A Guest Post by Alycia Wicker
As a certified interior designer, I like many other designers, have had to forge my own path. Finding my place in the world of design wasn’t an easy thing. The one thing that I have always had, though, was my determination to be the best person I could be, and a desire to do the best at whatever I attempted.
I grew up playing with Legos and consuming home floor plan magazines with a vengeance. I dreamed what it would be like to be in the spaces I was building, while visually devouring the rooms from the magazines. My mind was wrapped up early on in these thoughts; what was it like to be in these spaces, how did they function, and how did they affect the people who would be in them.
When I started out in design school, all I had was a dream. I wanted to design, but I had yet to discover what my design philosophy was. Looking around, though, I still thought I was way behind the others in my class, those who knew what their “style” was.
Of course, looking back, it didn’t really matter what my style was. I just knew I had to design things that reflected my personality and that stayed true to my sensibilities. This turned out to be my design philosophy: Do right by design, do right by people, and all is good.
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While in college, we had a project to redesign a firehouse into a bed and breakfast. Well, while my classmates went into their predictable designs, I went off the beaten path. I designed something that I thought only those interested in the macabre would enjoy. I called my bed and breakfast the “Devil’s Den”.
A part of this project also included building a model. So within the Devil’s Den, I created a glass coffin reception desk and added a chalk outline of a dead body in the reception area. The door to the elevator was a bookcase facade as a hat tip to the hidden passageways of old movies. The stair railing support was to be created with wrought iron in the design of a spider web, a spider on it. The wallpaper was black and white stripes reminiscent of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
When I presented this project, I played White Zombie’s “Super Charger Heaven”. I was so excited to present this idea that really interested me, yet was totally different than anything anyone else would have thought of. When I finished my presentation, the teacher asked, “Do you really think anyone would want to stay here? Class?”
My heart stopped. I could only wonder what my peers would think. I was pleasantly surprised when the entire class said they would love to stay in this place. Then they started discussing all the fun events that could be held at my fictitious bed and breakfast.
That’s when I realized the power of design and the power of moxie. I went my own way. I never knew if my design would be a hit, but going boldly into a different design path, one that hasn’t been seen a thousand times over I found what true interior design moxie is. By thinking outside of the box, getting excited about the design, and inspiring people to dream what is possible -- I found me.
Since then, I haven’t designed any more macabre designs, but I still think of that project from time to time. It reminds me to design in a way that makes people think. It reminds me to design for people. People who would rather keep it real, and not just go with what hoity-toity designers say is good.
And good interior design with moxie keeps it real for real people at all times.
-- Alycia Wicker is the Certified Interior Designer behind AJW Design Co and Casa Moxie, on twitter @ajwdesignco. She is based out of Corona, CA. As a former band geek, grave hunter, Elvis Presley fanatic, and Nascar fan, you'll find that she is not your average interior designer. She designs for Mr. and Mrs. America by creating rooms that can be implemented by the homeowner with no designer mark up.More Moxie:
Inland Empire AJW Design Co Creates Happiness: http://ajwdesignco.com/
The Home of e-Decorating: http://casamoxie.com
Fundamental building blocks: http://www.lego.com/en-US/default.aspx
2 comments:
Thank you for your comment. B. Moxie B. More