So in this design exercise, I thought about things I love about OU and how I could showcase them. I love my sorority, my classes/classrooms, Gaylord, the campus, the trees and plants and expensive squirrels, Holmberg Hall, there are so many things to love. But ultimately the best place to show my own personal design, the style and flare that I do things with and perhaps an insightful look into how I will design on paper, is to look at my home in Norman. 730 Willow Ln is home to me and my three best friends. We went to London, England together this summer with the Gaylord Study Abroad three week minimester and had the absolute time of our lives. Our home is unfinished but stylized, empty in places and but full in others. Our kitchen is a hub, our rooms have an open door policy, our backdoor has a recently installed deadbolt (I’ll tell that story later), and ultimately its a great representation of the dos and don’ts of design.
Balance:
This is my best friend Amanda’s room which is right off of our kitchen. The reason I chose this room as a balance example is that it has components that are always equally matched. The colors are different, but complimentary. The bed is the dividing line between two halves, but both halves are balanced. Overall I think she did a great job piecing together a room that is cohesive and complimentary, busy and bold.
Color:
This is one of the inspiration boards in my room. I’ve got three boards that are filled with pictures that are inspirational or fun or just my favorite things. Some pictures are personal, some are peonies, some are Beyonce, you just never know. I think this is a good example of color because it uses every inch of the given surface and covers it with color and pattern and a sort of heterogenous mixture of texture and color and images. I love these boards because they are a lot to process and kind of smack the viewer in the face, and they make me think and trigger my creative juices.
Minimalism & Use of Space:
Well, this is the living room, and my first bad example of an aspect of design. We have no decorations and no color in this room, we’re not using the functionality and potential of the room to our full potential, and frankly its just super boring to look at. We have it arranged in a funny way, and we need to switch from bland to bold.
Metaphors & Symbols:
This is our front door, and of course in stereotypical metaphorical fashion, the door is an important symbol for our household. We are big about open door policies within our household, we are welcoming to any and all and we have a permanent rule that anyone that walks through our front door should feel welcomed and loved, and should leave better than we found them when they came in. Our door is where we take lots of pictures, especially first day of school, and is the symbol for the way we live our lives. Our door is so important to us!
Dominance:
As you can see, the giant arrow in the middle of this section of my wall is a dominant feature in the room. The color is different than everything else on the wall, its a stand out, and it ultimately guides the eye and steals focus, which is good because its in the middle of the wall and the display.
Overall, this is part of my home. I hope it gives an idea about my style and the development thats occurring in the way I design. Welcome to 730 Willow, feel free to stop by anytime you’d like!
