Eastipedia: Interior Design

The faint sound of the latest pop music playing, huddled groups of students working on their projects and talking is the norm in the Interior Design classroom tucked away in the back corner of the school. Room 229 offers a different option and style to a normal art class. Additionally, it has a calming and chill vibe to anyone who enters.

The everyday curriculum is simple and repetitive; an introduction, sometimes including book work, then a project using craft materials, ending with a test about the project at the end of the unit.

“Students come in and I give them instructions and then they work on their projects, as this is a project-based class,” teacher Janel Cates said. “And then we have a unit test that includes some information about the projects. That keeps repeating and the projects get bigger and bigger [as the semester goes on].”

The teacher is really there to introduce and explain the project. After that, the students are free to do their own independent work and ask Cates questions as needed.

The projects are what draw most students to this class. Ranging from sculpting to painting the students have the majority of the class to work on it. An project example is a large poster board where they laid out the outlines of a house using various flooring materials (carpet, tile, etc.) in the squares.

The class also offers an advanced program which currently only has three students, compared to only eight students in the beginner class. The difference is that the advanced class is a year-long instead of the semester-long regular class. Also, they do more personalized projects, with less teacher guidance, instead of doing bookwork.

Sophomore Rachel Stockwell is in the beginner class and although she doesn’t want a career in the field, she likes working with her hands and on works of art.

“We learned about actual interior design careers and they are actually more stressful that I thought they were. But as for the advanced kids, [they] are probably more serious about it,” Stockwell said.

This class is perfect for anyone who likes to do hands-on work and crafty art projects. Plus a different kind of art class for the students who don’t want a drawing class.