Going Out with a Bang!

I can't believe seven weeks have already gone by. It seems like yesterday that I was just starting my internship at Pineapple House! It has been such a valuable learning experience and a wonderful introduction to the Interior Design industry. That being said, lets get on to the exciting stuff. The install!

Without going into too much detail about the client, I will say that this home was on a very grand scale. I will let this picture speak for itself.

Prior to the install, I was given the task to visit the client and retrieve some family portraits that were to be framed and take photos of some of the statues that the client owned. However, on that first visit, I only got a glimpse of the interior so I was excited to see the rest of the home. On this install, the focus was only on certain rooms, such as the living room, dining room, two bedrooms and the basement (terrace level in design terms). The whole house would be installed in phases and this was just phase one.

The install started on Monday, but I didn't have to be there until Wednesday since the first step was moving in the furniture and placing it. Similar to the other install, the painting and wall finishes had already been completed, so our job was to stage the home. Day one involved un-boxing all the accessories and lamps. Due to the fact that most of the pieces had to be moved by the moving team, there wasn't much for me and Amanda (the other intern/partner in crime) to do. So we were sent out to shop for necessities such as towels, bath mats, and lamp options. I have to say, my little CR-V has come in quite handy during this install as I have been able to fit a lot of items in the trunk. Day two was about the same as day one, including another shopping adventure. Once day three arrived, the whole team was making a dash to the finish line since the client walk-through was that evening. Amanda and I teamed up, arranging bookshelves, replacing knobs, and vacuuming. Another task that we completed was placing all of the lightbulbs in lamps, placing extensions cords, and concealing the cords.

The last day can be a bit tedious as we had to go into each room and remove all the price stickers on items. We then placed them on a sheet of paper and wrote down what the item was. This is done so that in the case that the client does not want to keep an item, we can put the sticker back on and return it to the store. Invoicing is also another task that must be done before the walk-through. In order to help with this process, pictures are taken of anything and everything that we installed in the home. This means that we take pictures of all the bookshelves, making sure to capture each accessory placed.

Enough with the explanations, right? Let's get to the photos!

Terrace level Hallway.

Billiards room.

Smoking lounge. 

Skull collection above mantel in Smoking Lounge.

View of the backyard oasis.  

Terrace level hangout.
Yes, that is six TVs connected to make one large screen. 

Terrace level game room.

Wet bar. 

The Great Room. 

The Dining Room.

Clever banquettes in the Dining Room. 

The gorgeous Living Room.

Lovely pink chair in Her Office.

The Family Room.
Only the bookshelves and art piece were new. 

His Study. 

Masculine seating area in the Study. 

The Foyer.

The Foyer Vestibule. 

Stairs leading up to the second floor.
I love the starburst mirrors lining the stairway. 

One of the little girls' bedrooms.

Love the exposed beams!

The other bedroom.

The pink and chevron were such fun elements!

After a very exciting and exhausting week, it was so fulfilling to see the project completed! I think the space was truly transformed. I couldn't have imagined a better way to end such a fabulous internship.

All About the Prep Work

Things have been crazy at Pineapple House. Within the past two weeks, we wrapped up our second big install of the summer. The last install went great! The clients loved their new home and kept everything, even down to all the accessories on the bookcases, which I have been told rarely happens. To say the least, they were some very happy customers. Once that install finished up, another was coming at full speed. I was very excited for this install since the presentation has been laid out in the library since I started interning. I have been looking at all of the materials and tear sheets for weeks now, anticipating what the finished product would look like. It seemed like a rather big install since it took up all of the four conference rooms in the office, even though I was told we would only be doing some of the rooms in the home. However, in this particular home the rooms were of a much larger scale than the previous install property.

First floor.

One of the conference rooms.

Tear sheets of furniture and light fixtures grouped
with corresponding fabrics and finishes.

Pink was the main colors used in one of the bedrooms.

Presentation leading into the office library. 

Some important tasks that needed to be completed the week before the install included checking the shipping status of furniture pieces and shopping for accessories. I realized that there is always the possibility that items may not arrive in time for installs. This can be an issue, especially when the pieces are some of the main components in a room. For instance, the client's desk chair would not arrive in time for the unveiling due to the fact that the furniture company was extremely behind in production. In those cases, I learned you just have to make do and come to terms with the fact that nothing can really be done. I'm sure it is stressful for the designers.

Remember that floor plan that I was working on, placing furniture? Well I was finally able to tie up some loose ends with that project. Once I placed all the furniture and corrected the floor plan dimensions, Stephen wanted me to work on the theatre. We worked together to make the space more architecturally interesting by adding in wood paneling and floor-to-ceiling drapery. I was able to utilize my CAD skills and draw details of the paneling and coffered ceilings.

Elevations of the wood paneling and drapery in the theatre. 

It was a busy week! Stay tuned for the excitement of the install!

Caught in a Whirlwind: Part II

The week we have all been waiting for came and went in the blink of an eye. This past week was the install of an entire home. When we arrived, the walls had already been painted and wallpapered, the trim had a fresh coat of paint on them, and the floors had been updated with a dark stain. The draperies and light fixtures had also been installed. Our job was to install all of the new furniture, rugs, lamps, and accessories. Basically, it felt like we were prepping for a magazine shoot.

The garage before un-boxing everything. 

Accessory wonderland. 

First things first, our team and the movers had to unload all of the furniture from the trucks. Luckily the house was in a cul-de-sac because we took up the entire street with our two moving trucks. The system was to un-box all of the furniture so that the movers could take the items inside. It felt like Christmas as we opened huge boxes and tore away the wrapping in one swift slice of a box cutter. Accessories and lamps were placed in the garage, almost like a staging area, so that the items that worked best in the space could be easily found. Most of these items came from the shopping that went on the week before, so extras were bought in case one item didn't work. Some shopping had to be done mid-week to find some more floor lamp options and pick up miscellaneous items like candles and accessories.

A blank canvas. 

Love the wallpaper!

Once all the items were unloaded and placed, we worked to tweak the pieces in order to make the space look as close to perfect as it could. It takes a team to make the process run smoothly. Then came the cleaning and staging. This involved cleaning the mirrors, placing lightbulbs, and organizing photo frames.

And that bookshelf display that I was talking about earlier came together quite nicely. It took a while to get the placement of each piece right, but it was well worth the effort. The room was one of my favorite in the home and I think the bookcase really added a special touch.

The finished product. 

Believe it or not, that's about 260 books!

Fun chair.

Once Friday came, we were all exhausted. But the job wasn't done yet as we had to invoice all of the items. This is done by going around to each room and writing down all the things that weren't "contract." Meaning that we had to record the items that client did not previously know about, like art pieces, accessories, and throw blankets.

The whole install process was such a great experience and it was so cool to see the project truly come together. By the end of the week, the house looked like a show home, ready to be photographed. I will leave you with a few of my favorite images of the home!

The Breakfast Nook

The Family Room 

The Dining Room 

The Master Bedroom
 (one of my favorites and I'm kind of
obsessed with the mirrored nightstands!)

And these lamps!

The Master Bedroom 

The Classroom

Fun wallpaper in the daughter's room.