What makes a house a home? An office space dynamic and functional? A small business welcoming? If you ask recent Colorado State University graduate in interior architecture and design Tate Benson, she might tell you it begins with the design foundations: the way rooms open up, how sound travels, how textures and designs on furniture and fixtures add handsome touches.

Tate and her family moved to Castle Pines in 2008 when she was 4 years old. Her early years were marked by a plethora of clubs, golf, tennis and church that added vibrancy to her school days at American Academy – Castle Pines. While family trips to the mountains for skiing and hiking decorated her weekends, long summer vacations were spent with cousins in Okoboji, Iowa, jet skiing and swimming. The family’s late dog was affectionately named Boji in honor of the treasured vacation spot.

Tate’s love of interior design began at a young age, in part influenced by her dad’s work as an architect––days spent accompanying him to model homes and helping to design parts of her family home in the Estates at Buffalo Ridge. Additional influences were online computer games such as The Sims, which she often played with her older sister. Another favorite was Minecraft, which encouraged Tate to cultivate her imagination; at one point, she built her neighborhood into the game.

When it came time for choosing a career path, Tate was drawn to interior design for its diverse applications. Tate explained, “Interior design is everything inside the building. It can be space planning; it can be choosing furniture and materials.” Tate’s degree provided her a chance to learn more about all sides of design, from residential projects and office buildings to hotels and restaurants, to how to curate aesthetics that match brand identities and promote targeted atmospheres.

It was ultimately the hospitality industry that Tate gravitated to. She explained, “Good design isn’t something you can always see, but a person expects to go into a building and for it to work the way it should.” Beyond balancing and projecting aesthetics, it is vital that spaces can properly absorb sound, that materials not only pull artistic weight but also hold up during day-to-day operations, Tate added.

Inspired by her coursework, Tate undertook an internship her senior year at CSU, working with TRIO in Denver, helping with model home installations, floor plan designs and tracking furniture inventory.

During her time in college, Tate was also an active member of her sorority, Pi Beta Phi, where she met new friends and helped with the club’s philanthropic work, which focused on expanding childhood literacy rates.

As Tate steps out from the classroom and into the workforce, she is excited to see what the future holds and how she can use her experience to bring new ideas to the hospitality industry. “I am excited to get to work on projects and see them actually come to life.”

 

 

By Emma Waggett; photos and image courtesy of Tate Benson