A few years ago, in the midst of a job I happened to do well, I realized I was not passionate about what I was doing. It occurred to me at the time, that kids play pretend and dress up all the time, dreaming big dreams about where their future will take them. But then it seems that for many people, myself included, waking up to the reality of paying bills and making ends meet takes precedence over big dreams. I started dreaming again, about what I really wanted to do, with the one and only life I had been given. Interior decor had long been something I enjoyed and I knew I had a knack for visualizing what others could not see within a space. So, after a great deal of prayer and many conversations with my husband about what going back to school would mean for our future, the decision was made.
Fast forward through first semester, and I finally got to start designing when my second semester rolled around. The project I was given in Visual Presentation included choosing all the furniture, fabrics and finishes for a room that my instructor had space planned. She gave very few specific parameters that had to be met, which left me to design to my heart’s content! I was in heaven! The first day looking for fabrics, I found this southwest styled ikat fabric that I decided would be the element I would build the room around. The colors in the fabric included warm reds, oranges and browns, with compliments of slate blue and green. Building on this fabric, I began developing an idea of who the client might be and what type of home would appreciate this particular fabric. I decided the client would be a family living on Lake Toxaway in the mountains of North Carolina. Once that was decided, the remainder of furnishings came together quite easily. I found one of the keys in my design process, while working on that project, which is to make the first decision. Once I decided that southwest style ikat was what I wanted, it made choosing the balance of furnishings and finishes for the space a breeze!
Once the space was drawn, I color rendered the space, Prismacolor blendable markers on Canson Vidalon Vellum. The end product took a few weeks to complete, but I was very pleased with how my first rendered space turned out. One of the keys to rendered spaces that look realistic is the recognition of where highlights and shadows would fall within the area. The rendering would lack depth if there were no highs and lows within the space. The final presentation board included the rendered space, floor plan, along with individual furnishings and fabrics. The fabrics and furnishings were labeled with letters and numbers that coincide with the board’s legend. At the end of the project, I felt proud to have a cohesive presentation that could have been presented to a client.
Looking back, I would like to know how many hours I put into that first major project, because it felt like I had been working on it forever by the time it was finished. Every project now feels that way by the time it is complete. I have learned that is simply a part of the process. Even so, I found in that project and the many since then that while it is hard work, it is work that is worth doing for me. I would even say I have learned this work is what I was made to do. There is a rush of excitement everytime there is a new project to work on, and at the end, the same feeling of exuberance and accomplishment. I love this life.
Joy Rich Design 