Living In Two Worlds
It was the summer of 2011 and I was wrestling with deciding whether to continue working in Washington, DC doing defense advising or make a career shift to the field I had always dreamed of working in - architecture. My father had worked for a contractor in college and always had rental property that needed renovation or repair. I yearned to tag along and when I was finally able to lift his tool box (a home-made rectangular monstrosity that weighed at least 50 lbs!) I was allowed the privilege of being his apprentice. From stripping multiple layers of wallpaper to snaking clogged toilets - no task was too mundane. I was like a sponge absorbing every bit of information and would turn the days' lessons into sketches of homes I would build one day.
I sorely wanted to go to college and knew I would have to fund my own education so I walked past the rowing sign-up at freshman orientation and walked straight down to the ROTC office. The stipend I earned from that program and the earnings from my work-study job (designing and sewing costumes for the theater department) enabled me to earn my degree (Cum Laude). That was a lifetime ago and here I was in my fifties heading back to college. Some friends said I was daft. My husband was a constant source of encouragement and love.
It was with much trepidation that I entered a classroom (the first time in more that 30 years) at Anne Arundel Community College and started on the path to earning a degree in my beloved field. I flourished under the tutelage of amazing professors - John Markowski, Rob Lowe, Brandi Shepard and Matt Gregory. The coursework and projects were challenging and each design was an opportunity for growth. I loved designing the bones, the structure, the facade, the systems, but I also loved designing the interior space as well. It was then that I realized I wanted to work in both worlds - architecture and interior design.
The unexpected death of my brother and the near-death of my father caused me to take a three-year hiatus. When I contacted the Architecture and Interior Design faculty about re-enrolling, it was Janet Lea Haddock and Carol Simms Pearce who encouraged me to pursue both degrees. So after dusting off AutoCad, Sketchup and rendering skills that had been sitting idle, I'm back in the classroom and approaching each class, each project with unabashed enthusiasm.
I am a self-professed materials junkie. I rabidly read each addition of Sweets Construction, the Journal of Light Construction and peruse the internet for links to the latest construction materials and technology. I spend equal amounts of time reading Architectural Digest and Architonic's e-newsletter, Dailytonic, for the latest in interior trends and design innovations.
So when I come across articles like the attached I feel compelled to share for I feel that all of us who design the built environment need to live in both worlds as one cannot exist without the other. http://www.homeepiphany.com/20-trends-home-construction-2017/2/
I sorely wanted to go to college and knew I would have to fund my own education so I walked past the rowing sign-up at freshman orientation and walked straight down to the ROTC office. The stipend I earned from that program and the earnings from my work-study job (designing and sewing costumes for the theater department) enabled me to earn my degree (Cum Laude). That was a lifetime ago and here I was in my fifties heading back to college. Some friends said I was daft. My husband was a constant source of encouragement and love.
It was with much trepidation that I entered a classroom (the first time in more that 30 years) at Anne Arundel Community College and started on the path to earning a degree in my beloved field. I flourished under the tutelage of amazing professors - John Markowski, Rob Lowe, Brandi Shepard and Matt Gregory. The coursework and projects were challenging and each design was an opportunity for growth. I loved designing the bones, the structure, the facade, the systems, but I also loved designing the interior space as well. It was then that I realized I wanted to work in both worlds - architecture and interior design.
The unexpected death of my brother and the near-death of my father caused me to take a three-year hiatus. When I contacted the Architecture and Interior Design faculty about re-enrolling, it was Janet Lea Haddock and Carol Simms Pearce who encouraged me to pursue both degrees. So after dusting off AutoCad, Sketchup and rendering skills that had been sitting idle, I'm back in the classroom and approaching each class, each project with unabashed enthusiasm.
I am a self-professed materials junkie. I rabidly read each addition of Sweets Construction, the Journal of Light Construction and peruse the internet for links to the latest construction materials and technology. I spend equal amounts of time reading Architectural Digest and Architonic's e-newsletter, Dailytonic, for the latest in interior trends and design innovations.
So when I come across articles like the attached I feel compelled to share for I feel that all of us who design the built environment need to live in both worlds as one cannot exist without the other. http://www.homeepiphany.com/20-trends-home-construction-2017/2/
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