Principles and Elements of Design

While looking for an image of an interior of this assignment, I came across this restaurant called Duck Duck Goose. It’s a high end restaurant located in Melbourne, Australia that serves a unique concept they came up with called French Tapas, which fuses French techniques with Japanese and Chinese flare. Their interior design is also just as unique. The entrance is a glossy tunnel that opens up into the waiting area and the dinning is separated into two different areas; the posh black dining room and the less expensive bright white area next door.

The picture I’m analyzing is a photo of the “posh” side. There are lots of horizontal lines on the ceiling and horizontal lines created by the order of the tables and the chairs. There are also a couple of different textures at work in this interior. There’s the glass on the table, the hard black table and chairs, the light, sheer window treatments and the water feature in the middle of the room. The interior also makes good use of color and light. The color scheme is black but it is not overwhelmingly dark due to the light colored table setting, and because of the way they lighted the room. The very interesting pendent light fixtures reflect of the golden ceiling and off the water, while the candles on the table light up each individual table.

Since I can’t see the entire room it is hard to know precisely if it is symmetrically or asymmetrically balanced but I would call it asymmetrical. However, the tables are set in a symmetrical fashion. There is also rhythm with the chairs and tables going down the left side of the picture as well as the arrangement on the tables themselves. These principles along with the elements discussed created emphasis on the water feature.

It is easy to see that this posh dining room is extremely unified. There is no variety from table to table and the colors used are either black or white. However, variety comes into play when you look at lines and shapes of the different pieces used in the room. There are the very square tables with the water feature, while the chairs are curved and organic. Also, on the ceiling there are the rectangular shinny boxes with the long wavy light fixtures. All of the unity and variety comes together to form harmony throughout the room that gives the design sense and beautiful.

Unusual Materials

For this assignment we were asked to find an interior made out of unusual materials. In class we talked about the Ice hotel, which is an actual livable space completely constructed out of ice. It was a very interesting concept. Other unusual materials that have been used include everything from glass bottles, to beer cans and chocolate. I did a little research and ended up finding a tire house.

This unique house was designed and constructed by Michael Shealy in Colorado. He got started in 1989 when he retired. He and his wife owned some property and they wanted to build an earth-friendly house. The plan they ultimately came up with was built on the “Earthship” design by Michael Reynolds. After getting the plan approved Shealy began work on his new house.

The construction began with the formation of the walls using tires. A single row of tires would be laid out and then packed very tightly with earth before another layer was added on top. After the walls were erected, Shealy found 40 trees on his property that fit his parameters for his roof system. After cutting them down, he removed the bark off of each trunk. He then placed each log across the top of the walls creating the roof. Oddly shaped gaps were then filled with aluminum cans. After the structure was completed it was then covered in the clay naturally found on the site. The final outcome was a plaster-like look.

The final product was a very earth friendly, economical house. In the winter the temperature inside the house never goes below 63° with no additional heating, even when it got to -27° outside. At first glance, the house does not appear to be made out of tires, which I think is a very good thing. I don’t think I would ever want to live in the house or recommend it to anyone, but it is quite unusual. For a house made of tires it looks very decent and is actually a livable space.

Coalesse

Every fall semester Texas Tech University hosts an event called Design Expo. Design Expo features a wide range of vendors with products related to the field of interior design. The companies represented range from Sherwin-Williams to Daltile. It’s really fun to see all the cool new products and what’s in style this year. This year one vendor, Coalesse, really caught my eye.

Coalesse features a line of furniture for professional work settings and lifestyles. One of the reasons that I found Coalesse’s booth so interesting was one of the chairs they had sitting out for people to sit in and try out. It was a teal metal chair, and had a small cushion. It didn’t look like it was going to be very comfortable but when I sat in it I was happily surprised. It was a very comfortable and supportive chair for all its metal! I was also surprised to learn that it was an outdoor chair.

Typically when I think of office furniture, an outdoor setting doesn’t come to mind. However, innovative Coalesse new collection features just that; an office in an outdoor setting. The Emu Advanced Collection is the indoor/outdoor response to the new imperative of work and life as the line between them blurs. Coalesse’s thought is that “work can now go anywhere.”

The chair that was at Design Expo is part of the Re-Trouvé series by Patricia Urquiola. The series also has armchairs, poufs and vases and is inspired by the meeting of the present and the past: nostalgic design from the fifties with its curls and spirals combined with modern production. I loved the light airy feeling of the series and the colors available are so bright and fun. The rest of the collection is also fun and light. I really like the idea of being able to have an outdoor work area; it would be a nice change of pace from an office or cubical.

Coalesse is a great office furniture company that looks at how the piece of furniture can be used and the different settings it will be placed in, instead of just the piece of furniture itself. This gives their products a unique aspect that is different than other office furniture that I’ve seen. In the future when I have a career I plan on using Coalesse’s products because they are versatile, different, and beautiful pieces that will work well in many different offices.

*Information was taken from the Emu Advanced Collection brochure and www.coalesse.com  

Fabric Applications

I believe that fabric is one of the most versatile materials used in interior design. It can be put on seating, floors, walls, panel systems and used in many other applications. Fabric can be both functional and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. There are also many different fabrics to choose from especially in seating applications. Sadly it seems that typically function is more important than aesthetics especially when one is on a budget.

That is the case I believe for these studio chairs. I don’t know how old they are but they are definitely used a lot since they are classroom chairs. I also don’t know what kind of fiber it is made out of but my guess would be a man-made fiber like polyester because it is cheaper and very resistant to wear and soil.

Personally this isn’t my favorite chair. While the fabric isn’t rough, it isn’t necessarily soft either; it’s more slippery then anything. It also picks up a lot of dirt which really amplifies how dirty the chairs look. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look clean. While the chair has failed aesthetically in my book, it’s highly functional in the sense that as much use as it gets it doesn’t show much wear. None of the threads are broken nor are any seams coming out. In the setting of a classroom, I understand why they made the choice they did. They probably had a tight budget or wanted to spend more money on something else. They also needed a chair that would be very durable. The fabric on these desk chairs was probably part of a standard line with limited choices. There are fabrics that are both good looking and durable but those tend to cost a little more money and with a large order it isn’t very practical or possible to use a nonstandard fabric.

 For this assignment I chose to look at something that I use practically every day; the chairs in studio. I had never really looked at them very closely nor paid much attention to them before and I think I discovered new things while I completed this assignment. As aesthetically displeasing these chairs are when one looks very closely at them, I think the purchase was a wise one, if the chairs have been used for many years. They are highly functional and I’m sure a smart purchase.

All About Looks

This past week my interiors class went on another field trip. This time we went to an upscale interior fabrics store called All About Looks. It was a very cool store, filled with lots of different fabrics and hardware used in residential interior settings.

We were able to meet the owner who runs the shop with her two daughters. They got started by making baby bedding and other baby related items for themselves and their friends. Before long other people began requesting their work for other things like full sized bedding and drapery. None of them received an education in the field that they are now working however they were able to learn quiet aptly through trial and error. Before long they were able to grow into the thriving business they have now.

All About Looks is a unique fabric retail store that sells a wide range of fabrics used in many different interior applications. They have printed cottons to fine silks to drapery hardware. On our tour of the shop the owner first showed us some of the more fashionable and popular fabrics this year. I took pictures of some of the ones that I found most interesting.

Above is a picture of a sample book of very stylish wallpapers. The owner of All About Looks believes that wallpaper is slowly coming back into fashion and I would have to agree with her after looking at the many options. The one shown above was very interesting. It came in a wide range of patterns and designs but it only came in the color white. This is so that after it is applied to the wall it can be painted in any color desired.

Another interesting thing I found was this pillow covered in the fabric shown above. The fabric is made out of cork. It was quite soft and comfortable which was very surprising considering that it is made out of wood.

We also talked about the many different ways that fabric can be made visually appealing. There were hides that were dyed to look like zebra skin and plain cotton fabrics that a company will print it in a variety of different patterns.

Above is a picture of one of the most interesting hides that had somehow had newspaper clippings imbedded in it.

Besides selling fabrics, All About Looks provides a number of different services including upholstery. On our tour we were shown the back room and introduced to the man that does the upholstery. He does more than recover pieces of furniture however. He can also adds changes to the frame like raising the back or adding more padding to arms. We learned that it is important to find someone who really knows what they’re doing when it comes to upholstery. If you are unlucky you can end up with unsatisfactory work that will not last as long as it should.

This was an extremely fun field trip. It was a dream being surrounded by all those really cool and fascinating fabrics, while also learning about what is in style right now. The owner and her daughters were really nice and I could tell that they know what they are doing. I was also able to learn many useful things that will be a great benefit as I pursue an education and then a career in the field of interior design.

Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute #1

On September 12^th, my interior design ---- class went on a field trip to Texas Tech’s Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute. “FBRI occupies 110,000 square feet of space allowing researchers to conduct testing and evaluation from the raw fiber stage through the finished textile product” (“Fiber and biopolymer,”). While the primary purpose of the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute is research, we were able to see the different production processes involved in turning raw cotton fibers into yarn and then into fabric. The section of the tour that I found most interesting and informative was the creation of yarn.

We were first taken to the warehouse where the cotton arrives in a very unusable form. Short fibers and long fibers are mixed together along with trash, dirt, leaves and other unwanted things. This mixture is also compressed for transportation purposes. We were then taken to the first room that contained a series of machines that open up the cotton fibers and filter out the trash and unwanted short fibers. The clean long fibers are then moved to a second series of machines that are located in a separate room for a process called carding. This is a secondary cleaning process that further removes short fibers and trash. A small percent of cotton fibers are then also combed which “provides more extensive cleaning than is provided by the card” (Wakelyn). Both of these steps ultimately leave behind the long cotton fibers, “collect[ing] [them] into a rope-like form called a “sliver”” and put the sliver in a container allowing for its transfer to the next set of machines (Wakelyn).

The man giving us the tour showed us that the fibers in the sliver are crimped and wavy and not exactly parallel to each other. He explained that these are unwanted properties so a process called drawing is required in order to produce a good quality yarn. We were shown a drawing machine which uses heavy rollers to do several things to the slivers.  The machine takes several containers of slivers and blends them together while flattening and straightening the fibers and putting in a slight twist (Wakelyn). This creates a single sliver that is thinner, longer and more even throughout the length. The sliver can then either be used in open-end spinning or go through a procedure called roving. Roving again reduces the weight of a sliver and adds additional twist and “the product is now called a roving” (Wakelyn). The roving is also transferred onto a bobbin so it can be used for ring spinning.

Spinning is the process that adds a final amount of twist and a final reduction of weight producing the yarn. There are two different types of spinning and both use different machines. “Currently, over 85% of the world’s yarn is produced on ring-spinning frames” (Wakelyn). The class and I were first taken to the room where ring spinning takes place. With ring spinning the machines produce yarn from a roving, taking it off the bobbin and passing it through small rollers that add the final twist. These yarns are too short to be used in knitting or weaving and must be taken to another machine that binds together the short yarns producing a single continuous yarn of the desired length. After being shown ring spinning we were led into another room containing a single large machine. It was explained that a very small amount of yarn is created through open-end spinning. This type of spinning uses high-speed rotors and is much more efficient than ring spinning. With open-end spinning the sliver is fed directly into the machine which eliminates the need of roving. The yarn is also directly “wound onto packages ready for use in fabric formation” eliminating yet another step that is required for ring spinning (“Open-end spinning,”). However, the yarn produced is not the same quality as the yarn produced through ring spinning which is why ring spinning is still the most prevalent. “Rotor spun yarns are more even, somewhat weaker and have a harsher feel than ring spun yarns” (“Open-end spinning,”).

It was very fascinating to see all the machines and processes required to take cotton from a raw form and end up with a piece of fabric. In all, the trip to the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute was very educating. I learned a lot about the production of yarn that will be useful in the context of using different fabrics.  

WORKS CITED

Fiber and biopolymer research institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pssc.ttu.edu/fbri/overview.php

Open-end spinning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.textileschool.com/School/Spinning/RotorSpinning.aspx

Wakelyn, P. J. (n.d.). Cotton yarn manufacturing. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/safework_bookshelf/english?content&nd=857171055

Natural Fibers

A natural fiber is one that comes from fibrous materials found in plants, animal products and sometimes even minerals (Yates et al., 34). There are two different types of natural fibers: cellulosic, or plant, fibers and protein, or animal, fibers. Cotton and linen are cellulosic fibers, while wool and silk are protein fibers. These four commonly used natural fibers have both similar and different characteristics and manufacturing processes.

Fibers have many different characteristics. One characteristic is how well the yarn or fabric accepts dye. Wool and cotton are both absorbent, which gives them great dye affinity. Cotton especially easily absorbs rich, brilliant color. Linen holds color best when treated in a dye bath but when the fabric is printed, good dye saturation is difficult to obtain because of the density of the cellulosic fibers (Yates et al., 38). Because of this, many printed linens are designed to look worn. Another characteristic is abrasion resistance. Cotton is both resistant to abrasion and sunlight, and while silk’s smooth character makes it abrasion resistant, it is sensitive to fading. In contrast to cotton and silk, linen has a low abrasion resistance making it unpopular for upholstery. Linen is also very brittle and lacks resilience, meaning it wrinkles easily. In comparison, wool is springy and naturally regains its shape. Wool does not accept wrinkles or creases created by normal use. Both cotton and silk will blend with other fibers. Silk blends best with certain synthetics like polyester and rayon, while cotton blends well with a variety of fibers making cotton very versatile.

After being harvested, fibers go through manufacturing processes that turn the fibers into yarn and then a finished fabric. The basic manufacturing processes for wool, cotton, and linen are essentially the same because all three are naturally produced in staple form. Staple fibers are produced in “cut” lengths that vary from plant to plant and animal to animal (Yates et al., 34).Therefore, in the basic manufacturing processes of natural fibers, the length of the staple typically determines the process that will be used. For example, short-staple cotton and wool fibers are carded. This manufacturing process smoothes the fibers and arranges them approximately parallel to each other before being spun into yarn (Yates et al., 37). Long-staple cotton and wool fibers can be carded or combed. Combing is a different process that arranges the fibers more strictly parallel to create a smoother, softer, stronger, more lustrous, and more even yarn (Yates et al., 37). Longer-staple wool typically after being carded, will also be combed and then spun on different equipment than the carded wool, or woolen (Yates et al., 39). This process yields worsted yarns which are smoother and have a higher sheen than woolen. Line-linen is produced from staple fibers that typically measure almost up to a yard. These very long staples are usually combed and often mercerized creating a luxurious and durable fabric or yarn. Cotton is also typically mercerized, which is a permanent chemical process where the fiber is impregnated with a caustic soda solution that increases strength, bulk, luster, and dye affinity (Yates et al., 37).

Unlike cotton, wool, and linen, silk is a naturally produced filament fiber, which is a long continuous form of fiber (Yates et al., 35). Silk is harvested from the cocoons of moths or silkworms. Wild silk comes from wild moths that typically eat oak leaves, giving the cocoon a brownish color. These cocoons are harvested after the moth has broken out which leaves a broken filament. These filaments are then treated as staple fibers and are spun into yarn called tussah (Yates et al., 44). On the other hand, cultivated silkworms are normally fed mulberry leaves which produce an almost white cocoon. This silk is harvested before the moth matures and breaks cocoon. The filaments from the unbroken cocoon are reeled as a continuous strand creating reeled silk.

Wool, silk, cotton, and linen are all natural fibers that have both similar and dissimilar characteristics, such as dye affinity or abrasion resistance. Sometimes, these fibers also share manufacturing processes, like carding or combing. While there are similarities between these four natural fibers, their differences are what make each fiber unique and desirable in their own way for a range of functions.

BIBLOOGRAPHY
Yates, Marypaul. Fabrics: A Guide For Interior Designers and Architects. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002. 34-44. Print