Leftwich Chapman



            At Leftwich Chapman, they sell tile, carpet, and hardwood flooring. They have fantastic customer service and will work with you to find what you’re looking for. They have samples of carpet and tile and of the hardwood flooring that they sell. They have samples of the wood flooring on the floor so that the customer can get an actual feel for the look of the hardwood.

            Wood flooring is very strong and popular in the design world. Hardwood is about 65-70% of Leftwich Chapman’s business, whereas carpet is only 30-35% of the business. Solid wood flooring is rarely done anymore, because they have engineered wood. It’s like engineered glue to put wood on a concrete slab. It’s veneered wood glued together. The cross plied wood creates a stable product. Not only does Leftwich Chapman sell wood flooring but also leather, cork, and bamboo flooring. Leather flooring can come in skin looks recycled from purses and belts. If you took a quarter and scraped it across the leather flooring, nothing would happen. This is why it is used for heavy residential use. Cork is used on the backing. Different types of cork are used for different types of product. Bamboo is a very green product because it grows very quickly. The bamboo is heated and compressed together to become hard. Humidity and moisture causes it to start cracking and open up. It has to be in a house for at least a week to get it used to the environment before it can be installed in.

            Carpet is mostly made out of nylon. Nylon is the most dominant fiber. The next in line would be wool. Smartstrand is a new product used in carpet. It is a product of corn and makes carpet soft. It is a green product and recycled.

            Tile is usually expensive. There is a movement into HD tile and pattern in tile is very popular. All natural stone has to be sealed. One should never skimp on sealer, always buy the good sealer. Sometimes the sealer will enhance the natural stone.

            Whether it’s hardwood, tile, or carpet, Leftwich Chapman is a reliable source for tile, hardwood, or carpet to be used in people’s houses. Check them out and see what they are all about!

The Elements and Principles of Design

            In the picture above there are several principles and elements of design used to design this entry hall with a grand staircase.

            The elements of design used include horizontal lines, curvy lines, color, light, space, and pattern. The stairs on the grand staircase represent horizontal lines. The staircase railing and the arches of the doorways in the background represent curvy lines. There are mostly neutral colors but the chandelier and the small part of the ceiling are orange which gives the room a pop of color. There is a lot of natural light in the room. The space is open. There is also a pattern on the floor of the entry way.

            The principles of design used include balance, rhythm, emphasis and proportion. There is balance in the room that is symmetrical. The rhythm in this room is repetition. There is repetition in the stairs. There is emphasis in the room. The entry way or the chandelier is the focal point of the room. Mostly everything is in good proportion to one another.

            Every room that is designed has elements and principles of designed applied to it to make it a room with good design.



Unusual Materials





           

           Glass is used for many things. It is a usual material that can be used in unusual ways. Glass can come from bottles, dishes, and mirrors and other everyday objects. In this particular case, broken glass was used as countertops and as a backsplash in a corporate office in downtown Dallas.

In the Huitt-Zollars corporate office where my father works, there are countertops in the kitchen area made of broken glass from different bottles and mirrors. The different colors of this broken glass include blue, clear, and light green. Pieces of broken mirrors are also used. This broken glass comes from beer bottles, blue glass, soda bottles, and mirrors. All the broken glass is placed down and sealed with a material in between the broken glass and on top of the glass to give it a smooth surface that is stain resistant.

This broken glass, constructed in the same way, is also used as a backsplash tile around different areas of the office. This backsplash of broken glass is used in the kitchen and the hallways leading into the kitchen. It is also used in the coffee bar area as a countertop and as a backsplash. This beautiful, random arrangement of blue, light green, clear, and mirrored broken glass goes well with the furniture used in the kitchen. There is a nice contrast to the red bar stools in the kitchen and the modern white and chrome tables and chairs.

Catherine Hampton was the designer who designed Huitt-Zollars corporate office. She runs her own interior design firm called Hampton Design. Catherine Hampton also designed Huitt-Zollars other 14 office locations, including Seattle and Fort Worth.

Other applications of broken glass include being used in different art forms such as vases. Glass blowers use recycled broken glass to create new and specific pieces in different colors. Broken glass can also be dated and mortared and embedded in grout on top of a wall to keep people from climbing over the wall.

Reusing glass is a great way to recycle and reuse materials that would normally be in our landfills and be nothing but waste. Using broken glass as a countertop and backsplash is a great way to reuse glass for design in interiors. It’s a great way for companies to be green and help the environment.

Design Expo

           

          Every year in the fall, the Design Expo is held in the Merket Alumni Center building. At the Design Expo, different companies from different cities come together to show off their collections. Some companies show off their new and improved items and materials. There are tile companies, paint companies, fabric companies, and flooring companies. You learn the latest trends and the hottest stuff for the season. The best part about the Design Expo is that you get a lot of free stuff! You get samples, pamphlets, magazines, color swatches, and more!

            At the Sherwin-Williams station, they gave out color swatches and pamphlets describing the hottest colors for this season. This season’s hottest colors are specific shades of blues, greens, neutrals, and reds.

            At other stations there were different chairs that you could actually sit in and see how comfortable they are. Most of the desk chairs were ergonomic chairs. They also had pamphlets that showed the newest hottest furniture for offices, including desks, couches, tables, conference tables, and much more.

            There were also stations that displayed flooring. Hardwood flooring, tile flooring, and ceramic flooring were mostly displayed among the different stations. At one booth the mosaic tile was absolutely beautiful with the many different colors. There was also this company that chemically welds carpet seams together to prevent runs happening in the carpet.

            Every year design students and professors who teach design look forward to the Design Expo every year to learn new things about the design world.

Campus Materials Analysis



            Carpet is the largest single surface material in interiors. Carpets are actually fabrics that help transform a room. The carpet that is used in the Merket Alumni Center that has some kind of flower pattern has good and not so good features about it. This specific carpet along with another plain beige carpet is used together to make a pattern throughout the room that is used for the Design Expo that is held every year.

            There are several good features about this carpet. It goes well with the room and throughout the Merket Alumni Center building. The flower pattern is subtle and beautiful. This tufted carpet is pretty durable considering how many people walk on it during the day as well as during the Design Expo where there are many people walking across the carpet.

            Some not so good features about the carpet in the Merket Alumni Center is that the seam between the two carpets together is not very good. There is a run in the carpet where the two carpets meet. It is not very attractive and shows wear in the carpet. To prevent this problem in the future, the manufacturer should try chemically welding the seam together which makes a really strong bond that won’t cause runs in the seams of two carpets connected together.

            In conclusion, the good quality about the carpet used in the Merket Alumni Center is that it ties the room together. The bad quality is that the carpet seams are coming up and have runs in it. Carpet has good qualities and bad qualities. It mostly depends on how it is applied to the floor and on how it is meant to be used.