Welcome to Week 3 of the Seating and Eating Challenge!

This week we asked the students to present their ideas for the competition piece and submit some sketches and inspiration images so we get a better understanding of their designs. We a very excited to see what the student will come up with and we sure you are too! Enjoy the Fun!

Terese Poulos

A senior at Harrington College of Design.  I hold a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, where I primarily focused in photography.  I am passionate about antiquing, cooking, travel, fashion, nutrition, and yoga.  I have traveled to nine countries, Greece and China being among my favorites so far…

My inspiration comes from objects found on my journeys, whether in Indiana antique markets, street vendors in New York City, or exotic treasures kept from a back-packing trip to Europe.  I have long been interested in American travel nostalgia, including Air Streams.  On a recent camping trip during semester break I began thinking about seating and eating solutions for indoor and outdoor environments, which led to the inspiration for my design.

Veronica Palinsky

Melisa Cwikla

I come from the North Suburbs – Lake Forest. When it comes to design my inspirations come from nature – plants and animals (shapes). I find design to be fun but  at the same time it is difficult cause there is so much furniture it could be a challenge to come up with something new.

I obeserved the way I eat along with my families ways too. As a family we eat in three parts of the house. Meaning we eat in the dining room on special occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc and we eat in the kitchen – island counter top seating for regular night dinners and in the family room we watch tv use our laptops and phones along with eating snacks. For this project I have decided I am going to design a dining room chair, a decorative dining room chair.

Currie Heinze

Stylized Airline Seating for the Home – A Chair folding up into itself, it can be an ottoman, lounge chair, chair or a chair with a fold-up tray – An ottoman that folds up into a table. The bottom of the chair is hinged so it can be folded upright and act as a table

Deidra Castelline

Currently a student at Harrington.  I was born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago, and have always been interested in art and design.  I am very excited about this contest and never really pictured myself designing furniture, but the more I research ideas the more interested I’ve become.  I believe that design should be able to have many purposes so that several people can buy the same piece and use it differently to fit their needs.  I have very sporadic eating habits when I am at my parents we always have a nice sit down meal once a day, however living in a studio by myself I eat most of my meals either on my couch or at the table.

Veronica L. Klemp

I find that I appreciate pieces of furniture that can be used for more than one function.  After looking at the Seating and Eating survey, I’ve confirmed what I’ve realized for years; that being that many times people eat at their sofa or in a lounge chair, rather than at a formal dining chair/table.  While the Dining chair/table is not dead, I believe it’s taken a backseat to more casual furniture while eating.

Inspiration: The lama lounge chair designed by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba for Zanotta in 2006. This is both a lounge chair and a sitting chair, it serves dual purposes. I felt that by taking this idea and adding a unit to the end (extending the right side), with something that can possibly swivel in towards the person sitting, it would be a successful piece for sitting/ eating or lounging/eating. I would like to take the basis of this design and diversify it’s shape, as well as add an additional spot for food.

Concept: A sleek piece of furniture that functions as both lounge seating and has the ability to provide a secure area for eating.

Keep checking back here each week to see how the designs progress! Please feel free to comment on which design you like best and why. Feedback of any kind is definitely welcome!