Random Thoughts for the End of the Summer

Alright. So, I might have a problem.  Lets see I've been blogging for about 4 months and this is officially my fourth blog header design.

 

It looks like I'm averaging about one per month, although I definitely did not plan it that way.  Apparently I like to play around with graphic design.  I see these headers as a pretty good representation of myself and my design style.  Ever changing, constantly evolving and (hopefully) improving day by day.

I can honestly say that at this point, I have a much greater appreciation of different design styles than I did while I was in school.  When I was in school, I didn't have much time to go out and explore all that is available in the design world for inspiration.  I had to rely on what I knew and liked at the time, and then all my time was spent working on my projects with my limited school resources of outdated design magazines and discontinued fabrics.

After graduating, I've been exposed to many more design styles, other than my own, through blogs, the internet, and design magazines now that I actually have time to read and pay attention to these things.  So, although this summer has been slow as far as work goes, it's also been a great learning experience for me to explore design and figure out more about my aesthetic, how I want to design, and how I want to work and run my business.  So although my husband jokes that I must stay at home all day and eat bon bons, I assure you that I do not.  :)  I've been researching, cataloging ideas, working on DIY projects, learning to sew, designing, writing on this blog and reading about things that I hope will be of use to me in the future as I start my own design business.

Now, to say that all this researching isn't fun, would be a lie.  How lucky am I to be in a industry where your required reading is design magazines, and blogs?  How cool is it to be able to research new product lines that add function and style to a space?  How amazing is it to go to furniture and fabric showrooms and be surrounded by gorgeous things?  I think it's pretty great and sometimes I need to remind myself  of that when things are slow and not much money is coming in, because I know that someday this economy will get better and someday I'll have clients coming out of my ears!  And then, hopefully I'll look back on this time and think, wow, I was really lucky to have that time to learn more about myself and the interior design industry so that I can do this business the right way, the first time!

p.s. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on my headers!  Which one is your favorite?

What's that thing called, again?

One thing I always had a tough time memorizing in my History of Art and Architecture class was furniture styles. I tend to get bored trying to memorize things and instead focus more on the way a piece looks and I learn to distinguish furniture by certain features, rather than by their proper names. Am I the only one who does this? Or does memorizing furniture types come naturally to you? In order for the names to really sink in, I made myself a handy little chart to study or take a glance at when I forget. :) Usually "doing" is one of the best ways for me to learn. So I thought you might like to see my chart and maybe it will help those of you that have the same problem as me!

{Click on picture to enlarge the furniture goodness}

A few of the pieces are always especially difficult for me to distinguish because they look very similar to other pieces that we all know and love. Here are the distinctions:

Channel Back Wing Chair- this chair is exactly the same as a typical wing chair that we all know and recognize except for the back of the chair has "channels" or large ridges in the way it is upholstered.

Breakfront-this piece is extremely similar to a china cabinet, but you'll see that the difference lies in the detail on the top of the piece.

Tuxedo Sofa-this sofa is characterized by the tall, straight lines of the arms and a high back.

Pembroke Table-similar to a Butterfly table but the difference is in the legs. A Pembroke has long, skinny, tapered legs.

Studio Couch-this is a half-sofa, half-bed type piece that reminds me of a classy futon.

Spoon back Chair-this chair is a larger chair that has a deep curved scoop to it's shape, similar to a spoon.

So there you have it! Hopefully this will help some of you out if you are studying for a quiz, furniture shopping or just trying to figure out what style of furniture you like and just want to know what to call it!