How to become an Interior Designer

I often get asked how you become an Interior Designer.  I don’t think there is any one cut and dry answer, but I do think there are many options to gain education and experience.  Over the next several weeks, I am going to touch on some options to become an Interior Designer/Decorator.

 

 

Residential Interior Design:

If you already have a degree and don’t want to go back to school, you can gain invaluable experience by finding a successful Interior Designer or Decorator in the residential field.  By interning with them, you can learn their procedures for planning, specifying, purchasing and installing.

 

 

Believe me, there is a lot to know before going out on your own.  Just knowing where to go for sourcing is huge.  One thing that sets Interior Designers apart from someone who might be talented in decorating, is the sources only available to Interior Designers.  This gives the client an interior that someone can not duplicate visiting their local Home Goods store.

 

You will have company reps requesting your time to review their product line.  This is a great way to keep up on what is new in the design field.

 

 

Residential Interior Design experience:

By working for someone in the Residential Interior Design field, you get to learn their planning process.  Usually, professional Interior Designs will consider the space(s) as a whole before contemplating any design solution.  You need to know about proportion/scale, as well as historical background of design styles.  The design elements and principles, help you to pull of a cohesive room that will make your client happy and will look good!

 

After you have learned where to start in the planning process, and where to go for sources, you need to have qualified tradesmen to turn your plan into reality.  Knowing who to go to for quality construction work (general contractors, flooring, plumbing, electrical…), reupholstery work, and seamstress for drapes, will translate your plan into reality.

 

Education:

In no way am I suggesting that you shouldn’t get an Interior Design degree.  I am all about education, and if you have the time and money, you should definitely find a reputable school and get yourself some knowledge!  The things you learn in school set a great base for what you will learn in the field.  Sometimes you will find that to get a job in the field that education is a requirement.

 

Not only will you gain a great base of knowledge, there is a huge network between students one you graduate and also your instructors.  Usually, your instructors have worked in the field and are very aware of where the design jobs are!  So, don’t forget to network with EVERYONE!

 

Take note, in some states if you want to refer to yourself as an Interior Designer, you need to take the “National Council for Interior Design Qualifications” (NCIDQ) exam.  Which will require a certain amount of years of education in combination with experience before you are even eligible to take the exam.

 

So, there is a very brief introduction into getting into the Interior Design field.  This is such a huge topic, that I am going to write several posts about it.  So, stay tuned next week!

 

Have you wondered how to become an Interior Designer?  What are your thoughts on education and experience vs. obtaining a job for experience?