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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

DONE WITH GAINESVILLE...

... For work at least. I can't even tell you how good it feels to be done with this project!! So many little details + demanding install schedule + extreme Florida heat/humidity = not fun for Rebecca for the majority of August/September. In the end, the project looks great and I think that the staff/residents are very pleased. Check out the pictures of the project - for this one we purchased, installed and even designed some(oo-la-la) of the furniture for pool area, lounges, leasing office, fitness center and the apartment units. Definitely a large undertaking - again, I am just excited to be on this side of the finish line!!










Below are the pictures of the model units that we furnished and decorated - I think they turned out pretty well! There were 500 apartments in all that we put furniture in.












One thing that I have learned since I graduated and started working in interior design... every time I think or especially every time I say "I don't do [insert undesirable design-related (or unrelated for that matter) task here]" I find that it is somehow miraculously added to my job description for that day, or sometimes as a permanent fixture. After Calico Corners, I added "window treatments" to this list. After this project, I would like to add the following items to my job description (in addition to any normal interior design tasks including purchasing & punching furniture):


1. Delivery/On-site Contact - when items (like furniture) are shipped to a site, they come on a large freight truck and you will have a delivery window... sometimes days... sometimes hours or when it will arrive. I was the contact for these truck drivers when they were headed our way... definitely a new experience. The day that one of the drivers recognized my name/# on the order and when I picked up his call and heard "Hey girl, I am headed your way" I realized that this could not be good...


2. Semi-truck/traffic Director - this jobsite was so tight that we would have to block traffic on University Avenue to back the 53' semi-trucks by the church. I would usually get the task of waiving it into the lot - safety vest and all... attractive, I know.


3. Water Girl - When the temperature was 105 degrees outside and we had a deadline to meet to get furniture off freight trucks and into buildings, I made runs for water or in this case GATOR-aid :).


4. Trash Superviser - One week of the installation I had several furniture vendors sharing the same dumpster... in this case, I had to keep an eye on the level of the trash in the dumpster so that we could get it dumped/returned, etc. It was at the moment when I had to climb up the side of the 12' tall dumpster to lean inside to see the trash level that I had to chant/remind myself "I love my job, I love my job, I love my job."


5. Tour Guide - this was my favorite job description addition :). Since this project was in Gainesville and everyone on the jobsite - my company, the General contractor and the furniture vendor, was from Birmingham - everyone wanted my consultation on their dinner choices, evening activities, etc. It was a lot of fun showing my co-workers the wonderful world of the Gators - Gainesville, FL.


I really am so thankful for my job - I am doing something that I love and for a great company. I am able to travel and see my projects in person and in this case, got to see some of my friends and family along the way as well. Although, I will say... the next time I go to Gainesville, FL, I am glad that it will be for a Gator game or to see friends/family instead of for work. :)

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

RETURN TO THE BLOG/ CATCHUP/ VALENTINE COMMONS

Hello everyone. This time, my blog posting really has gotten out of hand!! I can't believe it is already September. Where has the summer gone?!?! The Hewiett household has definitely been busy with work and travel. Josh was kind enough to catch everyone up on our trip to Chattanooga (which I loved) and so now I will attempt to (begin to) catch you up on the rest of our travels - for both work and play!




First up is my recent trip to Raleigh, NC to begin a project that my company is working on there. It is located near NC State and will be - you guessed it - another student residence hall. The trip I took to the jobsite a couple of weeks ago was to open the leasing office complete with a full mock-up model unit inside. It is always so rewarding to see the fruits of hard work/design efforts in person... this is what I try to remind myself everytime I have to book another plane ticket with Delta...




I was especially excited to see this leasing office since I got to be a part of the design as a whole - completing space planning, selecting finishes, working with the graphic designer, purchasing furniture, selecting lighting and watching it come together.

Something new that I got to try was actually the ceiling color - typically in these "warehouse" type spaces, the ceilings are always painted black. I convinced the team to paint the ceiling white in order to bounce more light around the space - I really like the way it turned out. It may be something that you would not notice - but that is, I think the beauty of it :).

Also interesting note - this is the first time that I have used a "wood-look" sheet vinyl. Typically on other projects we have used an engineered wood and/or vinyl plank that looks like wood. I was afraid that this flooring would look too fake or cheap - but it looks great. We have even convinced the team to use it inside the apartment units in the place of cheap beige carpet - very exciting!!



Sitting area in the leasing office... love this end table & coffee table from World Market :)


Bedroom in the mock-up unit. Bedding is from Target - love. These windows are actually fake - there is simply drywall behind them. I was so thankful that they decided to put them in the model to show potential tenants how large they will be. Makes such a difference in the space.



And finally the living room in the model unit. That is all for now!! I will be traveling to Raleigh quite a bit next summer to finish this project up - it will be a big highrise with 1,000 beds. I am tired already, just thinking about.


Stay tuned for more posts including our trip to Texas for Grandpa's birthday, our trips to Jax, more work traveling (for me) with project updates and some new-found (or re-visited) hobbies of mine.


In the mean time, we are off this weekend with our friends Ryan & Laura to Gainesville for the UAB game. I am sticking around Gville next week to finish up my project there as well.


Rebecca