Lighting Spec Sheet Project

Fundamentals of Lighting was an eye-opening class that I took in the Fall of 2012. I did not imagine how important lighting and layers of light was until this class. See my post entitled "Light it Up" about the layers of light.

For our final project, we were to design a lighting and switch plan for a young, single male in his thirties who designs custom motorcycles. He rents a city apartment that is a Live/Work space with a lot of exposed construction elements. His current furniture is Mid Century Modern and the lighting fixtures should coordinate with that style.

We received the floorplan and our teacher set us loose.

These were all of the decorative, task, and display lighting fixtures that I used in the design. Also included were the ambient lighting fixtures, which were basically can lights.

I used multiple layers of light in many of the spaces and developed a lighting plan with a lighting legend:

 Each symbol corresponds with a specific lighting fixture listed on this "Spec Sheet".

For details on the the light fixtures, such as photos and other lighting dimensions, I put together a Lighting Fixture Cut Sheet with all of the manufacturer documentation.

All in all, this project definitely taught me how intricate it is to put together a lighting plan, but it also showed me just how many fixtures were needed to have a well-balanced lighting plan in a project. It was very eye-opening.

{Rashida}

Residential Project: Choosing Textiles

In my Introduction to Textiles class at Chabot, we are learning about the properties of different fabrics and their uses. Our first assignment was to select a series of fabrics for a living and dining room space that we had to draw to scale.

The criteria was as follows:

• fabrics | a minimum of 3 patterned (more than one color, not tone on tone) fabrics in each room 
• spaces | dining and living rooms must be open to each other somehow
• measurements | walls to be 6 inches thick and both spaces need to have a combined area of approximately 600 square feet total
• scale | 1/2" scale on 11" X 17" paper
• furniture + decor | living room needs to have six specified items, dining room room needs to have 4
• presentation | fully color rendered floorplan, 3" x 3" samples of each fabric, and written descriptions of textile fibers

This assignment initially posed as a challenge for me because my design aesthetic is very minimal in terms of colors and patterns. But as a designer, I know that it is important to be nimble and flexible because my clients are not going to be just like me. So, I took this assignment as an opportunity to learn, grow, and expand my skill-set.

I am very intrigued by the Moroccan lattice designs and used that as inspiration as I began to explore patterned textiles.

Different lattice patterns that I used as inspiration for the final design.

Simultaneously, I began to create many floor plan iterations of my adjoining living and dining spaces. The many iterations occurred because plotting on AutoCad at 1/2" scale was posing to be a problem.

My first hand-drafted iteration of the floor plan. It ended up being too large of a footprint and wouldn't fit on the 11x17 paper.

There was not enough clearance for some of the furniture in this iteration.

This pretty much ended up being the final design, with a minor adjustment to the ottoman selection.

Eventually, I found a design that fit and went through a process of pairing fabrics together and pairing fabrics with furniture to see how they complemented each other.

This is what I ended up with:

I am very pleased with the final product (as was my professor). You can find the full presentation, with a detailed look of the fabrics and furniture selections here: Moroccan Twist Textiles Assignment.

I am now excited about working with different patterns in fabric and can't wait until I get to implement textiles in a new design.

Cheers,
{Rashida}

It looks like wood, but it's porcelain!

I have fallen in love with a new material that I can't wait to put into our future home. (No, we are not moving, but can't a girl dream? :) )

It's porcelain wood tile!

You would think this is wood, especially with the irregularity of pattern.
This is such a beautiful color too!

It can have all of the beautiful texture and aesthetic qualities of wood, but has the maintenance of regular old tile. And since the tile is porcelain, it is virtually indestructible... unless you took a sledge hammer to it. But just like your toilets, porcelain does not chip or scratch, and can be cleaned with regular everyday cleaning supplies.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: It looks very authentic like a wood floor, but it's all porcelain tile.

I was first introduced to it in my Materials & Resources class at Las Positas College. We went on a field trip to All Natural Stone (formerly Callahan Tile). The owners showed us around their showroom, which is absolutely fabulous. If you thought Home Depot had a lot of tiles, you will be blown away by the amount of tiles, stones, and slabs in their showroom.

Anyway, these gems were tucked away in a back room.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: Wood Porcelain tile on wall and floor.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: Looks great throughout a home.

My guess is that the Casa Dolce Casa's Belgique Collection is pretty pricey. Home Depot also has a few selections of the porcelain wood grain tiles.

So for all the people who have always wanted wood, but:

• didn't have the budget for it (the wood + stain + installation);
• have kids and pets that would wreak havoc on a wood floor; or
• can't muster up the time or funds to maintain a wood floor;

...all hope is not lost. You can have it all.

Dream big my friends,

{Rashida}