Interior designers combine home furnishings and decorations for a pleasing, desirable aesthetic. They use shapes, colors, and textures to achieve a unique feeling or look.
Interior design careers typically fall into two categories--commercial or institutional designers and private home decorators and designers.
Careers in Commercial Interior Design
A commercial interior designer may be hired, for example, by the property manager of Trump Towers to reinvent a new look for its famed lobby. Similarly, a designer might be enlisted by a hotel to update guest room furnishings. Institutional interior designers might also decorate college dormitories and assisted living facilities. A builder might hire a commercial interior designer to choose furniture, paint, window coverings, and decorative elements for model homes.Residential Interior Design Opportunities
Residential designers, on the other hand, mostly work with individual homeowners. They may work with a client on a specific room or an entire home.They may help locate rare Rococo-inspired wall coverings or perhaps luxurious Turkish or Venetian textiles for high-end clients, or help the rest of us find the perfect bathroom tile or comfy family-room sofa. They may work with clients with diverse budgets, ranging from $10,000 per room to more than a hundred thousand dollars.
Interior Design School
Many states now require that interior designers hold some type of certification. Check with your state to see what requirements must be met. Part of the certification may require a degree or certificate from an interior design school or relevant experience.In an interior design school program you'll learn of the technical aspects of interior design, such as drawing plans for a room and using techniques to allocate space in a way that promotes function and form.
Interior design degrees typically require two years of full-time study. A degree in interior design just might be the thing you need to pursue a career that makes the indoors beautiful.
