2015: Looking forward to the year ahead!

Whoops - it's been a while since my last post. It's been just shy of a month, and so much has happened, it seems, over the past month.

For starters, HELLLLOOOOOO 2015.

Twenty Fourteen is no 'mo, and this year is going to take some adjusting to. In some ways, I'm so very looking forward to it; in other ways, I want nothing more than to run back into 2014's arms. But life can't be spent looking backwards, and we have to hope the best has yet to come.

I want 2015 to be a year of growth for me. I want to be able to look back this coming December (which seems so far away now, but I'm sure will be here in the blink of an eye) and see that I have grown and changed (for the better).

Though I haven't sat down to compile a list of resolutions, I do have a couple things I already know I want to have happen:

• Move out my 2BR rental (living with a roomie) and in to a place of my own

• Meet with and begin building relationships with professionals in the interior design industry

• Begin ID school (or have plans to begin)
• Meanwhile, begin teaching myself CAD freeware options

• Get this blog moving! 
• Establish a consistent blogging schedule
• Follow more blogs (and hopefully get followers back)!

It's a starter list, and I'm sure over the course of the next 12 months that this list will continue to grow and change and evolve.

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So, 2015, give me all you've you got! 

-LG

Interior Design Concept Competitions Offering Real-World Practice

In my quest to transition into a career within the interior design industry, I've been attending several info sessions and open classes at Harrington College of Design in Chicago. For now, it's one of a few options that I'm currently looking into, but it was quite an interesting glimpse into what my world as an ID student may look like.

The presentations that I attended this evening were semester-end presentations from a creative collaborative studio course. The students were assigned to groups of two or three and asked to find, prepare designs for and submit to an open ID competition.

(Real-world application is something I strongly value in educational settings, so I rather liked how students had to develop entire concepts for these actual competitions)

This experience resulted in a couple of things:

A) Now I'm all intrigued - what kinds of interior design-related competitions are even out there? How does one find them?

B) Just for shits and giggles - I would like to try my hand putting together something that at least "fits" the qualifications (I'm not saying I would submit it...). In case you (read: I) was wondering, the 2014 IIDA SDC conceptual competition to evolve the idea of open offices:

The 2014 IIDA SDC invites you to evolve the concept of the open office to offer employees’ a workplace that encourages health, well-being, collaboration, and productivity... (more)

C) A new understanding of just what interior design covers (i.e., everything). Case in point, this 40th Annual Interior Design Competition (2013) winner for a mausoleum:

Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum, Minneapolis, MN - HGA Architects and Engineers, Minneapolis, MN via IIDA

Yes, it's somewhat morbid, but it's definitely something I had never even thought of before.

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What aspects of Interior Design shock you, if any?

-LG

Holiday Gift Guide: Kitchen Gifts

I baked a chicken today - correction: I am currently in the process of crockpot-ing a chicken, a whole chicken, today. As such, it's got me feeling all sorts of domestic, and I thought I might jump on the holiday gift guide bandwagon (finally).

Naturally, it had to be a kitchen-themed gift guide:

1. Lobster Claw Oven Mit // Wayfair 
2. Tea Latte Mug // David's Tea
3. French Oven // Le Creuset
4. Claudia Pearson Dog Plates // West Elm 
5. Giraffe Dish Towels // Etsy - Heaps Handworks
6. Arizona State Plate // Corbé
7. Robot Tea Infuser // ThinkGeek

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What gift would you like to receive this holiday season?

- LG

Marsala Me Crazy: Pantone's 2015 Color of the Year

Nothing says 2015, the year of the sheep (in case you were wondering), like the earthy, reddish-brown hues of Marsala, Pantone's next Color of the Year.

I'm not going to lie - I keep going back and forth with this color. In theory, I love this color. I love wine-red colors, the quintessential blend of reds and purples. Marsala, however, is part red, part purple, and part brown. It's the brown that's not sitting with me. I've never been much a fan of brown. 

Maybe I'm just biased. And one should not be biased, so off I went in search of Marsala-esque things*: 

via Steven Miller Design Studio / Houzz

via Steven Miller Design Studio / Houzz

via Island Architects / Houzz

*I'm going to be honest here... it took me a good chunk of time to find examples that a) more or less featured a Marsala-like color and b) I liked. 

This all being said, the color was just announced yesterday. It will be interesting to do a follow up post, in say six-months to a year, to see what designs and products are sparked into existence because of Marsala. Plus, check out these sample color palettes Pantone offered. I must say, I looooooooove option #7:

via Pantone

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What do you think of Marsala? Yay? Nay? Eh?

- LG

Design-spiration: Why so Grey?

I've been in a pretty grey mood lately. Work has been stressing me out. The weather has taken a turn for the worse. My man has seemingly disappeared into the universe. And because dwelling is what I do, I decided to at least spin it into something useful: talking (writing?) about the use of grey in decor.

So, my friends, let's have a look see:

via de zeen

* #FeltonFeltonFelt. This space was designed for the first flagship store of Viktor & Rolf, which opened last year in Paris, and is comprised of lots and lots of (wait for it) felt. 

via One Kind Design

* Because who doesn't love a giant soaking tub?

via Architectural Digest - 25 Shades of Grey

* In all honesty, I find the carpeting in this room to be a bit much. Because of the texturing of the walls, however, they couldn't have really used grey tile. Perhaps black / dark dark grey tile? Loving the chandelier!

via Createcph

*Normally, I love color, even just pops of color to brighten up an otherwise boring space. But this monochromatic grey color palette is really doing it for me right now. I love how even the rug, which is fairly neutral for an oriental rug, works with the whole color scheme. 

via Interior Design

*Minimalistic. Monochromatic. Great ceilings. 

via Architectural Digest - 25 Shades of Grey

*Oops, some color snuck in with this one. But really, for this space, what got me was the walls. Is that concrete?? Love it! Industrial chic.

(Editor's note: It is, in fact, concrete.  Plank-molded concrete, to be exact.)

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Are you a fan of grey in interior design? Which space do you love the most? 

-LG