Greetings everyone,

So, I don’t have much to tell you besides that I am so busy in all of my classes I could just scream! We are working on our 6,000 sq ft house in residential design, detailing a built-in in furniture design, working on our final project in materials and finishes, learning new codes in codes and construction, and beginning the last 3 chapters of the year for art history! AHHH!!! Well, I did get some grades back on projects in almost every class that I am very pleased with so that helped a lot. I love the way my Moroccan home is coming out in residential, too. Plus I like the idea that I came up with about designing a Tuscany-inspired Wine Cellar for my built-in furniture design room. I guess I really like the work that I am doing, I just don’t like how much time it takes and how tedious everything is.

My 21st birthday was Monday and I had a blast! I went to Fajitas and Ritas (of course) with my boyfriend, best friend, friends, and some family. It was low-key and relaxing… just what I needed. Other than ALLLL of that, the past week has been pretty uneventful.

I hear the weather is supposed to pick up and become nicer!! I’m really hoping so! If it does, go outside and soak up some vitamin D =)

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

Hey all!

So, I’m back from spring break and my spirits are dwindling. I was getting used to going to bed at 3am and waking up at 12pm. However, that did not help me wake up at 7am Monday morning. Oh well, as I said in the blog title… back to reality.

My break was quite uneventful. I relaxed, procrastinated on a lot of homework/studying I should’ve been doing, and slept a lot. I guess that was needed. Once the weather became B-E-A-Utiful, I took my dog to the beach, walked all around castle island with my boyfriend, and went to some museums and took great pictures of the harbor! Towards the end of break I started to get really bored, but I now welcome that boredom to replace the endless amount of school work I have/will have till the end of the semester. It is now crunch time in every class.

I came back to school to a new project assignment in Furniture Design, a mid-term exam in Art History, and a presentation/research project due in Materials and Finishes (along with rainy weather…AGAIN). Well, I am in college so I should expect an overload of work. Ok, enough wining, I just had to get that out of my system.

I am pretty excited because on Monday, the 29th of March, I will be turning 21! Birthdays aren’t really my “thing” but I enjoy the countdown and I always like to have something to look forward to (it makes the time go by faster).

I hope everyone had a great break (or just a great week if you did not have a spring break)! The weather is supposed to pick back up on Wednesday/Thursday so hopefully my spirits will rise with the temperature.

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!! I don’t know if it’s the sunny, 50+ degree weather or just the three cups of coffee I have already had today, but I cant help being in a great mood! I’m so excited to be able to go outside without a coat on!

Ok, so on a more scholarly note, NESAD hosted their 4th this past Thursday and it was awesome! There were so many vendors that came with car loads of amazing samples. We were required to go  to the fair for my Interior Codes and Construction class and visit every table. Even if I wasn’t required to go, I still would’ve gone to every exhibit because they were THAT cool. Going into interior design you expect that there are a lot of materials, finishes, and textiles… but you have no idea how many there really are. Well, I got a quick glimpse of some of them Thursday. Not only did I have a great experience, but I entered in a raffle (you got a stamp on a “passport” for every table you went to that you could enter with) and won a $15 Starbucks gift card!! I’m pumped for my free grande, half-caf, non-fat, no-whip, white mocha (haha, now that’s a mouth full)!

My main focus academically this week was/is my Kravet Competition design. In my residential design class, we are required to enter in the “Kravet Your Room Interior Design Contest.” Traditional Home magazine and Kravet ask you to design a unique room using only Kravet and Kravet Smart products. I LOVE my design. I staged a living room based on “Tradition in Transition.” I made a traditional room and took traditional furniture and upholstered it with modern fabrics and used modern lighting and tables to create a juxtaposition between old school design and modern graphics. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the judges will like it as well! The winner will have their room design featured in Traditional Home magazine, plus win a Kravet Smart chair with Kravet Smart fabric (valued at $2,400) and a $100 American Express gift card! Five honorable mentions will each have their winning design featured on TraditionalHome.com and receive a $100 American Express gift card. Talk about opening doors… I’ll DEFINITELY keep you posted on that!

So, that is about it for today. Hope everyone is enjoying the sun!!

‘Till Next Time,

Kris

p.s. my blog is now connected to the New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University website under blogs. Check it out!

Here are some photos from the 4th Annual Green Environmental Fair

Photos by Molly Ferguson, Imaginatas Photography

Hey All!

So today I’ve been thinking about hand rendering a lot. Random, yes, but important. It all started last night when I decided to show my boyfriend my first finished project for my Residential Design Studio class. As I had said before, I designed a master bedroom suite influenced by Mark Hamilton’s interiors. He (my boyfriend) said he liked the room a lot, but he wasn’t a fan of how I presented it. I’m not going to lie, at first I was a little offended but then I decided to listen to his reasoning. He said that it looked to “digital.” Now, I know that when a lot of interior design students begin to master the art of Adobe Photoshop and Google sketchup they can get a little excited and carried away (myself included) and forget the fundamentals of art and design…HAND RENDERING! I myself am guilty of this new obsession with photo-realistic computer renderings. I LOVE THEM!!! It is so much easier to build a room in sketchup, fill in all your materials and textiles, and then make all of your lighting come to life in either Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. But what happened to the “old fashioned” way of drafting each of your perspectives, elevations, sections, floor plans, etc and coloring them with markers and colored pencils? Our professors are always telling us that yes, it is great to have advanced computer skills but what really separates you from the rest is your ability to hand render. It never sunk in until my boyfriend said something to me… there are people in this world that actually like the look of a sketchy, process-driven, manmade drawings. I mean, we are art students so we should be expected to draw!! So, after having this little revelation I have decided to take action. I can’t just go from computer to hand, so I am going to take baby steps. I vow to hand render OVER my next project… it’s a start right?? I also vow to sketch more often to offer my “clients” (aka professors) more options in a looser, more flexible looking way. Our professors say that the clients like to feel as if they are part of the process, so sketching more ideas to present to them is a smart way of incorporating them. *gasp for air* OK, now I am done with my long rant about hand rendering… just thought I’d share that with you.

Not too much has happened since my last post. We were introduced to our newest project in Residential Design Studio. A 2 story, 6,000 sq ft house on Tremont St left completely to us to design. I decided that I wanted my client to be a famous DJ from Morocco (I love the colors and patterns used in Moroccan interiors!). There is a sustainability fair in the on March 4th that I am going to for my Codes and Construction Class. It will be in the main lobby of 75 Arlington St. Also, my materials and finishes class is going to NEXUS on Friday! I’m pumped for that tore as well.

I’ll keep you posted on any other breaking news in my life and let you know if I keep my vows!

Until Next Time,

Kris

Hello all!

Due to this non-stop rain all I have wanted to do is sleep!! I hate how I am never very comfortable in bed on mornings when I don’t have to get up early, BUT, the mornings when I have to wake up I feel like my bed is the most comfortable place on earth! Well, this has been happening to me all week. I guess the rain just makes my energy run on low.

As far as school goes, I feel like I’ve been living at NESAD (The New England School of Art & Design) lately, which is the trend with most of the art students. My classes have been pretty busy as usual. I am taking five courses: Residential Design Studio, Furniture Design, Ideas of Western Art II, Interior Materials and Finishes, and Interior Codes and Construction.

We had a project due in Residential Design this week. We had to design a master bedroom suite in Cambridge, Ma where we had to use inspiration from another famous designer. I choose Mark Hampton and made a pretty cool room based on transitional design. I was really happy with how it came out! I had a critique for it yesterday, which entails presenting your finished work to your classmates and professor (and sometimes outsiders such as other designers or architects). A critique can be nerve racking, but it’s a great way to develop strong presentation skills, handle positive and negative criticism as well as get input from professionals. I don’t mind presenting my finished work, but some people find it very stressful. I love that class because we have the freedom to put our own personal taste into our projects. Plus, we have a great teacher! In Ideas of Western Art we are going to the MFA today to look at the Medieval exhibit. I find a lot of these pieces from the Renaissance to be really interesting. This class is definitely ALOT of work, but I like learning how all of the past art and architecture impacts how we design today. In furniture design we are working on designing our own table, lamp, or seating unit. I chose to make a cool table out of old magazines! I want to concentrate on the verticals vs. the curves and how they relate to one another. I haven’t done too much else with that concept so I will keep you posted on my final thoughts. I am excited for my next Materials and Finishes class because we are having someone come in and talk to us about glass. Now for all of you non-artsy people who read this, I know that sounds boring and dumb but I find it fascinating how many different types of glass there are and how many ways there are to use them in design! Plus, I’ve heard from other students who have taken the course that the presentation is awesome. Last, in Codes and Construction, we are working on the fundamentals of how a house is built and how the materials (studs, gypsum board, cement, steel, etc) are all used in the structure. FEWW, that was a mouth full but now that you have a summary of what I am working on, I’ll be able to keep you updated on my projects.

Outside of school, I’ve had quite an exciting week. My boyfriend got a puppy! Her name is Patch and she is five months old and ADORABLE! Patch was rescued from Georgia and the vet thinks that she is an American Bulldog/Lab mix (I think she looks more like a Beagle/Lab mix). Maybe running her around and listening to her cry at night (we are in the process of crate training her) is contributing to that longing for sleep I mentioned earlier. My best friend, Jessica, is coming to Cambridge today to go eat at Fajitas and ‘Rita’s with me. I haven’t been there since last semester and I am craving it! Jessica goes to UMASS Boston so it’s pretty convenient for her to travel my way after class either by T or by car. That is one of the perks of living and going to school in Boston. There are so many schools in the city so it feels like one giant campus!

On another exciting note, Nick Verreos from Project Runway is coming to the C. Walsh Theatre on March 1st at 7pm, and the tickets are free! Yes, I said FREE to all of you broke college students (me included). I loved him on the show and this visit promises to be entertaining! I plan on going with another interior design student and I expect to see a lot of people there.

Well, that about sums up my life in the past week. I’ll be back next week to fill you in on every upcoming detail!

Stay Warm and Dry,

Kris

Just In case you needed to match a face to a name 😉

Greetings readers and fellow bloggers,

Before I begin my endless rambling about my life, why don’t I give you some background info on myself? My name is Kristin and I am currently a first semester Junior at the New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University (NESAD), studying Interior Design. I have not spent my entire college career at Suffolk, however. I attended The University of Kentucky as a pre-vet/equine science major. I’ve spent my whole life riding, caring, and owning horses and I even worked at a vet’s office for my last two years of high school. Now I bet some of you are wondering “how did you go from pre-vet to interior design?” Well, I decided that my life would be extremely boring for the next seven years if I stuck with my original plan. So… I took a semester off of school to “find myself” and I found that my love of art and design could be put to good use! Now I love school and my chosen career path at Suffolk University and couldn’t be happier. I guess I am a perfect example of “it’s never too late to change your mind.” Being in art school never seemed like an option to me, but it has turned out to be the best life decision I have made thus far. As for the future I hope to one day own a design firm. I have yet to decide if I want to focus on residential or commercial design, but I will figure that all out eventually.

The Interior Design program at Suffolk’s art school is everything I hoped it would be. I’m a person who learns by experience, so the hands-on teaching methods are perfect for me. Now, don’t be fooled. Being an art student is not just about painting pretty pictures. Each studio class runs 3 hours two times a week and you do everything from drawing nude models to designing entire buildings on the computer. This is the busiest my life has ever been. None the less, I feel like I have learned so much.

Life outside of class is also great. I lived in the student apartments all of last year and they were awesome. You can’t beat Suffolk’s location in the heart of the city. Right outside my door was Fajitas and ‘Ritas (I recommend everyone goes there at least once in their life if they love Mexican food… AMAZINGGG). You are exposed to so many cultures, experiences, and opportunities in Boston that you can’t get living at home. I know this because I currently commute from an hour away. But lately, I have been staying in Cambridge which is also a neat place. I haven’t explored much, but when the work load dies down I really want to dive into the city.

Well, enough rambling for now (told you I ramble…). I plan on popping in once or twice a week to catch you all up on my life at NESAD. So, until then have a great week!

Kris

Aka “idGirl”