life as an intern.

the past few weeks i have been working on many different projects for fox - i have helped put together a schematic design for a lobby, offering 3 different options. along with these schematic designs, i designed a custom area rug for two of the options. it has been so much fun. the project manager for this project has been a-m-a-z-i-n-g. she is such a great role model, and i love working with her every day. she totally trusts my judgement, while offering me help when i need it. she's awesome.

furniture and floor plan

this option features three paintings - furniture with an ebony finish and a camel "faux" leather
the rug is an idea from the paintings created by masland. 

elevations of the selected paintings and wall details

along with this i have designed a reception desk for a data-base company that is located in mclean, virginia. i had to program for this desk, and fit it in a very small space, while keeping a clean aesthetic. the main designer for this project is hilarious. she knows how to have a good time, but at the same time is so well organized and put together she is the perfect fit for a design job. i can only hope i am as well suited and successful as she is.

an experience at the ho-jo....

what makes your home “home”. is it where all your stuff is, or is it a certain feeling that emits from our hearts once we get there? i love home. this weekend, bryce and I came home to new hampshire for the long holiday weekend. it was a spur of the moment decision, which i am happy we made! we left friday ~ bryce met me at work and we started driving at 4pm. by 7pm we had FINALLY made it out of the DC/Balitmore area. it was the worst traffic i have ever experienced (ok I’m being dramatic and am exaggerating…. but still, it was really really bad). 

stunning reception desk. this one has an area for accessibility.

we decided we had to stop in new york for the night and sadly our budget only allowed us to stay at the four seasons of newbourgh, new york….. howard johnson’s. we walked into the hotel room and i instantly felt like i needed a shower, and wanted to lock the doors immediately behind me. the room was dreary, outdated, and felt unsafe. it also had an interesting scent to it, one that reminded me of an old person and sour milk. it made me think a lot about how we perceive our surroundings and what makes us comfortable. what DOES make us comfortable? how come a dingy hotel room does nothing for me and makes me feel a certain way, even though i’m only staying there for less than 10 hours? 

beautiful hotel room. sleek and yet comfortable.

when I went to check in to the lovely hotel, i instantly started thinking about how this hotel wasn’t ADA compliable. the reception desk was way over the normal acceptable height. it was uncomfortable for me, even, and i am almost 5’8”. i started thinking about how awkward the counter was… it was at least 5’ in height. who designed that? clearly they didn’t have a good knowledge of accessibility. how would a person in a wheelchair converse with the person behind the counter? another thing both bryce and i realized was the doors in the hotel room – they opened the wrong way. and they were SO skinny. when you design interiors you have to think about these things. i am writing this short post to not only further show why interior design should be a profession, but why it really does impact society. as simple as a hotel making you feel uncomfortable, and if there really was an emergency, would this hotel allow for the egress that needs to happen?

life as an intern.

tomorrow marks the beginning of my third week with fox. i am so excited because this week i will start working on the custom designed area rug that is going in a lobby/reception area. we met with masland reps and there were no design/color combinations that my project manager and designer liked, so they have collectively decided that i should design my own design. I AM SO EXCITED. i will draw up the design in autocad and then will select pantone colors and put them with the drawing - will send it to masland and within one to two weeks will get a 2 x 2 sample carpet in my design. how awesome is that?


the team i am in {yellow team} is starting on a few new projects this upcoming week, so i will assist my team in that work. i'm really excited to see how the entire process of bidding, pricing, and contract works. i think it is really interesting and will definitely be a good learning opportunity!


this week i will include a few photos of what i have been assisting in, as well as some interior shots of the office. i love everything about fox's office and only can wish that i will work in an efficiently designed office like this one once i grow up. 


this coming weekend bryce and i will either be heading to NYC or going to VA beach - which one should we visit?? ideas!?


til tomorrow...

LEED GA Exam

i passed my leed green associates exam today on my first try! 

time to celebrate :)

hope you have a wonderful weekend.

xo

fill-in-the-blank friday!

happy friday!

here are my fill-in-the-blanks from "the little things we do" {find her blog under my "inspiration" column}

1.   People always tell me I look like  "someone they know". i get that all the time, but they can never figure out who that someone is.... maybe i just have a familiar face? oh - and i get that i look like kate hudson {even though i don't have her body AT ALL... we just have the same big cheeks}.

2.  Friends don't let friends  go to alabama.

3.  A sunny day is perfect for  having a red-neck cookout! this weekend we are grilling out on the back porch, buying cheap-o beach chairs, putting on our bathing-suits and day-drinking. sounds like fun to me!

4.  My favorite accessory is my heart necklace. my mom has the same one and neither of us take it off! i gave it to her on her birthday a few years ago.

5.  If I could afford it I would get my nails done every 3 days. i LOVE freshly painted nails when they are all shiny and glossy and not chipped... but by the 3rd day they have grown out a tad, chipped a teeny bit and don't look as hot. 

6.  The cure for boredom is  TO BLOG!

7.  I am currently "in like" with being a "fake real person". i'm not 100% real yet because this is only for the summer - but i am living in a HUGE city {washington d.c.} when i am from a teeny town and go to school in a teeny town.... i am interning in an architecture firm which is about 10 miles from my house i am living in for the summer - so i have to commute to and from each day. i get to get dressed up and look professional, have my coffee when i get to work and have my own personal email! i love planning out what we will eat for our dinners, drinking red wine at night with my bf while watching his stupid sports. it's honestly perfection. but i don't want to be "in love" with being a fake real person, because it is going to be ending in a mere 3 months, so i don't want to have my heart broken.

life as an intern: week one.

just thought i would give everyone an update on my 

life as an intern. 

so now i have officially been working at fox architects as an intern for ONE WEEK. i am feeling more comfortable as each day continues. i work in mclean, virginia and my office is right in tysons corner, which is a very nice part of the dc metro area. unfortunately, there are two fabulous malls right around the corner from my office, so i am struggling with not making a bee-line there each day after i leave the office. i am living in arlington, virginia, so my commute is a mere 8 miles - - - which in d.c. terms and traffic translates into approximately 30 minutes. i have found a great back-roads route to work which i love to take because it wakes my mind and spirit up driving through the cute neighborhoods and towns. gives me a moment to breathe before i get to work.

once i get to work i put my stuff down at my desk, and go straight to the pantry where there is an insane coffee maker that i'm obsessed with. i drink about 3 cups throughout the day.... oopsies. i come back to my desk, check my email and then get to work with my projects! currently i have been assisting on three projects doing fairly minor things {but big time for me} which have included designing a reception desk for a data firm, designing custom area rugs which are going into a lobby space, and setting up a small construction document set for a renovation of an office space. before i know it, it is 4pm and i am having to wrap up my work so i can pull out of the office by 530-ish.

at home i am attempting to study {key work being attempting} for my LEED GA exam which i am taking soon. i best be wrapping this post up and getting back to studying before i have to get ready for work. but talking to blogger is just so much more fun......

i miss my pup.

i miss my pey pey!!