Mikayla Mellinger – Interior Design Internship

Hi! My name is Mikayla and I’m interning at Indoor City in Lancaster. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to extend my internship, so this is my second semester there. Even though I stayed, a lot has changed since last semester. My mentor, Madisyn, had an amazing opportunity come up and decided to take it, leaving me without a mentor. Learning to navigate this semester without her has been challenging, but Kim has helped me every step of the way and now she is my mentor.

My daily tasks vary from a variety of things, and I’m starting to see how they are changing based on the seasons. Some days I might do simple things for Kim such as labeling new products, reorganizing, taking inventory, or finding discontinued products. On other days, I’m working on making mood boards, and vignette’s for around the showroom, helping customers, or working on a project. My favorite tasks would be making mood boards, and vignettes and working on creative projects such as my house project and kitchen project. I enjoy these the most because they allow me to explore my creativity. Having my work displayed in the showroom for customers to see is always exciting. These types of projects really prepare me for my future.

Throughout my time at Indoor City, I’ve had big projects that have challenged me. During my first semester, I was given the floor plans of a mansion and told to design the entire house and then present it. It was overwhelming at first because it was my first big project, but once I started picking out products, I loved it. Currently, I’m working on a project which requires me to design two different kitchens in their entirety. One kitchen is based on a granite slab that I loved and the other is based on a granite slab that Kim picked out. I’m also working on creating vignettes for the builder’s room. One of them was started by Amanda and I had to add to it. This was a challenge because I was unaware of the vibe and inspiration for this vignette. The other one is a completely different vibe, but it’s also designed 100% by me. I’m really excited to finish this vignette because it’s so beautiful and I’ve already gotten lots of compliments on it.

Staying for another semester has grown my knowledge and expanded my opportunities. I have learned more about the differences between not only quartz and granite but also marble, quartzite, soapstone, and limestone as well. I even created a cheat-cheat chart listing each of their pros and cons. Another beneficial thing about staying is, I’ve gained a lot of confidence and can tackle harder creative tasks. I have created vignettes and mood boards that are not my style. I’ve also contributed to other people’s vignettes which is a whole other challenge. I’m very grateful for being able to extend my internship and I look forward to carrying all my knowledge and experience with me to college. I keep becoming more and more excited about pursuing this in college and as a full-time job.