In-Depth Blog Post #2

How to Have a Beautiful Mind

During this years in-depth, we will be incorporating the book How to Have a Beautiful Mind by Edward de Bono. This first blog post will be covering chapter one, two, and three. These chapters cover the topics of How to Agree, How to disagree, and How to Differ. While reading these chapters, I learned a few things that I have been applying in my day to day life. The once piece of advice that stuck out the most, was to learn how to tell the difference between disagreeing with someone’s opinion and having a different opinion.

Often times, when a hiccup would arise between me and another person, my automatic assumption would be that we disagree. It never crossed my mind that I do not disagree with their opinion, I just have different opinion. Everyone has different opinions that are shaped by their experiences, values, and so much more. Like Edward de Bono wrote in How to Have a Beautiful Mind, “Having a different experience never means that your experience is right and the experience of the other party is invalid.” Lately I have been working on identifying the difference between disagreeing with someone’s opinion and having a different opinion.

 

Change in plans

On my last post, I said “I am going to gain a good understanding of the concepts and elements of interior design by February 5th.” I have begun to learn about space plans and how to interview a client, but I underestimated the amount of time it would take to get a solid understanding of the skills needed to design a tiny home. After discussing this with my mentor, we decided we would work through the process of designing a home as if I knew what I was doing. As we go, she will introduce me to the next step so I can learn more about it. I believe this is the best way to do it because I will learn about the design process from start to finish and in order.

Instead of learning all of the concepts and elements of design by February 5th, I will learn them along the way as I design the tiny home. By February 19th, I will have decided on the colour palette and made a scope of services. I will make sure I have applied the concepts and elements of design to complete the design of the interior of a tiny home by April 26th. Along the way, I will learn how to crate and use a budget, make a lighting plan, source and select materials, and work with trades people. I have already begun learning how to make a space plan and interview a client. I am excited to continue learning and developing these skills because I have had a blast so far!

 

Meeting with my mentor

On the weekend when I met with my mentor, she began to teach me about the concepts and elements of design, starting off with the space plan. For our space plan, we will be taking the interior dimensions and layout of an accessory home, then completely reconfiguring the design. In the beginning I was a bit hesitant about configuring the layout completely, but it has been very exciting so far. In the beginning I did not feel too confident in reconfiguring the design because I have never done anything like this before. Though I have found it very fun and I am excited to continue working on the space plan this weekend.

Closer to the end of the session, my mentor and I began working on a list of what would be important for me to have in each room. So far, we have only begun talking about the kitchen and dining room space. A couple of things that this list includes, are a double basin sink, a stove top, and as much counter space as possible. My mentor and I were trying to brainstorm a couple of ideas of how we could save counterspace.

My mentor’s idea was to use one of those cutting boards that you can pull out from underneath the counter. My idea was to use a removable sink cover. We do not disagree with each others ideas, they are just different from each other. We both have different ideas of how to maximise counter space, but by no means does that mean the other idea is wrong.  My mentor used to have a pullout cutting board at her house, and recently I watched a video about a tiny home where they had a removable sink cover. We have both experienced different things which has given us these ideas. These are just some of the many ways we can maximise counterspace in a tiny home and I can barely wait to find more!

 

What I have learned

When I met with my mentor, I learned two really important things to keep in mind while designing the interior of this tiny home. The first is to keep in mind where you place the doors and windows. This is important so you can get the most out of the natural light that can be provided. Another key part of interior design is the flow of the house. Especially in a smaller space like the tiny home we are designing. We are taking the interior design of the Dwelly accessory home, which has been thoroughly thought out, and we have begun to redesign it. When we change one thing in design, we need to keep in mind the lighting and the flow of the tiny home which has been challenging but very fun!

If I were not designing the interior of a tiny home and I was designing the interior of a larger home, I would not have to worry as much about taking advantage of every square foot. Although it may have been easier in some aspects, I would not get the chance to challenge myself while coming up with creative ways to save space. I am very excited for this weekend so I can continue working on my in-depth project with my mentor!