After noticing a demand for more focus on interior design in her style studio class from students, Carolina Wrocenski, interior design teacher, decided to take action. Wrocenski created a new interior design curriculum because she felt like there wasn’t enough time in the style studio to fully fit in the breadth of interior design. 

“I used a lot [of curriculum] from last year, but then also new stuff. I didn’t have specific days to do it, so I just [wrote] it when I [could]. In total, I would say [creating the new curriculum] probably took me two weeks maybe,” Wrocenski said. 

From designing shoe box rooms to using digital software to create floor plans of students’ dream houses, the interior design class’s curriculum focuses on a variety of skills that Neha Sivakumar, junior planning on going into interior architecture, says she values. 

“In terms of learning, I’ve learned about the different styles and aesthetics that can be incorporated into a design, and how to achieve them through the various elements and principles of art and design,” Sivakumar said. “[The class] moves at a good pace that doesn’t get boring, but also allows me to take time and not rush. It gives me a creative outlet; I get to design my own rooms and mood boards, all while learning about a variety of new information.”

Helping prospective interior design students, like Sivakumar, is a focal goal that the new course aims to achieve.

“It’s good [for hopeful interior design students] to just get an idea of what it may be like because when you go into college, a lot of the units we focus on now would be an entire class in college. For example, [a college] would have one class that was only about elements and principles, or one that was only about floor planning like a specific thing. With this class, they get a good indication of all the little things and they can see if they really want to do it,” Wrocenski said. 

However, this doesn’t mean that the new course’s benefits are limited to those who hope to go into interior design. Wrocenski says that the skills learned in class can be applicable beyond interior design in daily life .

“You get attention to detail. Creativity, I would say, because [students] get a lot of creative freedom in how they put things together,” Wrocenski said. “You also get [to] learn how to go through specific steps and stuff, especially when it comes to planning.”

The class also “tends to be a nice break in the middle of the day” for Sivakumar, and attributes this to be another item that could be added to a list of pros of taking the course.

Even though students find the class to offer them a break, Wrocenski says that there are still moments in interior design that surprise her, and allow her to find moments she enjoys.

“They come up with things you wouldn’t think of. I love when they’re, you know, proud of their works,” Wrocenski said. “People really push themselves, and the rooms all look really really good, but also super different. That’s my favorite part about teaching this class.”