Project Part 2: More than Pillow Pickers

During my interview with architect and interior designer Steve Ellinger, he mentioned that “Pillow Pickers” was a common term used on television to refer to interior designers not too long ago. I recently saw a new show on HGTV called “Holmes on Homes”. This show features a built, bald man with a tool built who goes into homes and evaluates structural, plumbing, and mechanical problems that are causing harm to its occupants. This struck me as the extreme opposite of the decorating “Pillow Pickers”. The role of the interior designer is actually to provide a bridge between these two ideas. The designer is knowledgeable of both building codes and color harmony.

I designed this pillow to represent the merging of these two ideas. This idea further relates to my research questions of the design process. The pillow, typically an accessory added to finish a space, is covered with building codes and standards that are the foundation behind the design. Knowledge of these aspects is crucial to any design project, but is not represented as knowledge that the typical interior design possesses.