Making a Dream Home

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

Making A Dream Home

Graduation Project

Bonnie L. Walters

Spring, 2005

Mentor: Mrs. Sue Rovin

Advisor: Mrs. Novotny

FORMAL PROJECT PROPOSAL

I recently purchased a new home four months ago. Having waited so long to finally purchase a home, I want every room to be functional and beautiful. For my Graduation Project, I plan to furnish and decorate my living room and dining room. My project will include determining a budget, creating basic blueprints of the rooms, and selecting and purchasing furniture and accessories. Once the living room and dining room are furnished, I plan to photograph the rooms to create a computer-based virtual tour for my tangible product.

I chose this project because the house I bought is substantially larger than my former apartment. At this time, I do not have any furniture for these rooms. I also chose this project because I enjoy interior decorating. This topic will enable me to explore one of my interests while meeting a personal need. In completing this project, I hope to become more knowledgeable about furniture and interior design. I also hope to learn about quality versus price as well as getting the most for my money. I will gain experience in creating a realistic budget and adhering to it. Finally, I will be able to apply the skills and process I learn throughout this project to decorating the other rooms in my house.

In order to complete my project, I will need to research different styles and periods of furniture, types of wood, furniture manufacturers, furniture stores, and fabrics. I plan to visit numerous furniture stores to see the actual pieces of furniture and to discuss my plans with different sales consultants. I also plan to consult various magazines, books, and home decorating television shows as well as visit model homes for decorating tips. Finally I will need to research the differences in the quality of fabrics, so that I will choose a fabric that will be both durable and aesthetically pleasing. I will make extensive use of the computer and the Internet to develop my budget, to research furniture manufacturers and companies, and to create my virtual tour. I will also use my digital camera to take photographs of my living room and dining room once they are finished for my tangible product. The virtual tour I create will show how I applied the knowledge I gained through my research of interior decorating. Other evidence of my research will include the following: notes from magazines, books, and home