Chelsea Ashby’s project has revealed a passion, skill and pathway in Interior Design while completing Year 11 at Mount Gambier High School.
“I first started keen on architecture, I always loved home renovation videos,” she said.
“I thought that decorating and design were more aligned with my values, “
“At home I am continually noticing how design can improve the areas that need to be repaired, and this is what led me to interior design”.
Acting as a consultant in home styling and décor, Chelsea approached the project with a real life client, looking to renovate their kitchen.
“I was inspired by mum’s idea to upgrade with a butlers pantry, farm style sink and improved kitchen layout”, she said.
“After that, I looked at what type of style I wanted to do, before deciding to have my mum act as my client, I asked if I could redesign the kitchen alongside her ideas and aspirations with her acting as my client in the professional sense and she agreed.”
This started the consultation process, and Chelsea was able to work with her client in an open and honest manner, going back and forward over the design process to deliver the required outcomes.
“I asked her to go through Pinterest and identify styles she resonated with,” she said.
“Then I took these ideas and moved them into a vision/style board to give an idea of my clients intentions.”
“Looking at the aesthetics I designed two styles aligning with her preferences which resulted in the Country White and Walnut designs.”
Chelsea’s looking forward to studying Interior Design at Flinders University, and recognises the effort she has put into this project will set her up for more challenging obstacles in higher education.
“I hope that by doing this project I have enlightened myself to the effort I would need to be successful in a degree in Interior Design at Flinders University, which I hope to go into after year 12”, she said.
“I know this is an opportunity that not a lot of students get, before they move into university and having this real time experience has given me a greater understanding of working with clients, design consultations and alterations, and the importance of receiving and acting on feedback.
Building on the learning from Stage 1 Exploring Identities and Futures, Activating Identities and Futures (AIF) aims to foster the skills of lifelong and independent learning in students.
AIF requires students to take greater ownership and agency over their learning as they select, test, and explore relevant strategies and perspectives in the pursuit of a Learning Goal of their choice. Students will develop greater awareness and understanding of their own thought processes, decision making, and organisation in relation to the learning process, and feedback they receive.
Chelsea’s experience in changing direction gave her great insight into the world of work, and credits this to following her dream.
She encourages future students in AIF to do the same.
“My advice would be, to undertake a project that you want to do, not pick the thing that is the easiest, because by pushing yourself you can achieve the best outcome,” she said.
“Picking something easy just to pass is not going to help you if you go onto university, putting the effort in now will set you up for future success.”
“By pushing myself to build a greater understanding of the world of Interior Design, I feel more confident moving forward into my future career path.”
