In this episode, we sit down with one of our talented interior designers: Kylee Hulet to delve into the world of design and architecture. From early inspirations and educational journeys to the intricacies of her daily work at CMBA, we uncover the passion and creativity that drives Kylee. Join us as we explore the exciting world of interior design and discover what it takes to transform spaces into stunning realities.

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Episode Transcript

(Skyler): Welcome to another episode of Laying the Foundation. All right. Welcome to another episode of Laying the Foundation. And we're doing another Behind the Blueprints episode with a wonderful interior designer from our Des Moines office, Kylie. Kylie, welcome to the show.

(Kylee): Thank you.

(Skyler): And I did want to jump on the last name, because I know that changed recently.

(Kylee): I was actually waiting for you to say Trimble, and I was going to say, “No, it's Hulet.”

(Skyler): It's Hulet. Got it. Okay. Awesome. Very awesome. Well, congratulations on that, first of all. So that's exciting. So, we know that about you with that intro, but tell me a little bit about yourself outside of that. Where'd you go to high school? Where'd you go to college? What kind of made you or drove you to become an interior designer?

(Kylee): So, my earliest memory of doing anything interior design-related is I would be in church, and I would be struggling to pay attention, and my mom would give me, like, the bulletin and a pen, and I would be, like, awesome. And instead of drawing, like, stick figures or whatever, I would draw floor plans. Because I feel like my brain just in default mode is like, let me just... How would I live church out? How would I do this differently? Or how would I... Or it's just like, a nice puzzle for my brain that is like, an itch that I want to scratch. And so I think there's, like, that natural part of it, and then there's also, like, I just can't imagine doing anything else because this is my version of helping others. And I feel like that's my purpose, is to serve others. So this is how I do it.

(Skyler): I think that's... I think that's awesome. I think that's a great way of looking at it, it's like it's a purpose in life. And once you find that purpose and you're like, "I got it. I figured out what it is, and I feel confident that this is what it is." And then you go into it, and that's what we're all looking for, right?

(Kylee): Yeah, absolutely.

(Skyler): So talk to me about what a day in the life of an interior designer looks like. Like, what kind of stuff? I mean, I'm going to be honest. I know everybody tells me this every single time I do one of these is, well, no day is the same, Skylar. I totally get that. But, like, what could a day look like? Or what are some of the things that happen? Like a day, any day of the week or month or whatever the case.

(Kylee): So I guess a very small part of my day is spent doing logistical things like setting up meetings with reps or responding to clients who have questions, or, I guess, talking with the rest of the interiors team about someone found this issue or they're experiencing this with this product. And then a larger part of my day I spend in Revit doing, I'd say, more interior architecture. I mean, I do everything from changing walls to helping draw details to big-picture designing. So a lot of the time is spent doing technical stuff like that, and then a good chunk of the time is making graphics and communicating through PowerPoint, through Bluebeam, and InDesign. All the things that help me break down the information we're trying to present to the client into more of a bite-sized piece.

(Skyler): Okay, very cool. Now, you mentioned before talking with the other interior designer team about collaboration. Obviously, that's got to be a big thing. Yeah, I know. I see the occasional post on the Quad, which is for those listening, our kind of intranet within the company. Somebody will be like, "Hey, has anybody worked with these before?" Or "Hey, I'm running into this issue over here. What do I do? Have you guys had experience with this?" So, what does that kind of look like as far as the team collaboration when it comes down to running into an issue or maybe a client asking for something, and you're like, "I have an idea, but I don't know if it's maybe quite what I'm looking for. Do you guys have any ideas?"

(Kylee): Yeah, I think we have a Teams channel that we kind of go to for more of a day-to-day. Like, we need rapid, quick answers, and we use that a lot.

(Skyler): Sure.

(Kylee): So it'll be anything from, "Do not ever specify this product ever again. It's not working as bad," to, "Hey, this is awesome. This went really well. Here's what it looks like installed, highly recommend it." And then there's always the question of like, "Has anyone done this? I'm looking for this product," and there's always a great answer. It's always right away. And I've definitely leaned on them, and I'm brand new, and half the time need a lot of help understanding what I'm looking for. And so being able to tap into all the experience that our interior design team has really quickly is super nice.

(Skyler): Absolutely. I mean, gosh, like, why not use the experience and the people that you have on hand to help you get through a project? And I mean, you're not going to them and saying, "Hey, can you do this for me?" But, like, if you can suggest something for me or kind of point me in the right direction or even validate...

(Kylee): What I... yeah, maybe suggest.

(Skyler): Yeah, exactly. That's awesome. So fantastic. All right, you've mentioned a lot of the stuff that you've maybe used or kind of alluded to working on. What, I

(Skyler): mean, tell me some of the projects, some of your favorite projects or parts of projects that you've gotten to be a part of.

(Kylee): Can I mention them by name? Is that allowed?

(Skyler): I think so, yeah.

(Kylee): Okay, cool. So my favorite project, I'm really new, so I haven't worked on that many, but my favorite project has been Loring Hospital because of the size of it and my role on it. It was only really two of us working on it, Todd and I. So I got to do a lot more than just interior design. I got to do a lot of interior architecture and work with Todd really closely every day. And I know if you have any experience in the design field, you kind of know the mentality of working towards a deadline with someone.

(Skyler): Oh, sure. And you're team projects.

(Kylee): Yes, it is. But it's so much easier in this environment than it was in school because you both know, I guess, what's at stake isn't right. I feel like you both just have the same drive to get it done.

(Skyler): Right. The initiative, the response, and you want...

(Kylee): To serve the client well. Right. And you're both like, "Oh, remember when the client wanted this and this?" And so you can remind each other of that. But I think that collaboration and camaraderie, I think, were my favorite part of working on Loring. And like, obviously, I love the building and the design and everything, but I think it was the process and how much I learned in it. And the way I got to put my head down, and I feel like I took five huge steps forward in my knowledge base during that project. And so I think I'll always hold that project like dear because of how much I learned during it.

(Skyler): That makes sense.

(Kylee): Yeah. And also my other projects have been like restrooms and like other... okay. M. So I feel like that one was going to be the favorite no matter what.

(Skyler): But just restrooms in general.

(Kylee): Yeah. Like, I did one that was entirely just a restroom.

(Skyler): Right?

(Kylee): Yeah, that'll happen.

(Skyler): What? Tell me about what it is that sparks excitement when it comes to putting together a restroom?

(Kylee): I would not use the word excitement. I would use the word responsibility because we had to do it. No, it's still good. And like, every project is a good opportunity to try something. Okay. So I feel like we see a ton of interior reps who always have the coolest materials, and the amount of time that we actually spend picking the materials does not give enough opportunity to select a material that you really love from someone's collection. So when you have those small projects, it's a new opportunity to maybe choose something that you didn't get to choose in your big project. And they come along a lot more frequently. And so I feel like you can spread out your choices of materials a lot more. Like, "Oh, I used exclusively Dal-Tile on this project, so now I'm going to use Virginia Tile on this project." And I just think having those little filler projects that move really quickly allows you to explore a little bit more.

(Skyler): Okay. More experience, more knowledge of the product.

(Kylee): Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

(Skyler): Very cool. Okay. Never would have thought of it that way.

(Skyler): I mean, I guess the things that you really like as a person who doesn't design these spaces are taken for granted when you walk into the restroom and do your business, wash your hands, and leave. You're not thinking through all the stuff that has to go into it. But that's actually really cool to know that, like, it's so much... Like, it's so much more than just, there's some tile on the floor to make sure that if there's a spill or something leaks, it's not going to be a problem. And, you know, the sinks have all the automatic things, which for Skylar, really annoys me, but that's whatever. But, you know, there are materials and there are very specific needs that have to go into these spaces. And that's really... I never thought about it that way. How much experience can come from designing those, and how much, what's the word I'm looking for here? “Maneuverability” that you have to be able to look into the different materials. That's really cool. And take that with you to other projects.

(Kylee): I think that's an opportunity for a shout-out to CMBA because we have really good relationships with the reps in our area. Yeah. And so if there is a well-respected product in this area, we will see their rep. They're really good to us, and so their presence will be known, and they'll be really easy to contact. And those are the people that we go to when we're ready to select finishes.

(Skyler): That's awesome.

(Kylee): But I will say of those restroom projects, I like them a lot because that's like, it's like an interior's wheelhouse. Because oftentimes you're not going to move a wall. That's not always true, but like, sometimes you're not even moving a wall, and that's where you're like, "I don't know," you get to retrofit it to fit what it needs to be. Now,

(Kylee): I just feel like that's where an interior designer's strength really lies, is when you're using what you've got and upgrading it and making it usable.

(Skyler): Sure. So that makes sense.

(Kylee): Yeah, yeah.

(Skyler): Enhancing the space to a whole new level.

(Kylee): Yes.

(Skyler): That's awesome. Is there anything really crazy you've ever had to, like, put into a design for a bathroom?

(Kylee): I won't say the client, but they have, like, a bit of a rule that you have to put, like, a very large panel of solid surface underneath their hand dryers.
(Skyler): Interesting.

(Kylee): And it just is like an interesting thing to coordinate. I don't know if you can picture that, but it's like, if you took a countertop piece and you, like, put it straight onto the wall underneath their automatic hand dryers so that they don't have to clean all that grout as it gets gross when people are drying their hands there. So completely logical, totally understand. But you always, I feel like, after you pick your beautiful wall tile and you have the countertop coordinated, then you're like, "Oh, I forgot, I have to slap more countertop slab." Yeah. Just in the middle of the wall. And it's... I feel like that's probably the goofiest thing.

(Skyler): Fair enough. There's logic to this, but...

(Kylee): Man, I know. I'm like, I respect it, but what a tragedy.

(Skyler): Yeah, yeah. Awesome. Well, Kylie, thank you so much for being on the show and, of course, giving me a rundown of... Like I said, I don't get to talk to enough of the interior designers. Or maybe it's my own fault for not, you know, getting on them about it and forcing them to. Yeah. I'll get around to it.

(Kylee): You can poke them while you're here.

(Skyler): Yes, that's right. Oh, get talking to them. Awesome. No, thank you so much for sharing your experience and telling us a little bit about how you got here and what it is that you do. 

(Skyler): And, of course, thank you, listeners, for listening to another episode of Laying the Foundation. Of course, you can subscribe and follow our podcast wherever it is that you listen to us on, whether that be Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else. Of course, be sure to check out our website so you can see some of the pictures and some of the other amazing details about some of the projects that Kylie has worked on, as well as all of our other interior designers and architects. And of course, make sure to check us out on social media. You'll be able to find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And don't forget to keep listening to more Laying the Foundation.