SMS interior design program blends aesthetics, function

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by Laura Scott|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Contributing Writer|ret||ret||tab|

sbj@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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Since 1980, the Southwest Missouri State University interior design program has been preparing students for work in a creative yet complex field.|ret||ret||tab|

"It's more than picking out furniture. You have to make sure it's functional and you have to meet certain requirements and take into account the different markets and customers," said 1992 SMSU graduate Julie Russell, who works for John Q. Hammons Hotels.|ret||ret||tab|

Enrollment in the program has doubled since 1980, with 160 students currently majoring in it, according to professor Thomas Kachel.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're growing at a considerable rate," he said. "Some of our graduates work at architectural firms, some in furniture sales and others in commercial, designing for restaurants, banks or hotels. We teach them the skills they need, like how to draft and how to use a computer."|ret||ret||tab|

Originally a part of the art department and the department of home economics, the four-year housing and interior design program became a part of consumer and family sciences in the mid-1980s. Kachel said pay varies by area, but most graduates start around $20,000, and can go as high as the upper $30,000s. He also noted that graduates can find jobs without a problem.|ret||ret||tab|

An interior designer learns to apply aesthetics along with function to create a space to meet the client's lifestyle while working with building codes and requirements.|ret||ret||tab|

"Designers first work to solve problems," said Kachel. It can mean arranging equipment and furnishings to allow workers better efficiency or creating new areas that function well and that fit into the client's budget, as well as working with "green" or recycled products to reduce costs and minimize harm to the environment.|ret||ret||tab|

"We give them a knowledge of product technology, including the construction or manufacturing process and performance characteristics in various types of consumer use," Kachel said.|ret||ret||tab|

Students also learn visual presentation skills through drawing and rendering along with general business knowledge of marketing, management and accounting. Other courses such as art history, color and lighting, textiles and furnishings prepare students for whatever area of design they desire. Students are required to take an internship during their junior or senior year.|ret||ret||tab|

"In a position like mine, you've got to have the degree," Russell said. "In school you learn the basics and I definitely got the basics there. I also recommend business classes. I got my minor in marketing. Then Mr. Kachel presented me with job opportunities and leads."|ret||ret||tab|

Russell knew she wanted to work in interior design, but never thought she'd find work in her hometown. She does renovation work on Hammons' 65 existing hotels while designing for five to seven new Hammons hotels a year. Most are $30 million-plus projects. Recently, Russell and her co-workers, which include four other SMSU graduates, remodeled the University Plaza Hotel atrium.|ret||ret||tab|

Russell hadn't planned a career designing hotels. "It gets in your blood and never gets out. As far as interior design, I have the best of all worlds with restaurants, lounges, spas and high-end presidential suites."|ret||ret||tab|

Marianne Jones, a SMSU 1986 graduate, said the field offers rewarding challenges.|ret||ret||tab|

"I absolutely love it," said Jones. " I live vicariously through my clients." She has worked at Heritage House since 1999 and before that worked at James Dcor.|ret||ret||tab|

Rose Monahan, a 2001 SMSU graduate and Springfield native, majored in interior design to follow her passion for art. After graduation, she found work at Country Road Collection with Pat and Joe Jenkins. |ret||ret||tab|

"I thought (residential design was) what it was all about. I wasn't even aware of commercial. There's the paperwork, the building codes, etc., that goes into commercial," Monahan said. "I'm more interested in speaking to the people I'm working with and having a relationship with the individual instead of impressing a whole company."|ret||ret||tab|

Her work includes going on house calls, helping clients pick out carpet, paint, furnishings and accessories or working with a floor plan before the home is built.|ret||ret||tab|

"I went in with some major misconceptions, like it was all about throwing pillows and choosing paint colors. It was harder than I thought. I didn't know how well-rounded we would be," Monahan said. "SMS gave me the well-roundeness."|ret||ret||tab|

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