Hey All,

I am writing this post to you right after my last final! That’s right, I’m all done with this Fall 2010 semester and couldn’t be happier. Yes, I love my school and the work we do, but man am I excited to have a much needed break!! I think my final exams and presentations went pretty darn good so I couldn’t be happier! I wanted to leave you all with some Holiday Cheer so I wanted to give you a list of steps to help you relax through the busy Holiday season.

1. Step number one seems like an obvious one, yet it is one that most of us neglect. Basically its simple, when someone offers you help, TAKE IT. Don’t do the usual “oh no I’m fine” or “just bring yourself”. IF someone offers to do dishes, take them up on their offer. If someone offers to bring something to your holiday party, pick something off of you list that will save you some time and energy.

2. Take some “you” time. Make yourself a nice relaxing bath. Go with the works, candles, incense, bubble bath. Truly take the time that you deserve to unwind. Besides it just may save some headaches later.

Hey All!

I have been in such the Christmas spirit and have been so busy decorating my house! I love creating fun little vingnetts to look at in every room and I thought that I could give you all some pointers on how to vreate great little snap shots in your own home.

Like a Hollywood set designer, you can create a holiday scene, or vignette, to dress up your home. Create your holiday vignette anywhere: in an entry hall or sitting area; on your front porch; on the lawn, or the sidewalk. Your holiday vignettes don’t have to be larger than life nor bigger than your budget.

Making vignettes is easy if you keep these things in mind:

• Have a backdrop such as a wall, a house, or a landscape from which to build depth. Arrange items to draw the viewer into your scene. Most likely, your vignette will have a tablescape of some sort except when you decorate outside for certain holidays.

• Let the vignette tell a story. For example, a front porch with two rocking chairs on each side of a small table with a large glass pitcher of lemonade and two glasses says, “Relax and take comfort here.” Add an American flag waving in the breeze hung from the column and red, white, and blue bunting draped on the porch rail, and you have a picture of what America is like on the Fourth of July. And isn’t it comforting?

Here’s an instant formula for making holiday vignettes:

• Focal point: Is your eye automatically drawn to something you’ve decided to single out?

• Tablescape: Make sure that you have at least one tablescape in your vignette if you’re arranging interiors. Exterior tablescape vignettes are fine, too, but for some holidays, you may not need one.

• Vertical element: A Christmas tree, hanging wreath, banner, tall item on tablescape, or other item to draw the eye up is always necessary.

• Cluster of holiday items: Instead of scattering a few items to cover a large area, group them close together to engage continuity.

• Continuity to surroundings: Does your vignette flow well from one room to the next? Does it match the room’s feel? Does it make you have a particular “feeling” when you look at it? Stand back and evaluate.

• Camera or photo frame test: Remember to check your work by looking through a camera or eyeing your vignette design through an empty photo frame. Edit your vignette as necessary.

• Lighting: If you need to, use up lights, candles, or lamps to light up interior vignettes to draw attention to them; use spotlights, floodlights, luminarias, or porch lights to accent exterior vignettes. If you decorate with items that provide illumination themselves, you don’t need to go to additional lighting measures.

Here are some awesome pictures of vingnettes!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

Hey All!

In honor of finals week I have decided to give you all some helpful tips on being organized. Do you balance more activities, projects, and tasks than there are hours in a day? Do you think sleep is a myth? If you constantly find yourself having to schedule in five-minute appointments with yourself just to down a bagel and keep going, you may have what some people refer to as “a hectic schedule.” I know the meaning of stress, and I know the importance of staying organized. Here are some of my own personal lifesaving tips. As my friends know, I am definitely a type A personality and couldn’t not survive without being organized, having lists, and keeping my day planner on me at all times.
1. Write everything down.
In fact, write everything down multiple times. I feel relaxed just by rifling through my brain and coming up with a list of what needs to get done, and when. Carry a planner, so you don’t have to rack your brain if someone asks what you’re doing Saturday, November 15, at 3:30 p.m. Tape a list of upcoming homework assignments next to your bed, and cross off each completed task when you’re finished. Nothing feels more gratifying than crossing something off of your “to do” list!
2. Use Technology to Your Advantage.
My favorite tool on my laptop? The Stickies application. I have notes open (in all different colors, of course) for my banking and credit card info, upcoming assignments, important e-mail addresses, etc. As long as you have your computer, you’ll never lose them or accidentally throw them out; they’re easier to manage than rifling through a hundred pages to find one reminder; and they can conveniently disappear behind your Microsoft Word or Firefox windows, OR you can set them as a “floating window” so they’re always visible. BlackBerries, iPhones, and other digital instruments can work to your advantage, and send you preset reminders so you never forget.
3. Plan ahead.
Finished everything for today? It might be easy to crash on the couch and watch reruns for hours, just so you don’t have to think. But then you might be stressed again tomorrow. Look at your calendar, and see if there’s anything you can get a jump start on, or anything you can work on now to give yourself time to party like a rock star on Saturday. Forcing yourself to work when you’re beat might seem like cruel and unusual self-discipline, but as a fellow workaholic, I can affirm: We did this to ourselves.

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

Hey All!

Sorry it has taken me so long to write another post. My life has become a whirlwind of work and school! So, this week is the last week of classes for the Fall Semester and boy are we all feeling the pressure of finals creeping in. I wanted to give you a quick rundown on what is happening in each of my classes so you have a taste of what preparations for finals is like.

Construction Documents: We have a 100% final Document Set due on Monday. The 10 sheets due are the  cover sheet, demolition plan, floor plan, 12 interior elevations, 3 enlarged plans, reflected ceiling plan, 12 details, door and finish schedule, and the furniture plan. All have to be dimensioned and labeled accordingly. can you say time consuming???

Contract Design: We are in groups designing different showrooms, my team being the Vespa showroom. We have our final presentation on Tuesday so we are busily preparing our boards which include the concept board, floor plan, reflected ceiling plan, 2 elevations, an overall section, 3 perspectives, and materials and finishes… all rendered.

Lighting: We got a project to do a complete lighting package for an up-scale loft condo. it is due the day of our Final Exam and that projects includes and Reflected ceiling plan for each floor, a switching diagram for each floor, a fixture schedule, and all of the fixture cut sheets.

English Lit: Not much to do in this class to prepare for my final exam other than just reviewing what we went over in class and preparing some essays that I think will be on the exam. It is sad that writing multiple essays just to study has become an easy class…

History or Furniture and Architecture: For our final exam on Friday, we have a paper due that is on a historical building and our exam is on EVERYTHING!! This is the final I am dreading the most…

Other than all of that work…. ive got nothing else to do! haha. Well, between working and school I think that I am going to be pretty busy within the next two weeks. I wish you all luck on your finals and I’ll be writing more posts to help you along the way!!

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

Hey all!

Since there is not much going on in my classes right now (the lull after midterms) I thought that I would share some cool pictures and other things that I have found/inspired me. I was internet surfing the other day and I came across this wallpaper collection by Amy Butler. I especially like the way that she puts color palettes together. Because I have had to take so much wallpaper down in my life, I have grown this undying hatred for it BUT it doesn’t mean that I won’t use it someday… maybe. Anyways, here are some of her designs!

‘Till Next Time

Kris

Hey all!

Today I decided to steer away from the typical blogs that I have been posting and decided to give you a little insight into what I am really like as a person. So, I came up with a list of 10 things that I can’t live without. They are in no particular order and of course I can’t live without my friends and family, but I left them out of it seeing as they are a given.

1. Design Magazines: I am constantly flipping through design magazines and books for inspiration. I go crazy in the art section of a book store and it usually takes every ounce of restraint for me not to buy every home and design magazine on on the shelf in most stores.
2. Romance Novels: I am a sucker for good love story. My favorite author is Nora Roberts. Yes, they can be trashy and you only need the reading level of a third grader to read them, but I could (and have) sat for hours on end and finished one book.
3. Special K: I seriously live off of his cereal. I eat it everyday for breakfast and come home and have a bowl every night. I don’t like all the berries and stuff in it, just plain ‘ol special k. Cant get enough…
4. Horses: anyone who really knows me knows that i have a serious love of horses. if i weren’t a designer i would have liked to be a veterinarian.

5. Fonz: Fonz is my car! He is a little black Chevy Cobalt. I bought him a little over a year ago and I LOVEEE HIMM!! (Yes I refer to my car as a human…)
6. Organizational Stuff: Everyone who knows me also knows that I have a mild case of O.C.D. Everything I own, especially my school stuff, is extremely organized. I spend way more money than necessary on my planners and I love sticky notes, highlighters, and colorful pens.
7. Nail Polish: I am not the girliest of girls but one thing that I love to do is paint my nails. I like to treat myself to a manicure and pedicure at least once a month… but I do it myself. It is a great feeling to have your nails lookin’ fresh! haha
8. Patch: I am not ashamed to admit that I am an obsessive dog lady. Patches (aka Patch) is my boyfriend and my dog. She is quite the terror at times and has basically destroyed our couch, numerous pairs of shoes, and finally just started to not use our kitchen floor as a personal bathroom, but i still can’t get enough of her. She is the little doggy love of my life <3.
9. Lipton Tea: I love Lipton tea! I have a mug of it every morning instead of coffee and sometimes I even have one at night.
10. Bargain Shopping: Don’t get me wrong, I do splurge and get myself something expensive now and then, but there is no better feeling like coming home from shopping and knowing that I spent my money well and got as much stuff with it as I could.

‘Till Next Time

Kris

Hey All!

For the past year or so you have all been listening to me talk about my classes and what I do in them. Well, I thought it was about time to show you a small glimpse at some things I have done.

This first layout is the Floor plan, Adjacency Diagram, and Axonometric view of the MASS CEC project I’ve been working on in Contract Design I. I thought I would include this to show the other work we do besides making pretty renderings. This page is set up in an InDesign file with a title block, logo, and project information.

The Next two perspectives are renderings I did from this past Spring in Residential Design. They are from my Tremont St Moroccan Inspired home. First is of the Kitchen and second is of the Bedroom. I created these perspectives from scratch in SketchUp then brought them into Photoshop to make them “come alive” with light and shadow!

The last project glimpse that I am going to show you is my Kravet Competition Design. This was also completed in Residential Design during this past Spring semester.

In this design, the focus was on using primarily KravetSmart products to build “Tradition in

Transition.” When looking at Kravet products, one sees a broad spectrum of design trends. It ranges from traditional elegance to contemporary beauty.  In this particular room, the architectural elements and wall covering of the space are traditionally inspired with a chair rail and crown molding. The Oberlin Chair is upholstered in fabric 30481.821 and the Elmhurst Chair is upholstered in Streetwise Licorice. The end tables are Mirror X End Tables and the coffee table is the Sanderson Cocktail Table. The lighting used is the Gracie Tear Drop-White. For the wall covering and the drapery, Nouveau and 9780.0 sheer are used. To integrate the Kravet logo and add a modern touch, a Kravet inspired art piece was created and framed over the mantle.  The modern logo over the traditional wallpaper also adds to the depth of the design.  For more atmospheric lighting, two wall sconces encircle the mantle. The hardwood floor is covered by the Vogue/C-Cola, hand knotted, Modern Smart area carpet. The flow of the monochromatic color palette is broken by the two cherry red accent pillows upholstered in the 25252.19 chenille Kravet Smart fabric. Thus, a timeless look is created by the combination of SmartClassic furniture and SmartModern fabrics in congruence with contemporary
furniture and lighting.  Not only is this room classic and stylish, it is affordable to the everyday consumer!

Don’t be too harsh, I am still learning!! Hope you enjoy and that this gives you more of an idea of what I do on a day-to-day basis!

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

Hey All!

So, today I was thinking a lot about what inspires me. Not just in design, but in life. These past couple weeks have been so stressful and really trying and I was wondering why I am putting myself through all of this work. I started to think about my family, my friends, and my boyfriend and then it dawned on me. I don’t just do all of this for me, I do it for them too. I wanted to make something of my life so I went to college and now that I am starting to see the finish line I have realized that they have all inspired me to do everything that I have accomplished. Without their love and support and sometimes annoying perseverance, I would never be who I am today. Ok, enough mushy stuff, it was just a very nice realization to have. I know people say it all the time, but it really just hit me. So, I’m going to challenge you today readers. I want you to look around. I mean really, take a good look and figure out what inspires you. Is it you friends and family? Your partner in crime? Your dog? Or even that cute boy from Starbucks that inspires you to get up super early in the morning just so you can stand behind him in line? Haha… just saying… inspiration comes from every teeny tiny little corner in your life. With midterms in full swing and finals just around the corner, I have come up with a list of ways to get inspired!

1. Blogs. This is one of my favorites, of course. Aside from this blog, there are dozens of great blogs on design and every topic under the sun. I like to read about what works for others — it inspires me to action!

2. Quotes. I don’t know why, but great quotes help inspire me. I like to go to various quote sites to find ideas to spark my interest. Try these for a start: Writing Quotes and Quotes for Writers.

3. Overheard dialog. If I’m anywhere public, whether it’s at a park or a mall or school sometimes I’ll eavesdrop on people. Not in a gross way or anything, but I’ll just keep quiet, and listen. I love hearing other people have conversations. Sometimes it doesn’t happen on purpose — you can’t help but overhear people sometimes. If you happen to overhear a snippet of interesting dialog it can serve as a model or inspiration for later designing.

4. Nature. Stuck for ideas? Go for a walk or a jog. Get away from sidewalks and into grass, trees and hills. Appreciate the beauty around you, and let the inspiration flow through you. Sunsets and sunrises, of course, are two of my favorite uplifting scenes of nature, and anything involving water is also awesome (oceans, rivers, lakes, rain, even puddles).

5. People watching. One of my all-time favorite things to do. This is an interesting activity for anyone. Go to a busy public place and just sit and watch people. Boston Common is awesome for this. They’ll amuse you, inspire you, and fascinate you. There’s nothing more inspiring than other people.

Hope that helps!!

‘Till Next Time,

Kris =)

Hey All!

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted a blog for you. I have been busy beyond belief, as usual. So what is happening in my life right now…. everything! School at NESAD is going really well but as you may have expected it is also very hectic. It is the middle of the semester and you know what that means. Duh Duh Dunnnnn… MIDTERMS AHHH!! My contract design I final presentation is next week and we are all scrambling to get everything together and displayed nicely on our final boards. I’m not too stressed about it, yet, but the final week usually gets pretty intense. As for my English and Lighting exams… they are looming around the corner. Lighting is tonight and I am somewhat worried because there is just so much information to digest (even though I’ll need to know it for the rest of my career). English is going to be a little less stressful because my professor lets us know what the questions are in advance (6 essays) so we can prepare for them. It’s still a lot of work cause I’ll essentially write 6 essays and memorize them but at least I know what to expect. In art history, we don’t have a midterm because there is so much information. Instead we have 3 exams and 4 papers throughout the semester. Exam #1 and paper #1 went well for me, but that is only the beginning. We are still learning Revit in construction documents and still loving it! We now have learned how to set up title blocks, elevations, sections, perspectives, and RCP’s. It is amazing how much easier life is now that we will be able to use Revit.

So, this weekend I went to the Head of the Charles in Cambridge and it was awesome! It is the worlds largest 2-day regatta. it has always been a place for college crews to showcase their rowing abilities and this year was no different. There were also many high school crews competing as well. The river was lined with vendors and even though it was raining Sunday, not a single fan was bothered and kept cheering on their favorites from the banks of the river to the bridges crossing it. You could feel the high-energy and competitive spirit all around you. If you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it! It was also a great place to take my Nikon and snap some awesome pictures. All in all, I give it an A+.

Well, I’m off to study my little behind off!

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

Hey All!

This week it seems that ALL of my classes have switched from space planning to lighting and RCP’s. I have never talked about ceiling types and lighting systems so much in my life! With midterms approaching I thought that I could pass on a small bit of useful information that I have learned in this past week.

How you light your space is an important part of design. A change in the lighting can change how the room is viewed. Lighting interior design contributes greatly to the look and feel of a room. There are many types of lighting which can be used in various ways. We are no longer restricted to a few lamps scattered here and there. There is a whole world for Lighting Designers (my Lighting Professor is one of them). In the psychology of light, the three main factors are perception of the space, luminous contrast, and subjective impression of a space.  Balancing general/ambient lighting, task/focal lighting, and sparkle/glitter lighting gives you the perfect space and a successful lighting design. So remember, don’t just throw a light fixture  in the middle of a ceiling! Work with the space and make it feel how you want it to fell. Don’t hold back with lighting, it can make or break your space!

NESAD seems to be back in full swing lately. The fall weather is finally here (my favorite season =) ), every class is fully engrossed in what they are doing, and everyone seems to be stressed beyond belief. Don’t get me wrong, we all love where we go to school and what we do… but art/design school is no joke. We all sigh and roll our eyes when our friends from up on the hill complain about their hour-long classes two times a week (when ours are two hour and forty minutes twice a week). We are busting at the seems with work but when we pin up and get the credit we deserve for our creative minds, its all worth it. It is an amazing feeling to show people what you have put some blood, sweat, and tears into and you are proud of it. For example, in Contract Design I we had a schematic pin up on Tuesday. This is when we pin up everything we have done so far for our MASS CEC design. It doesn’t have to be complete or even on boards, just whatever you have. Yes, we got some critiques, which always help, but it feels great to hear everyone’s interpretation of what was done. I know I’m getting a little mushy but what I’m trying to say is that as busy as I am, I wouldn’t change what I am studying or where I go to school for anything!

‘Till Next Time

Kris