Weekend Shine: February 24, 2014

Happy Monday everyone! This weekend I was catching up on my work for class. I decided to clean up some of my work for my senior portfolio. As you all know I have had a previous portfolio of my work but it just was not very good. I have learned that you need to go back and fix a lot of your earlier work so it can compliment your present skills now. Which is exactly what I have been doing for the past few weeks. This piece above is from my shipping crate home project I did at the beginning of my junior year. Now that I can work with photoshop more I decided to go back and upgrade my elevations (image below). I got to say that I am pretty pleased with myself. I cannot believe what my work looked like a few years ago, its embarrassing when I look back lol.

Other than that I went to my boyfriends weightlifting meet. That was definitely an experience! If you want to see some photos click on the this link!

+ Thinking of doing my first half marathon ever! Something I definitely want to check of my bucket list this year. Thinking of this one in Las Vegas! (never been to Las Vegas either//kill two birds with one stone right!)

+ Really want these shelves! Could be a great DIY and save me some money!

+ Super excited to be starting my new job this Wednesday at Restoration Hardware :)

Interior Design File: Hand Rendering vs. Computer Rendering

As an interior design student nearing the end of my degree I try to be versatile in my skills. Many would say that everything digital is all that everyone is using now a days and that you need to master Photoshop, CAD, Revit, Kerkythea, Sketchup,...and the list goes on and on. This is true however, only half true. Designers that I have spoken to still want their potential employees/interns to hand render and draft.
The art of hand rendering and drafting is a skill that I see slowly not being used in classes anymore. However, I believe hand rendering is a beautiful art that I wish I could master. There are some amazing hand renders in the design community that I only wish I could duplicate. Hand rendering to me is more personal, it is your hand expressing emotion in the color, in the texture, in the light.
Computer rendering though, is really fast and helps when projects in school need to be finished quickly. Also, they look really cool and impressive. Some work my other classmates have done are just fabulous! Plus, patterns are easier to apply because you can copy an image and place it into the upholstery of a sofa for instance.
Both these skills are essential to our work and help us explain our ideas to our clients and others. Which do you think is better? Hand or computer or both?

Poconos Dorm: Computer rendering for Residential 2 class using Photoshop (By: myself)

Poconos Dorm: Computer perspective for Residential 2 class using Sketchup (By: myself)

Poconos Dorm: Hand rendering of common room for dorm (By: myself)

Weekend Shine

Happy Friday everyone! Today is finally the night of my Student ASID event. Im super nervous for how it will turn out. I think it will go well, all my classmates seemed excited about it. The name of my event is called...(drum roll) Show/Comp Fall 2013. So basically what that is, is a show/competition for the students at my university to show their work to family, friends, and professionals while also being judged by outside sources on their work for first, second, and third place prizes. I wanted to provide an event that could benefit the students at my university for their future careers. Something like this looks really good in resumes and portfolios, plus it gives them a confidence boost, and an idea of what others think of their work other than our professors. I will definitely be putting up photos next week! Any of you have any special events going on?

P.S. follow my schools Student ASID Chapter on FB for more photos!

Interior Design: Living Room Re-Design

Happy Veterans Day everyone! This weekend I changed and added some minor pieces to my living room. I always want to change things around every few months to go with my mood and where I am at that time in place. I have been reading a lot of blogs and wanted to incorporate some more cozy, fall pieces into my living room as well as move some things around to give it a more spacious look without looking to bare. I am still looking for some art pieces to place on the wall but so far it is looking great and I can really tell and feel the difference. I will be moving to my small dining area next!

Please excuse the mess!

Used the layering rug trend for fall and added a throw and a hug pillow (Target) for a cozier effect.

This is also my first hand woven Turkish Rug!

All pillows from target.

By moving the shelf to the wall I created a more open space for the living room. Plus,

I have a wall for art and maybe a future reading chair where Molly's mat is. (shelf from Ikea)

Possibly my favorite piece from the living room. I waited for this to come out in our

Target stores for about three weeks and then waited even more for it to get on sale! 

The rug has been Molly approved!

Snapshots 11.8.13

This week was a busy,busy week! Finals are around the corner and we all know what that means...projects are almost due. It is so nerve wrecking right! Well, this weekend to get my mind off of school I am actually going to re-arranging my living room and adding some minor pieces to the mix. I tend to change my scenery every few months, I think all interior designers are this way. I definitely will be sharing that with you some time next week but for now here are some snaps from my weeks so far. Have a great weekend everyone! P.S. anyone going to go see Thor? What a beautiful man...

Started Yoga again-trying to keep myself centered.

Attempted a donut pumpkin for Halloween this year.

You can never have too many baskets.

My friend and I did an Islamic inspired interior model for class. We added some 

cool lighting effects. Look below!

Interior Design:Computer Rendering

First Floor 

Second Floor

I am so excited to share my first computer rendering! I know its not the best but I am sure proud of myself. I used Photoshop for this rendering application. It took a lot of layering, painting in shadows, and blurring. It took me about two hours to complete but it was so worth it. I really hope to expand my rendering abilities to other softwares. I heard kerkethia is a good rendering (im probably butchering the name). Next comes google sketch up which if you follow my Tumblr or Instagram I have already attempted.

Student Symposium 2013

This weekend I attended Texas's ASID Student Symposium  for the second time. I have to say it was amazing and my team even won 2nd place in our design charette. I had so much fun with all my friends and I met some pretty amazing people. Going to these events is what makes me excited to graduate so I can work with these wonderful designers.

Let me back track a little... You may be wondering what student symposium is? Well, student symposium is an event that ASID Texas has for the interior design students in the state. This event has many activities such as touring showroom, meeting professionals, portfolio review, socials, and panels. I attended for my first time last year when I was a junior and I honestly wish I could have attended when I was a freshman. It was a game changer in my career mindset. 

If you are an interior design student you should totally attend this next year and also get more involved in your design communities. You'll never regret it! 

Here are some photos from my trip...

Portfolio

Portfolios are a big thing in the design industry. How else are employers going to see you skill work? Yes you have your resume, however, designers are visually driven. We like to SEE what your all about. So, since I will be graduating in May I have started a portfolio that I am sure will change once I get more projects done this semester.
Creating a portfolio can be done on any application. I think the best is probably Photoshop but I'm sure others would disagree and agree with me. You should always just use what you perform best with. It took me about a week to complete it since I don't have much work yet to show. It was definitely hard to choose a style and format that I wanted to use, but I think it looks pretty good so far.
Let me know what you think!

A look back at Summer

Happy Saturday! I absolutely love Saturdays in San Antonio. It seems like there is always something to do. Whether it be the going to the farmers market or relaxing at the local coffee shop (which is where I am currently blogging from) there is always someway to have a good time.
This is my last weekend before school begins again for the fall semester and it seems like I want to pack a bunch of activities into one last weekend before I have to go back to study mode. 

I have to say this has definitely been a great summer. Looking back I experienced many firsts and grew as a person in my personal and career life. I say career life because I have actually gone out and  networked and attended more interior design events this summer than I have during the school year. I never realized how important networking, volunteering, and simply getting your face out there is in the design community. It definitely can help you in the long run. More students really should take advantage of what the professionals have to offer them. 

Okay, so other than working I also had fun and went out of Texas for the first time to go to Disney World, took my border collie Molly to the river for the first time, and this weekend I will be taking a wine tour for the first time in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

I have definitely transformed in these last three months for the better and I hope I have many adventures and experiences in this last year in design school. 

In terms of the blog I will definitely be expanding my posts into different territories such as DIYs, how to interior spaces, and some more consistent postings with my Weekend Shine. 

I hope that all you going back to school are prepared and ready for a new school year! Here are some photos from some of my more resent outings. 

Metrocon 2013 in Dallas, TX 

My favorite chair the Barcelona.

CEO of ASID, Randy Fisher, giving a presentation at Design Within Reach. 

Weekend Travels: Dallas 7.19.13

Happy Tuesday! Two weeks ago I headed to Dallas, TX for an ASID Officer Leadership Training for the weekend. For those of you who do not know what ASID is, it stands for American Society of Interior Designers. Now, I know many people think interior design is just decorating, color coordinating, and just having fluff everywhere but being an interior designer is much more than that. Interior design is helping others, empowering others, creating a space for people to live and function in. To give people a way to escape into a beach getaway when really they are stuck in the city. Interior designers have this power and I am reminded about this every time I reunite with all my ASID friends and colleagues. I can't wait to see them again at Metrocon this August in Dallas! If you are in ASID or are headed to Metrocon in a few weeks I hope to see you there!

I always go to In-N-Out when I go to Dallas just because we do not have one in San Antonio. So sad. 

Finally got the Jcrew bow flats! Even though they are from last summer I still am excited to have them in my possession finally:)

The lighting behind this mirror is fabulous and give the vanity a glowing effect at ASID Dallas headquarters.

Great group of  ladies that I met at this leadership training. Can't wait to meet up with them again!

Currently: Re-Decorating

Hey everyone! I am currently re-decorating my new apartment, so I will be away from blogging for this week, and this is also the reason I was away from blogging last week. I wish I could have a whole day to get this done but it is definitely harder than I imagined. Especially when you always are missing something or think in your mind, I could add this and I need this to make this look better.  I am currently looking for ideas on how to set up all my stuff in this new apartment with the little space that I have, I'll definitely be looking at Martha's site for some tips and tricks. If you guys have any suggestions please send them my way. For now I will be looking at Pinterest and GlitterGuide for home decor ideas!

Interior Space: Florals

Spring is here! Along with spring comes spring cleaning and redecorating. Well, for me it does :) So if you are like me and you have the urge to just flip your house/apt. inside out and start fresh then maybe you should consider adding some floral prints this season. Floral prints are seen everywhere right now, whether it be on clothes, pillows, or shoes! Its out there. So, to get an idea of what I wanted I went on, of course, Pinterest :D Here are my favorite pins from my floral search. Have a great one + happy Easter!

Clockwise from the top left:

1, 2, 3, 4