‘Flex’ing the Spaces

Guided by the experts at InterOffice, NDSU design students took home the gold at the Red River Valley Home & Garden Show’s NDSU Inspired Spaces Showcase.

Sophie Scraper has always known the value of networking. She cut her teeth in design school as the COVID pandemic raged, cloistered away instead of attending classes in rooms full of peers. As the pandemic waned, she finished her schooling with an internship at InterOffice, eventually accepting a full-time design position with them. Today, she is one of their Workspace Experts.

When InterOffice came to her with an opportunity to help shape the next generation of designers, she jumped at the chance. Even better, the students would be coming from her alma mater North Dakota State University.

“The design community in Fargo isn’t gigantic,” Sophie explained. “This opportunity starts the networking for students super early.”

This opportunity came in the form of a competition: the NDSU Inspired Spaces Showcase. NDSU design students were teamed with professionals to creatively furnish an 8 ft x 10 ft space, using furniture and decor provided by InterOffice along with a couple other vendors. Their rooms would then be displayed at the Red River Valley Home and Garden Show (organized by the Building Industry Association of the Red River Valley), where attendees could vote on their favorite. The team with the most votes wins scholarship money provided by the Home Builder Care of F-M Foundation.

Showing the Way

Sophie was thrilled to help, but knew she’d have to strike a careful balance. While her team of students was competing, she was also representing and helping InterOffice supply all of the teams with the decor they needed. Those pieces would be vital to the team’s success in the competition.

“I needed to listen to each group,” Sophie said, explaining that she provided every group equal consideration without favoring her own team. “They really trusted us.”

“It’s the pieces that people notice when they’re in spaces,” she explained. “I did my best to stay unbiased, so our group got great pieces and all of the other groups did too.”

As the competition kicked off, the teams were given the type of space they were to design. This year, the students needed to transform their 8 ft x 10 ft space into a home “flex space.”

“A flex space is a multi-use space, a space with multiple uses for multiple users,” she said. A traditional flex space example would be a home office mixed with a guest room or a playroom mixed with a craft room. With work-from-home options and needs on the rise, Sophie’s team chose to do a home office. Even better, they could pull from the expertise of the other two team mentors from InterOffice: Residential Expert Sheila Hanson and Workspace Expert Kayla Zacher.

A Moody Approach

The team, made up of Maren Ahneman, Ella Kneeland, and Autumn Lord, had a clear vision for their end goal. They went for the moody and rich idea of a home office that would fit right in at a Ralph Lauren photoshoot while still being comfortable and accessible to the remote workers.

The design centered around a dark brown Stickley Leopold Chair and Ottoman, crafted in luxurious leather, its luster contrasting nicely with the matte navy walls. More pops of shine were implemented around the space, from the high-gloss finish of brass wall fixtures to the small carved bison figurine guarding a book on the end table.

The students ensured the space didn’t take itself too seriously, though. After all, the most important aspect of designing a space is its usability.

Another big consideration that Sophie made sure the team took into account was fabrics.

“Fabrics need to last in the spaces they’re in, and they need to be able to withstand multiple users using them,” she said. “You’re always thinking about durability so clients don’t have to repurchase as it’s used.”

Especially challenging for the team was not being able to order new furniture–the furniture they could use was pulled from InterOffice’s showroom. While real-world clients can pick from a range of fabrics for each piece, the students needed to accommodate what they already had. The students picked moody, dark pieces.

To soften the moodiness without sacrificing the aesthetic, the team worked other elements into the design to brighten the space. From the faux plants dotting the scene to the cow-print rug to the portrait of a highland cow on the wall, the space spoke to personality more than aesthetics. Effective interior design is about more than a look, after all. People need to be able to use the space–and they need to want to use it as well. Sophie mentions balancing these needs when discussing the differences between commercial and residential designs.

“With both residential and commercial designs, clients get input. But with residential design, people can keep their personal styles. It needs to fit their lifestyle and their home.”

The team of students excelled here, too. It was as if someone had pulled this room right from a remote worker’s home. The attendees of the Red River Valley Home and Garden Show seemed to agree. Sophie’s team won.

Back to Work

Now that the competition has ended and the students are back to focusing on their school work rather than winning, Sophie has had time to reflect on her career and schooling.

“Helping these students reminded me of my own opportunities,” she said. “It was cool to watch the students experience those and see how they are developing as designers.”

For her, those opportunities continued after graduation. She works not only to give the students opportunities for the camaraderie that she missed out on but also to help them establish the networking relationships they’ll need after graduation.

“Working with NDSU was a great partnership,” Sophie said. “The community has great support, which continues when you become a professional.”

Now, these winners not only have the support of their peers and professors, but they also have the connections and networks the NDSU Inspired Interiors Showcase brought–not to mention the acclaim of winning the day.

“They should be really proud of their work,” Sophie said. “I’m really proud of all of them.”