Bugs continue

I tried coming to school to use their computers and they are disconnecting me from every website I go to.  My e-mail, facebook page, twitter and even here.  I am not a happy camper.

technical difficulties

It's one of those days.  I can't seem to post photos right now.  I will try again later.  I seem to be having problems with anything that uses electricity.

Light fixtures (kitchen and bathroom), subway, stoplights, and now my internet connection.  Life is just biting back today.

AutoCAD is my friend.

Just finished my AutoCAD exam and I think it went really well.  Now I just have one more course to learn the 3D aspect of AutoCAD, sketchup and photoshop.  I'm loving the control and how to get my ideas finally out!

I'll draw up floor plans and elevations in AutoCAD and then hand render them.  I think it will be good to get some of my work out there and my textural nursery will be a great project to do this with.

Still Around Just trying to wrap of some Assignments

I just wanted to drop this message to make sure that everyone knows I've not wandered off.  For the last five days I've been really sick, but getting better.  Today I made it down to the Kravet Showroom and was able to get sample for my sample board...Now I have to catch up on what I haven't been able to get done.  I think I won't get caught up for about a week.

I've got to try and write a contract( dumbie) and make up a furniture plan and sections/vingettes (The instructor couldn't wrap her head around which one she wanted.)  Grrrr.

On the weekend I've got to make up a 10 slide presentation of everything I've done for the proposal.  That should a few hours.

I've still got to set up the materials schedule, source a fireplace, source a BBQ and prep. centre, and source flooring/built-in/kitchen cabinets, frankly everything but the tile for the kitchen, lighting for everything. 

Then I'll have to draw everything and assemble the boards, budget, and presentation booklet.  Then there's the write up paperwork for entering the whole project into a contest with CDECA cross your fingers that my rendering skills get better.

Until later.

Autocad and Toysrus Nightmare Visit

Well this week is my Autocad Exam this week.  I think I've finally figured out what the instructors were trying to teach and figured out what I was doing wrong.  Finally!!  I should get a good grade for this.
To further comment on my Toysrus experience.  A grandmother in a wheelchair had to be left outside the store because her wheelchair could not make the turns necessary to move through the aisles.  Is this right?  Is this fair?  Aren't they losing a chunk of sales?  Grandparent buy toys for kids more often than Parents.  It's the demographic least likely to buy off the internet.  So? Are they deliberately losing sales to put in more displays that they can't keep stocked with the toys people are actually looking for.
It's a pet peeve of mine but when I can actually come face to face with a physical manifestation.  I wonder if something more needs to be done now and not later.

Nightmare looking for kids Decor

My son's 4 years old this week so I thought.  Why not go and get a few things to decorate his room.  I can't believe I thought to go to Toysrus for idea and key theme pieces.  Everything was out of stock and no one had an idea when the restock date was.  How unprofessional.  I'll have to try surfing the net for what I want at other places because I'm not going back into that zoo of a store that's set up like a maze where everyone is tripping over everyone literally!  The store design is really bad.

Where my inspiration comes from...

I find my inspiration for many things in nature.  I often take my family for walks in the Don Valley throughout the year. I never fail to take my camera with me.  This is one photo that just happened without any effort but it lead to a series of fall photos in a display in my home.  There are 6 different ones and they surround a large handpainted fan with the seen of peacocks and water lilies on a black background. (A gift from my mother that I'm afraid I feel too guilty to get rid of.)

I've painted the wall behind it a waterfall green (light green) and the photos are now framed in simple bare wood frames. Over my well loved sofa in my livingroom.  I'll post a photo of the vingette after I've had a chance to clear out the mass of hot wheels and building blocks that have invaded my living room.

Life's Inspirations reaching out to other places.

Hi All.
Just thought I'd share this site with you.  It's a friend's website.  She's a professional photographer who's taken a leaf from my page and has made her business a focus around families with special needs.  Her work is really beautiful and inspirational.
http://www.susancosgrovestudios.com/index.html

Another Challenge to Design and our Lives

I will learn from every bump in the road and from it I will gather more understanding towards my fellow human beings.

Today, we have finally got the diagnosis for my young son.  It is such a relief and it will create a challenge for us as a family to overcome.  He has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  He is a very mild case, but we are a proactive family and we will get him the care he needs.

That said. It now encourages me to pursue a position within the design field and research more into how interior design can help promote progress with my son and make everyday living easier for my husband as he wants to be a fully functioning father without his sight.

Here in this blog I will leave my musings and research in hopes that other designers and others with similar problems can find different ways to look at life and maybe even see great design from a different point of view.

There's a need out there that's just not being satisfied.  Everyone knows people in wheelchairs need ramps and elevators.  Even devices to help within a washroom or bedroom.

But when they make public spaces many designers give no thought about how a blind person will deal with getting from point A to point B.  Many people just don't think that they can have lives with spouses and children. 

Let me tell you guiding a blind person is a time consuming process and many large spaces are almost cavernous because of the finishes used that cause voices to echo and make it difficult to guide the blind person to a specific place.  Dividing railings and doors that open in an unexpected fashion (note: spinning doors, silent automatic doors).  These all can lead to injury and time wasted reorienting the blind person.  Even a plant placed too closely to a door can cause difficulty.

Yes it's getting better but we all have a long way to go to truly make design better for everyone.  I've a pet peeve with stores and how they are again crowding their aisles with cardboard displays that become a tripping hazard to blind people, a mess for employees who have to clean up after the display is destroyed, and how they block the way for wheel chairs and scooters.

Those are just a few of my reasons for looking at how Interior Design and Decorating can make a better world. Until next time.

The Beginnings

Since this is a new blog I'm going to start with the purpose of this blog as it starts out and we'll see if it stays to it or changes.

I've found that many people even in the design world won't touch much on clients that live with disabilities.  In this modern time more and more people with disabilities are becoming successful or have aged and are developing disabilities.  But their lives aren't ending, they expect to have friends and clients over.  They want their spaces to work for them and more.  They want to be able to enjoy these spaces.  They aren't just for utility for them.  Blind people don't live alone anymore, they marry and have children.  They want spaces that look good and work for them.  But how is this done?  What do you use?  What's out there already that needs just to be looked at from a different perspective?

I'm going to see what I can find and show how it can help.  Who has it and where?  I am in Canada so often I will be resourcing from there. 

I graduate from Humber College's Interior Decorating Program in April 2011 so I may just add a few personal experiences as I enter the world of Decorating and Design.

Until Later.  I'll just post these pictures to start things off.  This is an Ikea Dining Chair that I refurbished for a charity function put on by Humber College.  It shows my belief that there is a lot of truth in the old saying, "Form follows Function."

When I can post my work I will.  My likes and dislikes of different trends.  And I hope to pass on a little understanding of how life is different living with a small child and a blind husband.  How we look at and do things differently to come out with a relatively normal life.