Jeni’s Design Diary

When you think of whimsical, what do you think of? My first reaction is fanciful: fairies, wings, shimmer, iridescent materials & surfaces, very saturated colors. A while ago I was told that my house is whimsical. That word had never come to mind while thinking about this house. After mulling over that thought, I do hope that it is! I would love for people to feel like they’re in a special (maybe a bit magical) place when they visit.

To effectively plan that whimsical place I need to have an understanding of how whimsy and interior design relate. So my question is, what is whimsical design? In my quick but not thorough search, it appears that many eclectic designs are also described as whimsical. Mainly the term whimsical has been used to describe the decor, not a design style.

First, let’s define both terms. According to Marriam-Webster, whimsical is defined as: full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims; resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; especially: lightly fanciful (whimsical decorations); subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change. Their definition for eclectic is: selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles; composed of elements drawn from various sources.

Using the above definitions we can say that whimsical design is being unpredictable, characterized by surprises to the visitor; while eclectic design is well edited spaces that combine several styles. There are eclectic designs that are whimsical, and also designs that are whimsical but not eclectic.

To plan a whimsically designed space, keep its definition in mind. It’s to present the unexpected.

Resumes are hard things to write. It’s your sales-pitch. It needs to be confident, but not conceded. It should be concise and eye-catching among a number of other things.

I tend to read about resumes every couple of months, hoping to find some new information that will help me create a winning resume. Recently, my attention has been drawn to the different types of resumes, and the concept of having a creative one.
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During the past several days I’ve been doing a lot of reading about blogging. Since I’m new to this, I’m finding posts that are older but new to me. Today I discovered ProBlogger and the Rediscover Your Blogging Groove project, and decided to do it. Now, I’m not rediscovering anything; I’m discovering for the first time.

For this project you are supposed to write a different type of post each day. I hope that I find these “assignments” useful and educational. The homework posts are:

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One thing that really stuck with me form Rhonda Layton’s Learn to be an Interior Designer, was her advice for students to take acting classes. I whole-heartedly agree, and was lucky enough to take a few of those courses in college.

Theatre can (if you let it) teach you a lot of useful lessons; including ones that relate to interior design. They mostly fall in the realm of presentation.

As we all know, when you meet with a future employer, a client, or business contact your appearance is extremely important. But your appearance is made up by more than just your attire. Theatre can help you gain confidence, knowledge of the importance of costumes, vocal control, and ability to tell the story in a compelling way, among many other things. All of which help create a complete presentation of yourself and your abilities.

Probably the most beneficial lesson I learned was the ability to portray an attitude I was not currently part of my reality. It should be obvious that you would not want to portray poor attitudes in front of important people; they can tell your mood. That is, unless you are good at acting.