In-Depth Blog Post #1

What:

This year will be my first year of in-depth. In the beginning I did not know what to expect. This sounded nothing like the self-directed learning I have done in the past like Genius Hour or a Passion Project. During in-depth, we get to choose a skill we are interested in. Then find a mentor to help us become an expert in that area. With my mentor I will learn “something about everything and everything about something.” My chosen n-depth skill this year is tiny home design. Specifically, the interior design of a tiny home. My goal for this project, is to work with my mentor to build a solid foundation of the necessary elements and skills of interior design, so I can finish this project with a complete design of a personalized tiny home.

Throughout the next four to five months, I plan on learning as much as I can about interior design, interior decorating, and tiny homes. There are many aspects of design I must learn before I can design a personalized tiny home. I need to know how to create a space plan and a lighting plan. I should also learn how to create a budget and choose a colour palette to follow while designing the tiny home. I will also need to learn the process of sourcing and selecting materials for the project. You need to have good interpersonal skills because another important aspect of design is working with people. While working on an interior design project you will work with many people including the client, and trades people, like electricians, plumbers, and painters. With the new foundation of skills I plan on building over the next month or so, I will design a tiny home that is personalized to me.

 

Why:

For as long as I can remember, I have had an interest in tiny homes. The very first video I watched about tiny homes, was about turning a school bus into a home. I remember thinking that was such a cool idea. Back then, that was my dream. Seven year old me wanted to live in a tiny home.

While working on this in-depth project and designing a tiny home, I will learn many skills that will be useful in the future. I will learn new skills like budgeting and how to use the elements of design. Knowing how to budget as well as design and decorate a home, will be very useful in the future. Other helpful skills I will learn more about through this project are communication, planning, and staying on track.

Recently I have learned about the concept of intentional living. Anthony Ongaro from Break the Twitch, describes intentional living as “an alignment of our short term actions with our long term vision.” When I look into this idea of intentional living, I see people living purposeful lives free of clutter, which I admire. I believe the concept of a tiny home aligns with my current idea of an ideal future.

 

When:

The key aspects of my in-depth project this year are to learn the elements of design, learn valuable skills used in interior design, then apply them while creating a design of a tiny home. I am going to gain a good understanding of the concepts and elements of interior design by February 5th. The concepts and elements of design include knowing how to make a space plan and a lighting plan. How to create a budget, choose a colour palette, and how to source and select materials. I will also begin to learn how to interview a client and work with trades people by February 5th.

I will be researching and learning more about tiny homes until February 12th. I will research the process of building tiny homes and the average cost to build them. During this time, I will also learn about the different styles of design and how to apply them.

By February 19th, I will have used the skills I have learned to create a scope of services, decide on a colour palette for the tiny home, and begin brainstorming ideas for the tiny home design.

From February 19th to April 26th, I will apply everything I have learned throughout this process to work on designing the interior of a tiny home. I hope to make a space plan and a lighting plan, create a budget, use my chosen colour palette, and source and select materials. I hope to create a complete interior design of a tiny home I could live in.

 

Who:

My mentor for in-depth this year, is named Cathy. She helped spark the idea of interior design of a tiny home as my in-depth project. It began when she saw me watching a video about tiny homes and asked why I was watching it. I finalized my in-depth skill and asked Cathy to be my mentor. Cathy is an interior decorator and accredited staging professional. She has her own business and over 14 years of experience in the world of interior design. Cathy will teach me as much as she can about interior design and will guide me through the process of designing the interior of a tiny home.  Other people can support me throughout this process by letting me share my progress with them. If someone will sit down with me so I can explain what I have done so far and what I am still going to do, that will help me a ton.

 

How:

There are many things I will do on the journey to reach my goal of designing the interior of a tiny home. The main resource of my learning will be from my mentor. Cathy was very willing to be my mentor and has been wonderful support so far.

Aside from Cathy, I will use various online sources to learn more about tiny homes. I will use YouTube, Pinterest, and Netflix for inspiration. I have found some YouTube videos, and a show on Netflix to watch to learn more about tiny homes. On Pinterest I have created a board for tiny home inspiration.

One of the ways I learn best is by asking questions. Along the way I will ask a variety of questions about planning, designing, materials, and more. This will help me gain a better understanding of interior design.

 

Overall, I am very excited to begin working on my tiny home interior design project for in-depth!

One Comment

  1. qmtk

    Thank you for the detailed post. I love your choice of skills. As you already know, this is a real passion of mine as well. I am looking forward to learning more when reading your posts.

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