Hi Katy, I would have sworn that you and the portfolio were connected based on your username and stuff. Anyhoo!

As GaudiGalopin said, he downloaded a ready made model, and I was right about the size of it. 2 million faces. Ouch!

If you want to dive into Blender I always suggest complete newcomers start with BlenderGuru on Youtube. Free tutorials, and very well explained. Start with the Donut tutorial to learn the basics (UI, modelling, materials, lighting, rendering), then pick and choose which of his other videos touch on elements that interest you. He's got some good modelling , lighting, and archviz ones (1 , 2). He also has a popular discord channel where you can seek help and advice. About the only issue is that some of videos are getting a bit dated because of how fast Blender has been changing in the last few years, so some things might be done a bit differently in newer versions of Blender.