I'm about to lose control and I think I like it...

One of the last little conceptual touches of the interior of 2146 Pine was the front living room. Some of you may have been wondering what the little orange and green flowery things on either side of the fireplace were. Well, in trying to play with convention I was inspired by the work of New York architecture firm Hollwich Kushner, who took conventional crown molding and turned it into wall sculpture:

When I first saw this in the New York Times last summer, I nearly went crazy (in a good way.) I knew I had to incorporate this into one of my projects. Luckily my clients had an impressive collection of modern conceptual art and would appreciate such an innovative wall treatment. So I used it in the front living room of their Victorian home:

The stark whiteness of the room put the focus on the sculptures of British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, whose work comments on colonialism and Victorian imperiliasm themselves. I personally loved how this room became like a gallery. Here's a close-up of the sculptures:

I love this particular piece. Part of studying art in London was learning to provoke thought and give audiences that "aha" moment. As an interior designer I want to do the same, but mostly by assembling those pieces and ideas as a curator, of sorts.

There were times during this project when I thought my classmates were looking at me like I was crazy. But one of my design heroes, Matthew Leverone, looked at my sketches and encouraged me, telling me to not give up on my vision. In the end, I felt proud handing in this thesis project.

Next post I move on to the real world. Even though I'm still looking for work, I also need some more experience, whether it's commercial or residential. So my friends Emily and Chris, Gil and Debra, and my cousin Vickey all need help with their new homes. I might not be knocking down any walls or doing major renovations, but I still consider them worthwhile projects.

I'm sometimes concerned about being pigeonholed as a "decorator" instead of a "designer," but right now, in this economy, I think most of us (if not all of us) need to make due with what we've got (as both homeowners and renters.) So if that means I have to stick to space planning, color choices, and procuring artwork, fixtures, flooring, and furnishings, then so be it! I want to show my versatility as a designer, so I'm more than happy to do residential work. It's still work, after all...

Right?

(I think I'll still post some retail and hospitality projects along the way to remind you that I can do it all...)