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.

All About Looks



            Last week my classmates and I went to a local store called All About Looks. This is a fabric shop that does just about everything. They help clients and customers choose the right fabrics and the right materials for just about every project. They even have and upholsterer in the back who is the best in town and can do just about anything you throw at him.

            This fabulous store started with a woman named Nancy and her two daughters. Nancy’s two daughters grew up to going to different fabric shops with their mother who decorated the houses that her husband built. After Lindsey and Paige grew up, Nancy and her daughters opened the store. They started with just baby fabrics and helping clients and other designers choose the right kind of fabrics for children’s rooms.

            Nancy, Lindsey, and Paige told us interior design students a few “need to know” things about the fabric world, including what’s hot and what’s not.

            The interior design world is going toward natural fibers. Linens are starting to replace silk, mainly because silk fades so fast especially in the sun so it’s not very durable. Mohair has come back because it lasts forever. Silk usually needs to have a knit backing for upholstery. A lot of wool is coming back. Leathers are very popular. An interesting fact is that real leather is sold by the hide and fake leather is sold by the yard. How tightly woven the fabric is determines the durability not how heavy the fabric is. Wallpaper is coming back. They even have wallpaper that has texture so after you put it on the wall and paint it you have this really cool design and texture on the walls.

            Nancy also told us that it is very important to know that codes before picking out a fabric. One also needs to know whether or not a fabric is flame retardant or flame resistant. If not it usually can be treated so that it is. When buying fabrics for bedding, one needs to know that it is 54” wide.

            Polyesters are taking over the silks, chenilles, and other lighter fabrics. Recycled polyester is also starting to come about. Digital printing is pretty popular these days. With digital printing you can take any ground cloth and print on it any kind of pattern. You can have as many yarns as you like. All you have to do is send them the artwork you want printed on the fabric.

            All About Looks also has many different kinds of window treatment, including curtains, blinds, screening, and others.

            A customer can find just about anything for their interiors at All About Looks and end up with a fabulous new and improved look.

Field Trip, FBRI, Fiber Testing



            Before fibers can be made into yarn, they must go through a series of tests first to see if the fibers are the right quality and strength to be made into yarn. Different types of tests include the “mic”, the color light flash test, the hairiness test, the tax techno test, the abrasion tester, the advanced fiber information system, and several more. The fiber that was presented to these series of tests was cotton.

            Small tufts of cotton fibers are used to do the tests. One of the first tests is the mic which is a high volume instrument. This instrument is a low chamber where 10 grams of cotton is put in and a gives a reading of the fibers. The color light flash test determines what kind of cotton it is and what the pricing of the cotton would be. Other tests, such as using the Statement DS machine, are done to determine how strong the cotton fiber is, as well as the evenness and how thick or how thin the fiber is. The hairiness tester tests the “fuzzies” on the fiber or yarn. The Advanced Fiber Information System gives a trash reading and a lint sensor of the cotton fiber.

            The Martindale Abrasion Tester determines the abrasion resistance of textile fabrics, or the wear ability of textile fabrics. This test is used with a machine called ASTM D 4966. An abrading fabric made up of a plain weave, crossbred, or worsted wool fabric is used for the abrasion along with a felt fabric.

The Tearing Strength Elemendorf Method used with an instrument called ASTM D 1424. This instrument computes the average tearing force of a cut specimen from the energy of a falling pendulum.

The shrinkage test is done using a little washing machine. This test is called Dimensional Changes of Fabric Accelerated (Quickwash). First a piece of fabric is conditioned to the indoor climate settings, and then one measures how far apart the dots are on the fabric. Then the fabric is washed and dried. Afterward the dots are measured again and the difference between the first and second measurement is the shrinkage of the fabric.

Another test measures how much UV rays penetrate through the fabric. Other tests determine the strength of the fabric and how thick or how thin it is. The pilling tester is another one that shows how much lint comes off the fabric.

All these tests listed helps to ensure that the fabric we use everyday for different reasons are durable and of quality. 

Cotton: The Fabric For Interiors

           

Cotton has been around for centuries, millennia even. Cotton fiber has properties of strength, durability, and absorbency. It is a natural fiber that is biodegradable and accounts for about forty percent of total world fiber production. It is used for not only clothing but also for interiors and it is widely used in the design world.

            Cotton is usually grown in tropical climates such as Egypt. This plant based fiber is widely used across the United States, especially in the south. Growing cotton in the United States was one of the leading occupations of slaves. The Indian cotton processing industry really grew during the British Industrial Revolution with the help of the inventions of the Spinning Jenny in 1764 and the Spinning frame in 1769. Years later the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 by Eli Whitney made processing cotton easier in the United States. In northern Europe during the late medieval period, cotton became an imported fiber. And by the end of the 16^th century BC, cotton was cultivated throughout the warmer regions in Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. Today cotton is produced in many parts of the world using cotton plants that have been bred so that each plant grows more fiber.

            After cultivation, processing, and weaving, cotton goes through several stages such as singeing, desizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerizing, dyeing, and finishing.  Cotton is not only used in the textile industry for clothing and interiors, but it has many uses and is in our everyday products that we use. Some examples include fishnets, coffee filters, tents, bookbinding, and the modern US dollar bill.

            Cotton is widely used in the world of interior design. It is used in bedding, pillows, sheets, curtains for windows, placemats and napkins for dining tables, towels for bathrooms, fabrics used to cover cushions, chairs and sofas for the living room, and much more. One reason why cotton is used in the interior design world is because it is resistant to fading and other signs of wear and tear. However, cotton does tend to get stained and soiled easily. So if one chooses to use cotton in one’s home a cotton blend should be used instead of pure cotton. Some main cotton fabrics that are used in interior decoration are damask, drill, velvet, and chintz. Cotton fabrics are one of the most preferred fabrics of buyers for homes and cotton will probably increase in popularity as the years go by.

(2005-2011). Facts about cotton; choosing organic cotton. Organic-Nature-News.com. September 7, 2011. http://www.organic-nature-news.com/facts-about-cotton.html

(2010). Facts and Figures: The Cotton Trade. PBS.com. September 7, 2011. http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/310/cotton-trade.html

(2007-2011). Understanding Fabrics in your Interior Decorating. Freshome.com. http://freshome.com/2009/01/26/understanding-fabrics-in-your-interior-decorating/

September 7, 2011. http://www.interiorguru.com/article/home_furnishing_ideas/3102-types_of_furnishing_fabrics.html