Why did I choose to study interior design?
Recently I have been intrigued by a question I had to answer for an interior design class at the University: why did I choose to study interior design at the first place? What attracted me to interior design was at first interior decorating, which I realize that it is only a part of the interior design field. I remember my whole life decorating my bedroom, my own space of freedom, where I had the chance to express my character and interests. I instantly became interested in how my room could be transformed into something totally different with only a few manipulations and how these changes affected my mood. Furthermore, I have always been excited creating things and this has been obvious since my childhood; as a child I used to draw a lot being inspired by nature and the people around me. I have always loved art and design, and when deciding how to utilize this love into a profession interior design came up, partly thanks to the HGTV interior design series. I believe that interior design allows me to use my creativity and logic to create safe, functional and beautiful spaces. It is interesting that aesthetics have always inspired me to create something beautiful and unique. However, at some point I became interested in functionality as well and how aesthetics and practicality are combined in an interior space.
So, as Juliana Catlin said (Piotrowski, 2007, p.45), “I considered interior design the perfect place to blend my artistic abilities with a desire for a professional career.” “I am both a detail-oriented and a big picture thinker”, as Laura Busse (Piotrowski, 2007, p.49) said about herself. Photography was the first indication of how detail characterized my work and later crafting also showed that I am an Arts person. I believe that my arts and design exposure will help me identify myself as a person and it would be a challenge for me to give shape through studying to something that it is still in progress.
In essence, I decided to study interior design to further explore how functionality and beauty are combined to create beautiful and usable spaces. I gradually realize that the idea of being able to improve someone’s life by making the most of their spaces is really powerful and studying interior design helps me to form a complete picture of what interior design is and how the elements and principles of design are combined to achieve a successful result. I truly believe that I have most of the essential prerequisites an interior designer must have, such as being fascinated by finding solutions to problems, having an eye for design and focusing on details, observing interiors and being inspired by them and how they could be changed into something else, having artistic abilities and interests, enjoying reading interior design books, and working within a team (Piotrowski, 2008).
Piotrowski C. (2007) Professional Practice for Interior Designers. 4th ed. USA: Wiley.
Piotrowski C. (2008) Becoming an Interior Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design. 2nd ed. USA: Wiley.