HIGH POINT, N.C., Dec. 8, 2022 – High Point University interior design students’ prototypes were recently selected to refurbish guest rooms inside the J.H. Adams Inn, local to the city of High Point.

J.H. Adams Inn selected designs from two HPU student teams as part of a community partnership to provide students with real-world experience of working with a client and following a budget. Each team designed one of two rooms being renovated, said Bethany Whitt O’Dell, guest services manager at the J.H. Adams Inn.

Modern Luxe was the winning design created by Morgan Botwinick, Davis Price and Luca Reich, who are students of Dr. Jane Nichols, chair of the David R. Hayworth School of Arts and Design’s interior design, furnishings and fashion merchandising department and an associate professor of interior design. Mark Hampton was the winning design created by Kaylin LaFleche, Sarah Fernandez Bravo and Hailey Morris, who are students of Gary Inman, HPU’s Designer in Residence and assistant professor of interior design.

“There is not an aspect of their design that we wish to change,” O’Dell said of the Modern Luxe design. “It is our belief that future guests will thoroughly enjoy the look and feel of the room once it is complete.”

O’Dell noted the arrangement of furniture in the room, color palette, molding detail, lighting choices and Roman shades as well as details from mirrors reflecting the pendant lighting to the cityscape rendered outside the windows. The Inn staff was also equally as excited about the Mark Hampton design, O’Dell said.

“We loved the look from the first presentation to the last,” said O’Dell. “The final renderings were very impressive with a cohesive design throughout the entire room. It is our belief that this will be a wonderful and fresh addition to the variety of design styles our property offers.”

The project is the first of what is expected to be an ongoing community partnership with the historic inn and vendors from home furnishings industry group High Point by Design to provide an experiential learning opportunity for students, said Nichols.

Students Share View of Design Projects

“Overall, this project was a demanding yet exciting real-world learning experience,” said Botwinick, a junior interior design major from Syracuse, New York. “There were so many factors throughout this process that I may not have necessarily learned otherwise until my first job or internship. These technical factors that we had to balance with our designs included budgeting, electrical elements and building code as well as real client interviews and presentations.”

Designing for clients with a task of making a tangible space more functional and aesthetically beautiful within a budget created was an intimidating project, said LeFleche, a junior interior design major from Severna Park, Maryland.

“My class’s room was particularly challenging because this was one of J.H. Adam’s ADA accessible guest suites,” said LeFleche. “Maintaining proper codes and accessibility law, while not sacrificing our design vision was by far one of the most difficult aspects of this experience. Our design is appropriate for this project because we feel it captures the essence of the J.H. Adams Inn history, while also highlighting the current and future needs of staff and, most importantly, guests.”

Morris, a junior interior design major from Swedesboro, New Jersey, thinks her group’s layout offered the most function for the ADA compliant room. The hands-on project made her consider hospitality design for her career path.

“My favorite part of the experience was going to the J.H. Adams team and pitching our proposal design and final design,” said Morris. “Being able to talk with the actual customer, get feedback, and work with them to curate the design to what they need and want was a great experience.”

Reich, a junior interior design major from Long Island, New York, also noted the experience of working for actual clients.

“Obviously, you have to present something you love and hope that they will love as well, but you can’t get discouraged if your client doesn’t like something within your project,” said Reich. “Take it as motivation to make it better and make something you know the both of you will love because you want a happy client.”

Honorable mentions were awarded to designs created by students Gabrielle Lozon and Hannah Robertson and Kari Lambert, Samantha Purdon and Meghan West.

If your organization would like to partner with HPU interior design or merchandising students, please contact Dr. Nichols at [email protected] or [email protected].