In July, we had the pleasure of having Liverpool University student, Lucy Reynolds, complete her work experience with us.

Lucy is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Architecture, and she wanted to find out more about what it is like to work in interior design.

We sat down with Lucy to discuss her experience, what her favourite activity was and if she sees a future in interior design.

How did you hear about COEL and how did you get the work experience at COEL?

COEL was highly recommended as a trending and welcoming place to work. Following this recommendation, I went to COEL’s website and thought it was stunning, the projects section really appealed to me – after that I decided to apply to do my work experience with COEL.

What made you want to get work experience in interior design and what attracted you to securing work experience at COEL?

Even though I love architecture, I wanted to explore the different avenues I can go into once I finish my degree. One of which is design which I knew I wanted to explore.

In my course, we don’t learn in-depth about design and the more I learned and explored rendering, the more I noticed that I started to really enjoy putting the final touches on a space and creating beautiful spaces.

I also love exploring materials and interior design is heavily based on that, so I thought doing my work experience at COEL would be the perfect opportunity to learn first-hand about interior design.

You spent a week with the COEL team, what did you learn in that time? Did you find it hard at first, what activity/job role responsibility do you most enjoy?

Being a university student and a bit of a night owl, it was a challenge to adapt to the 9-5 schedule at first. However, never having worked in an office environment and thinking it was going to be very intimidating, this experience was a great learning experience. Not only did I quickly realise that there was no reason to be intimidated as everyone was welcoming and lovely, but I also got to see how the different departments work together – and that everything was a collective effort.

My highlights of the week were working on my own project using Revit and sample library – I could have spent hours going through all of the samples!

Lucy’s schedule included

✅ Tours of some of Cambridge’s Business Parks (Granta Park, Unity Campus and Cambridge Science Park)
✅ Office work
✅ Individual project
✅ Her own flat lay

What it’s like to be part of the COEL team?

How have you found working with a team?

When I was told I had to present a project to the design team, I was apprehensive, however, once I met them I was put at ease. They are the most supportive, kind and welcoming team I have ever experienced.

They looked after me during the week and made sure I was okay, that I felt welcomed and that I was never intruding when I joined meetings.

Reflecting on the experience

What did you find most challenging and what did you find yourself most confident in doing?

The technical meetings were interesting but really challenging to keep up with.

I was most confident in the general design knowledge I had.

What has been your favourite thing about your work experience week?

I’ve loved meeting all the people involved and everyone at COEL has been so welcoming and happy to share their knowledge and experience with me.

If you were to plan the work experience week for another student interested in learning more about Interior Design, are there elements of the schedule you would change/adapt or add in?

I really enjoyed the entire experience, however, the only change I would make is to add time with other departments within the company so I got a better understanding of how they work with the design team.

If you could sum up the work experience week in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, interesting and rewarding.

Off-duty Lucy

What is your favourite thing to do outside of university?

I enjoy working in hospitality and meeting new people. My job keeps me busy and gives me purpose outside of my course.

When I’m home from university, I love walking my dogs and driving.

Did you feel comfortable communicating with the team and asking questions?

Definitely, 100%. Whenever I asked a question, even if I felt it was a silly one, the team reassured me that nothing was a silly question and made me feel like I could ask any question. This has reassured me tremendously about my working career.