Reflection!

Throughout capstone, it was a challenging experiment for me to explore a career that I never learned. I've been always interested in Interior Design and I never knew it uses major critical thinking. For example, you are the problem solver to a given issue that a client gives to you. Its very important for Interior Designers to come up with many solutions and try to use their knowledge to create an environment that is safe and suitable. When I spent time with my mentor, I listened and tried to follow each direction's that was giving to me. You always have to be caution and always think ahead. A great example would be, when I had the opportunity to remodel a client's bathroom. We have to use our knowledge and provide her with materials that we knew to help the client decide what type of outlook she wanted. It took us several hours deciding what to keep and what to demolish. In addition, we had to run some errands to get materials and demonstrate different tiles to her. We had to think of idea's and plans of what we can do to achieve the look she wanted. It's very important to know what your client wants so you can start collaborating together. Providing them with great ideas makes the job a lot easier. Critical thinking is very important towards this job because it summarizes the plan that your about to do.

Collaborating is the most exciting task! You get to go through so many color choices and set the mood towards a room. It was difficult at a certain point because we wanted the client to be satisfied with our work. Collaborating with my mentor and her teams made me realize how hard it is to be set with one idea. I personally thought it was going to be easy but, it wasn't. We had to think of color choices, the function of the environment, utilities, the mood, and most importantly the creativity that is going to be made by us. If the client wouldn't agree with our ideas, we would have to think of another different layout. Overall, it uses critical thinking because you have to search and provide the client with varieties of materials for them to choose from. Communicating was a huge role for everyone. As a team, my mentor said it would be nice for everyone to include each ideas that they have. Why? Because everyone has different outlooks on things and not everyone thinks alike. Using your voice to speak up can be important and your feedback always matter. When I first met my mentor, that was a huge problem for me because I was a bit quiet. I didn't step out my comfort zone till the end. (Which I totally regret) I would give feedback's but it was really broad. Towards the end, I communicated to each member of the teams because I learned that you have to be comfortable working with several people, including clients. You have to be confident and contribute all the time to be successful.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is a must when it comes to Interior Designing. Creativity is very important and every project is always going to different from the previous one. When it came to us redesigning the clients bathroom, my mentor taught me how to carefully design a bathroom without going overboard. Color choices, is something that is very important because it surrounds the whole entire room and its sets the mood for a person. My mentor showed me different sketches that had created when she was in college too. She influenced me to start designing my own sketches and built my artistic talent from there. When it comes to creativity; Interior Designers work with clients to develop and create a solution that is safe, functional, attractive and suitable. You have to come up with ideas and plan it out. This task is a bit difficult because it takes time just to get a perfect outlook. Overall, I felt like I overcame different goals that I thought I would never encounter. For example, I never used my artistic goals on drawing different rooms. I learned so many tools that I can use based on the projects that we did. I experienced what it feels like to be in a work field with more than 5 people working all at ones. I felt like it was challenge because I never imagined myself picking up a hammer and demolishing an entire bathroom. It completely took all of my energy at the end of the day but, it was such an amazing experience for me to learn what Interior Designers do. From the beginning, I believe I've learned so much more of what they do and how they manage everything. It was a challenge and a workout for me. Overall, I'm very thankful for them to educate me by doing so many opportunities.

Ta-da!

After one month the two bathrooms are finally done!

We basically did the same thing just like the smaller bathroom. We demolished the old blue tiles so we can apply the new ones. My mentor asked the client if she would want the same exact tiles for the bigger bathroom and she said yes but a bit different. The client really enjoyed the color choices and how bright the bathroom looked without any lighting. Even if it looked plain, she said it still looks elegant and very pricey. We then took out the shower glass door so we can apply the whole entire bathroom with new tiles. Next we removed the toilet, shower handles, the sink, and any other objects that was inside the bathroom. Once all the tiles were removed, we measure the whole entire bathroom to see how many tiles we would need to cover the part we took out. We purchased square beige matte tiles for the flooring. A beige matte rectangular shaped tiles surrounding the walls. For the interior of the shower it had a glossy affect to make it look amazing! For the flooring of the shower, it has different neutral colors to make it look relaxing. The outlines for the top and bottom are two different designs. The client wanted something different. She said she wanted two different outlines because she does not want it to look exactly like her bathroom in her bedroom. She wanted to impress her guest's whenever they would come to visit. We applied the tiles just like how we did her bedroom bathroom. It was the same exact procedures to install everything. Next we used the same tools but, this bathroom just took a bit longer because it is the biggest one. Once all of the tiles were set in place and dried, we then applied a new (one handle) shower bulb and a new toilet. The client wanted the same sink so we applied it back in place once again. We then purchased a new shower door to finish and wrap things up. The bathtub has stayed in place throughout the whole time and we made sure we didn't damaged it by putting a cloth on top. Lastly, we painted the whole entire bathroom white to make it look brand new and even brighter. I got to paint one side on the wall! I need so much practice but I enjoyed it so much. Overall, I could really say that I'm exhausted! But, just by looking at the bathrooms, I'm really impressed on how it turned out! It took 7 days to finish this bathroom.

Time spent with my mentor: 16 hours (3 days)
Total time: 30 1/2 hours

Pencil, Ruler, Paper!

On March 8, 2015, I met up with my mentor for the third time today. We talked about how to sketch and draw out the layout of a room. It could be a living room, full house, bathroom, bedroom, & etc. She showed me different sketches that she had done in the past in college. She showed me the basic techniques of how to carefully manage the spacing of the room and how to develop it to suite your mood. My mentor told me to do a simple project and that project was to design any room that I would like. I choice a bedroom. She then told me to list out the thing that I would need to make that room perfect! Such as a window, closet, bed, furniture, and many more. Most importantly I have to carefully concentrate on my color choices. Weather if I'm trying to make it look dark or bright inside. Then I have to think about the spacing of the room. We don't want it to be too crowed inside. I can not wait to show you how I vision my design! I am very excited to challenge myself. Plus, she said we can make it 3-D once I'm done sketching it out with actual tiny products. Also, I really want to get  some feedbacks once I'm done so I can improve more and more!

I spent 2 1/2 hours with my mentor today
Total time spent: 14 1/2 hours

Process...

Supplies: Hardie Backer (mold prof)
Tile Spacers
Trowel
Screws
Tile Hole Saw
Tile Sealer
Solder
Copper Brush
2 Ceramic Tiles Versa Bond
Ceramic Tiles 12in x 24in
Sliding Door Class
Tub Shower Door
Paint/ Brushes
Wall Lights
Gloves
Single Handle Shower Bulb

On Monday, February 16 I went back to the clients house with my mentor. The client had chosen the tiles she had wanted for her two bathrooms on Saturday. It was delivered at her house early morning on Sunday. Since the old tiles we're demolished, the first thing we did was removing the existing toilet. Once that was done, we removed the old tiles that was on the floor so we can apply new ones. We took the existing shower bulb and replace it to a new single handle bulb. We installed the building paper for waterproof just in case water goes through the tiles. The waterproof paper will prevent any leaks if water ever goes through. We then installed the hardie backer in the shower and screwed it in for it to be secured. After all of that was done, we then installed the tiles one by one by measuring the interior of the bathroom. By applying the tiles, we used the ceramic versa bond so it can have a tight grip. While the tiles stays in place, we used the tiles spacer so every tiles can be even. We then applied the grout in tiles too.

After that we painted the whole entire bathroom white just to make it looks brand new.
installation of shower door
installation of new totel
instalation of wall light.

Spent 6 hours with my mentor.

Demolishing & Rebuilding!

Today, I met up with my mentor and her other team workers. We had a project on redesigning two of one client bathrooms. The first bathroom (a bathroom inside the clients bedroom) had very small tiles. Since bigger tiles makes a small area look bigger, the lady said she kindly wanted bigger tiles so her bathroom does not look small and it can look more "up to date". For the second bathroom (the biggest one in the house) she wanted it to look more different. Since the second bathroom had blue tiles, she said it doesn't light up her mood whenever she would come across it. Also, it tends to be so dark even if natural lighting enters in through the window. She wants it to look modern than it is now. She told my mentor if it possible to add bigger tiles and make it look lighter since blue did not suit her mood.

Goal: To explore for different moderns tiles and to make it suitable for the client.

WORK, WORK, WORK!
For the first bathroom, you can see it has a plain outlook to it. The tiles of the shower are small, and there's very little designs. The first step we did, was hammering and demolishing all of the tiles that was set up before. We gently putted a cloth over the bathtub since we didn't want to cause any damages. So if any of the tiles tends to fall, it wouldn't damage or leave any scratches on the bathtub. While the other workers continued working on that for a few hours, my mentor and I went to Downtown San Francisco where they sell many types of tiles and different home essentials. We got mini samples of different tiles for the flooring and for the interior of the shower. One of the worker's measured the client bathroom's so we knew how much tiles to get if ever we we're to order some. We listed the estimation of how much it would be for each tiles, if ever the client has a budget. The interior tiles of the shower has to have a glossy affect to it. As for the flooring, the client wanted it matte. We got different samples of that as well too. Once we got that all settled, the client chooses what desired look she wanted for her two bathrooms. My mentor and one of her team workers brought me to home depot. At home depot, we picked up the supplies we we're going to need for this project. My mentor gave me a list of supplies to look for and that I never heard of. She told me that it always good to ask questions. So when I came across a supply I did not know (which was every supply on that list) I asked a worker from Home Depot to help me find it. Once we bought all the supplies, we returned back to the clients house. Since there is 2 bathrooms to work on, we're going to remodel one bathroom at a time. Approximately, this project can take up to 2 weeks. As of for right now, we just did the basic's of demolishing one of her bathroom's, choosing different samples of tiles for the client to choose from, and picking up supplies that we would need.
Spent 6 hours with my mentor today.

1st Draft Reflection

Within my first draft, one thing that I did well was picking out good quotes that supports my argument. Second would be, introducing my quotes so the reader knows what I'm trying to explain. After introducing my quote, I'll interpret what it means after I stated it. For each paragraph I made sure, I made a statement onto my Assertion. During the anonymous revision, the person suggested that I should choose better word choices. One thing that my outline lacks was my thesis. I need try to connect it to my examples and describe it more thoroughly. I think reading my essay more than a couple times might help me develop it to be more fitting. Another would be, trying to develop my essay with more better word choices so it doesn't seems like I'm repeating myself. For it to be easier for me, I feel like I need to break down my outline so it's more organized. With that said, all of this will truly help me on being successful on writing my essay. The most challenging part of revising my first draft is to revise what my editor suggested me to do and to add it on to my essay.

Welcome to my blog!

Since it's my last year in high school, one thing that I'm really excited about senior year is going to senior ball! I didn't attend junior prom last year so I'm looking forward on attending ball in May! Another thing that I'm excited for this year is to graduate with my class and furthering my skills and knowledge to a bright future.

If I was ever stranded on an island 3 things I would bring with me are a flint to start a fire. Second, I would bring a knife to hunt since I can't eat fish. Lastly, I would bring a survival kit because it contains every thing that anyone would basically need if they we're stranded on an island.