Convo With an Intern
“Convo with…” is part of our Behind the Scenes series and a chance for us to introduce you to some of the people who are behind your projects. Today we’re talking with design intern Bailey Senador. You ready Bailey?
Bailey: Sure. Why not?
First things first, what are we drinking?
Bailey: Margarita with salt not sugar. On the rocks with tangerine and lime. Some kind of citrus yumminess.
Yum. We’re starting easy, name three things you always have within reach.
Bailey: My phone, a binky, and baby wipes.
I sense a theme there. What’s your favorite part of interior design?
Bailey: Space planning for sure.. There are so many routes to take for one space. The goal of your client can change so much about the plan.
Did your family have any clues early on that you’d be a designer?
Bailey: How about ripping up my carpet when I was 10 or 11? My mom came in my room and all the carpet had been taken up and me there with a pair of pliers going at the tack strips. I probably still owe her for that.
That would be a big clue. You get to invite any 2 designers to dinner, living or dead, who are they?
Bailey: Neri Oxman and Frank Lloyd Wright. Oxman is a scientist, doctor, and an architect. Her designs are biophilic and holistic. She is designing entire systems around life and science principles.
What inspires your own design?
Bailey: Nature and my family. How my family inhabits a space.
This next one is really serious. Team cats or dogs?
Bailey: Cats. 100%
I still like you. Kinda. What do you wish more people knew about designers?
Bailey: That we’re not out there picking out paint and vases 90% of the time. We are figuring out how thick walls need to be for plans and how lights are going to affect different elements in a room.
True. Have any advice for future interns?
Bailey: Have a plan for what you want it to look like Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to be wrong. Especially with Michelle because she’ll let you know.
Finally tell us what your design plans are after graduation.
Bailey: After the internship and with a (not so) little push from Michelle, I opened my own design assistance, sustainability consultation, and virtual interior design company, Design Project Partners. I’m also traveling with my family, looking for investment opportunities, homeschooling my kids, and keeping myself impossibly busy…I just can’t sit still.
So glad you took the encouragement to help other designers spend less time in the tedious parts of what we do so we can all spend more time with family and friends. Will you come back to tell others more about this company?
Bailey: Of course! Any time.
Michelle Elwell
Michelle Elwell is an Interior Designer specializing in luxury properties. She is multi-disciplined in design and also designs furniture, wallpapers, fabric, and decor.
