces. 

The White Room

In the design field, often times the color white is underrated. It is seen as a blank canvas or a project not yet finished. The concept of The White Room utilizes the simplicity of blank surfaces as though-evoking areas. The only thing that fills the room is ideas. There are three main concepts to consider when creating The White Room:

1. Unlimited Writable Surfaces
You can never install too many surfaces to scribble on. Dry erase paint and whiteboard surfaces can provide a piece of scrap paper in the size of an entire wall. But don't limit yourself to simply vertical surfaces. Utilize ceilings, floors, and even furniture. In this case, more is more.

2. Reduce Furniture
The White Room should be a space of movement and activity. Cramming the room with seating limits the amount of action that can take place. Stools are ideal, as they are casual and encourage upright active postures. Other pieces of soft-seating can also be added for comfort.

3. Compact Spaces
Small rooms allow teams to utilize the potential of The White Rooms. If the space is too large, ideas get lost. Tighter rooms make sure solutions and theories are easily approached and re-visited. An ideal White Room would be about 10' x 14' or even 8' by 10'.

Special Thanks to Make Space by Scott Doorley & Scott Witthoft

Sustainable Design

2015 will be the year that sustainability will be bigger than ever! It will heavily influence and emphasize design decisions, including our own. Sustainable practice is becoming more and more encouraged throughout the workplace. LEED and USGBC are the two big organizations paving the way for sustainable practices. Designers are becoming LEED Green Associates throughout their firms and should be all something we consider becoming. As Ana from HKS stated in our past class, it has taken over 15 years for companies and manufacturers to process out harmful substances in their products. More and more companies are becoming transparent about what they put in their products for the public to see to prove they are supporting sustainability. Some sustainable design practices we should be conscious of is optimizing site potential, minimize non-renewable energy consumption, use environmentally preferable products, protect and conserve water, enhance indoor air quality and optimize operation and maintenance practices. Through these holistic approaches encourage positive impacts on our design to create a healthy and productive for everyone to enjoy.We should be working with the environment rather than against it. Some cool ways designers are incorporating the environment into their design are through Biowalls. The Biowall is a thin profile indoor ecosystem designed for air quality improvement. Its made up of various plants, soillness media and a water proof backing.It reduces the demand for energy consumption mechanical air filtration systems through the natural filtration of the plants, plus its beautiful to look at!

Hi, Sectional and the City!

I love your blog title - I've told many of my designer friends about it.  Do you think we need to adjust the image/text/background in order to make the text more readable?

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20 Pieces of Advice for Interior Design Students

20 Pieces of Advice for Interior Design Students

1. Be open minded about trying new design styles, and incorporating them together.

2. Learn to draw and sketch by hand. You can't always rely on technology

3. Pay attention to the details.

4. Don't procrastinate. Your final project will show it.

5. Be prepared to go 5 days without sleep.

6. Keep multiple copies of your work. Your Flash-drive will probably crash at one point or another.

7. Keep your portfolio up to date.

8. Network!

9. You're a Design major, your resume should reflect it.

10. Demonstrate progression in your final project (bubble diagrams, sketches, test fits, etc.)

11. Don't be afraid to take risks.

12. You may consider some of the project requirements as "unnecessary," but just do it. Your instructor usually knows what he/she is talking about. 

13. Get used to presenting your project to a group of people. It's never going away.

14. Learn to trust your peers. Like presentations, "Team Projects" are never going away.

15. Give yourself ample time to print your project. It never goes as smoothly as planned.

16. Keep measuring tape in your purse/bag. 

17. Take advantage of the Reps when they visit your class, whether it's for networking or free samples.

18. Physical samples are always best.

19. Learn standards sizes and dimensions. You'll waste too much time "googling" them if not.

20. You will probably cry at least during every project, especially when you're on your 63rd hour without sleep. Just remember how rewarding the end result always is.