Paris as a Design Laboratory: CPTC Interior Design Students Take Learning Abroad

By Gretchen Boyt


This September, students from Clover Park Technical College’s Interior Design program spent two weeks studying design in Paris, France. The trip gave students an opportunity to experience centuries of architecture, interiors, art, and craftsmanship firsthand and connect what they have learned in the classroom to the spaces and objects that helped shape the design profession.

Our itinerary was intentionally structured to explore design across different periods, from the elaborate interiors of Versailles and Fontainebleau to the more intimate Château de Malmaison. Students examined how materials, ornamentation, scale, and spatial planning reflected the cultural values and technologies of their time. Experiencing these spaces in person also allowed them to better understand how lighting, proportion, and the movement through a space influence the way we experience an interior.
One of the highlights was visiting the Gobelins tapestry workshops and Sèvres porcelain manufactory, where students watched artisans practicing techniques that have been preserved for generations. Seeing the amount of time, skill, and material knowledge involved in creating these pieces brought a new perspective to our conversations about craftsmanship, quality, and the value of handmade work.

We ended our time in Paris at Maison&Objet, one of the world’s leading interior design trade shows. After spending nearly two weeks studying historic interiors and decorative arts, students were able to see how those influences continue to appear in contemporary furniture, lighting, textiles, and materials. It was a great opportunity to connect design history with the industry they are preparing to enter.

For their final assignment, students were asked to reflect on what Paris taught them about design that they could not have learned in a classroom. Their papers explored everything from the relationship between architecture and landscape to the importance of craftsmanship and the emotional impact of a space.

Interior Design student Tristan TeGantvoort reflected on the experience of visiting Versailles:
“Scale, I realized, is a design tool capable of making a person feel small, curious, or overwhelmed, not merely a measurement.”



That observation is a great example of what I hoped students would take away from this experience. As designers, it is easy to focus on how a space looks, but understanding why a space feels a certain way and how design decisions contribute to that experience is just as important.

Travel provides an opportunity to study design within the cultural and historical context in which it developed. My hope is that students returned from Paris with a greater appreciation for the history of our profession, a broader understanding of design, and a new perspective they can bring to their own work.

Paris was an incredible classroom, and I am grateful we had the opportunity to experience it together.