Jeff Seal Custom Homes

With an economy that is not at its peak, our communities have become cookie cutter, mass-produced houses. Custom homes are a luxury to have in America right now but no matter where they are located, the cost, or who lives there, these homes are seemingly amazing. Jeff Seal is an architect, who has the privilege of creating these luxury homes in Lubbock.

The two homes that our class got to tour were still under construction but with our imagination we were able to see how amazing these houses would be. The first house was located off of 103rd street and would cost about a million dollars, really a steal for the quality and work of the house. This first house was a French style home and has high vaulted ceilings and brickwork. Every detail in the house was carefully thought out, from the windows and doors being in alignment, up to the lighting and ironwork in the stair railing. This house had four bedrooms and a custom theater, and one guest room had thirteen-foot ceilings, amazing!

The next house we were able to see was not nearly as complete as the first. This house was still in the wood framed stage, but this didn’t hold back our creativity and eye to imagine what the finished product would be. This five million dollar home was massive. Filled with groin vaults, piano rooms, high vaulted ceilings, a prayer room and two master bedrooms this house is going to be heaven.

Jeff Seal has created great homes and a great name for himself, here in Lubbock as well as other cities. Jeff and his team take pride in what they do and they do not skip around the details. These homes served as inspiration to us and gave us all something to look forward to in our future with design.

Leftwich Chapmans Flooring

A recent field trip that we went on was to Leftwich Chapmans Flooring. This is a local store here in Lubbock that sells flooring; anything from hard cork flooring to carpets made from cornhusks, this flooring company offers it all! Mr. Leftwich and Mrs. Chapman have been working together for about 26 years, and have owned their own flooring company for about 9 of those years.

         Hardwood flooring is their number one selling product, the next top selling is carpet. This store is divided into three different sections; hard wood, carpet and tiles. The tour started in the hardwood section, where Mr. Leftwich showed us some amazing wood flooring, high end and lower end. The most interesting and newly developed flooring is the leather flooring, and cork. These floorings come in section pieces like wood flooring does. When the cork and leather floorings were brought up, you question if these flooring materials are durable, well they are! With the sealants and treatments the material goes though, these are very durable long lasting flooring, and can even work better in a space for you then wood could.

         Carpet, which went down hill in sales when wood and tile became a big trend in homes and commercial spaces, has come a long way in the past 10 years. Now being made and cut in many ways such as using cornhusks and different knitting techniques has really helped the sales of carpet. The softest carpet was the one made from cornhusk, very opposite of what you first would think the carpet would feel like being made from that material.

         Next, after the carpet all the girls ran to the tile section, the colors and textures were amazing! This was a popular spot in the field trip because with tile, anything is possible. The combination of color, texture, size, and use are endless; it really Is overwhelming!

The last stop on the field trip was about laminate wood and tile flooring. This flooring look has really advanced from the big hit in the 60s and 80s! Now the laminate is so realistic it’s almost ridiculous to buy the real thing. This flooring is much easier to take care of then any of the others and can be at a cheaper cost for you as well!

         This local flooring company was a great experience to learn a little bit more about flooring, and to actually see it in front of you was very informative. In the end we all learned a few things about flooring but it was also a great day for us to all get together on a rainy morning and be able to get excited together about things ‘us interior designers’ get excited about. :)

Elements & Principles of Design

The principles and elements of design are the basic information one needs to know in order to design a successful space. Without certain factors, a room will just not work; that is something many people do no understand. This is why interior designers must have a basic background knowledge and understanding of the elements and principles. Each one adds its own feeling and appearance to the space.

This picture of the pool facility has great use of line movement and simplicity. The lines in this picture are very powerful and actually move the eye. The lines and movement of the ceiling create a look that opens up that space and also resembles the movement of water. The lines also make the space appear larger in size. I believe that the architecture of this building works amazing with what the space will be used for. Since it is a swimming pool, where people and teams come to practice the space is simple and powerful; this creates an encouraging work zone. With the reflection of the ceiling onto the pool really makes the space come together and look as if it is continuous not only on the ceiling but onto the ground surface. The emphasis used in this piece is in the big white ceiling and then in the center you have a large pool, there is nothing else so you are able to focus on the pool and swimming. The bright blue pool set in a white surrounding area makes the main point of the room stand out from everything else.

 With balanced windows and swimming lanes, the space has balance which is critical when designing a space. One factor that is hard to accomplish when creating a space is harmony. Harmony includes the use of two completely different elements, unity and variety, when a room has both that work, you have accomplished harmony. This pool space achieves it because of the simple use of color, lines, texture and the mix of both variety and unity. These two elements can make or break a room. This design space is a great accomplishment because of how the designer used the elements and principles of design.

Unusual material

In a world that is covered in trash without enough space and time to decompose it, many people have started to recycle and reuse. Not only does this help out the earth but it can also help out your bank account. Recycling and reusing material that can last a long time has great benefits. With a material like glass, that doesn’t decay very well, it can come in handy in other areas.

         Glass material has been used to build walls, houses, artwork and many other everyday objects.  For the most part, bottles are used because they are free and easy to work with. Not only are they cheap but also bottles can be bigger than brick. Bottles can also replace the use of brick or another building material. The use of glass bottles can also bring attention to your building because they are not an everyday material used in buildings. Despite most of their creators' limited experience in construction, and exposure to desert heat, winter snow and neglect, houses have stood up pretty well. Many of the builders speak of a spiritual atmosphere of the buildings' interiors. When the sun hits the bottles, there are said to be kaleidoscopic rays and a stained glass effect.

Because the bottles are made out of glass, they are sustainable and will last longer than if you were to use another material such as paper. You do have to keep in mind though, glass can break and if not properly taken care of the space the bottle was used in can become a disaster.

         Using recycled material to create something new draws others attention and lets them know that they too can do this. When the word is spread, many more people find out and think of other ways to reuse and recycle which turns back around and helps out the earth. So no go out, start collecting, recycling and create something new. You never know you could be the next great artist to use recycled material. 

DESIGN EXPO

        Every year the Design Expo is held in the Merket Alumni Center, this is a great opportunity for interior design students to put their name out there, as well as be aware of the new and upcoming interior trends. Being a second year design major, this was my second year to attend. I have always enjoyed going to this event because it is such an informing event in so many ways. I have been able to gain information mostly about commercial design, which I have found to be interesting. This is also a great opportunity for all of us who are majoring in interior design to gather outside of the studio, get dressed up and spend some time together surrounded by things we love and can appreciate.

            There were many booths at the expo ranging from furniture, flooring, wall coverings and furniture. Personally the Daltile booth interested me the most this year because in our studio class with Collier we are working on a project and submitting it into a competition for Daltile. Getting a chance to see all the new tiles that are being created, how they are being used and the top sellers were helpful with this project.

            Tiles are not a new product, but they are creating new ways to use them. They have become more of a huge art form in houses and commercial spaces. In bathrooms I believe that you are really able to create freely with tiles and they can become a great asset in a bathroom. Tiles are easily cleaned and can upgrade a space.

The Design Expo as a success this year and those who were not able to attend, missed out on getting some great information and great goodies!

Fabric Applications On Campus

Fabric is one thing that is hardly ever used just simply as fabric. There are six main fabric applications that are used today, seating, windows, walls, panel systems, floors and fabric art. When using fabric though, there is not really a correct of incorrect way to use it as long as there is a flow to the room you are using it in, it will work out. Flooring and seating are two fabric applications that are used at a high volume everyday, especially in a corporate public area.

When using fabric as a flooring application it must be very durable because many people will be passing through the space many times a day. In the College of Human Sciences, there is a very durable flooring. This carpet that is placed in the El Centro room, a room that is used for students to hang out in before and after class, meet up with friends and catch up on some homework is a high traffic area. Since this space is used so often the material used for the flooring had to be durable. When an application isn’t durable and cannot stand up to the usage, the material will start to fall apart, fade and look used very quickly. This is not what a client will want when spending money to design a room, you want to be able to use a material that is long lasting and fitting for the space.

The flooring used in Human Sciences was very successful for how long it has been there. With all the traffic going through El Centro and the meetings and gatherings with food and drinks that have been spilled onto the carpet, this material has held up pretty well. El Centro was remodeled a few years ago and the carpeting has lasted so far,  but in years to come it will be interesting to see how it will wear and tear.

ALL ABOUT LOOKS

This cute fabric and upholstery store has the perfect name, All About Looks.  Without knowing what this store was it could be mistaken for  a clothing boutique or a store that sold make up but what this store really focus’ on is the interior of a home or office space.

             Owned by a mom and her two daughters, All About Looks was a very welcoming store. Being a sister and daughter myself, this story they had really caught my attention and I found it to be very interesting that one day they just wanted to start up their own little fabric store. This trip was more interesting then the  Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute in Lubbock Texas, because it was more relatable to what I look forward to working with. Being able to see the new fabrics that are coming out such as cork and new laser printed material was eye opening.

            As an interior designer you need to be able to keep up with the new fads that are arising and still be able to give your client what they want and know what will work best. Knowing that there are automated blinds now and that blinds with strings are going to be banned from any interior space is something many people out in the world do not know. Going to All About Looks was informative about fabrics, draperies and knowing that its hard to find a good sewer and upholstery person who knows what they are doing.

            Being in the interior design field takes a lot of work and knowledge about fabrics, requirements for different office spaces such as fire retardant, and just by doing a little bit of research you will be able to look up this information.