How to Become an Interior Designer In 9 Simple Steps

Every new career begins with a leap of faith, right? Is decorating your surroundings something you enjoy? Some people possess a natural talent for art and design. If you love arranging furniture and furnishing rooms, an interior designer may be the right career for you. Aside from this, you would be mesmerized to know that interior designers are in high demand nowadays.

Interior design has become one of the most glamorous, exciting, and creative professions. But, don’t be fooled. This simply means that you need to put tremendous hard work and effort into your craft to end up with enticing living room interior design ideas and do your work expertly.

This guideline depicts which ways to follow to become an interior designer in 9 simpler steps.

What Is Interior Design?

Interior design encompasses researching, planning, designing, and creating beautiful and functional bespoke indoor spaces. Adding more to this, an interior designer recommends how to decorate your space with lighting, furniture, decor, and materials to suit customers’ lifestyles, budgets, and needs. In the following, we have given different types and styles of interior design.

Residential Design
Commercial Interior Design
African Style
Nautical
Minimalist
Contemporary
Industrial
Traditional and Modern

Interior design is a vast industry. Examples of specialist decoration and interior design comprise production design, museum design, and even design. Start your professional career in this field.

Where Do Interior Designers Work?

Before we discuss where interior designers work, it must be taken into account that the vast majority of professionals surveyed by us in 2022 reported working in an interior design agency.

Check out the full breakdown in the following.

Design-Build Firm – 2%
Retail Corporation – 1%
Architectural Firm – 0%
Interior Design Firm – 91%
Wholesale Trade Company – 0%
Other – 6%

Anyhow, interior designs work in different areas, including healthcare centers, hospitals, retail stores, corporate offices, hotels, exhibitions, restaurants, clinics, residential complexes, residences, residential care facilities, homes, assisted living facilities, and some common areas.

9 Steps To Be A Good Interior Designer

From floor plans to building codes and color schemes, interior designs are capable of doing all. They are aware of mid century modern interior design ideas and many more. But, how can you start your career as a good interior designer? Here are some simpler steps you must follow.

1. Difference Between Decorators And Interior Designers

People often confuse interior designers with decorators, but they are quite different terms and jobs. While they both make spaces feel highly aesthetic, beautiful, and cohesive, decorators are all about furnishing an existing place using furniture and several other home decor. Dressing up a bedroom with a new and fully functional rug is the best example of a job done by decorators. In comparison to this, interior designers design the whole space of a property by themselves.

2. You Must Have Strong Design Skills

It seems pretty obvious, but you must have an innate instinct for architecture, textiles, spatial arrangements, and color to become an interior designer. If you love to decorate your living space and get a lot of compliments on your good work from others, it certainly can be a good sign that you should be a designer. However, the important thing is you need to acknowledge all of this at the right time. You must have a passion and strong design skills to be a professional designer.

3. Interior Design Is Not A Fun

We know that color, furniture, and fabrics play a significant role in interior design. However, there are many task requirements for interior designers that don’t seem like fun. For instance, the interior designer must be well-educated in building codes, ergonomics, computer-aided drawings (CAD), psychology, spatial concepts, the structural integrity of buildings, and much more. A broad range of skills is required because interior designers not only work with homeowners but with government agencies, builders, business owners, and architects. You must also know about the role of BIM and GIS integration in the construction process as well.

4. You Need To Be A Social Person

Above all, being a social person is also a crucial requirement for becoming an expert designer. People are very picky, especially if it’s a matter of their businesses or homes. To become a successful interior designer, you need to be polite and nice to people. In addition to this, you should also be a good reliever – someone who reads the minds of customers. You must be capable of constantly balancing the client’s wishes and your design decisions at the same time.

5. Must Have A Portfolio

Having a professional portfolio can solidify your position as an interior designer. An image can show a thousand words regarding your profession. A portfolio will help showcase your projects and designs. This means your success will be few and far between. If you’ve just stepped into the field of interior design as a beginner, the charges for your services must be low. This will help attract more customers and you’ll be able to promote your business at an exponential rate.

6. Competition Is Fierce In Interior Design

Interior design has remarkably become a competitive business. Guess what? The key to your success in this sector is getting noticed. For this reason, you must ensure to look for future trends, like design for the elderly, interior design a frame house, population growth, sustainable design, and modern architecture. If you want a greater edge in the market, make sure to stay updated with the latest design trends by communicating well with other designers.

7. Online Designers Have A Chance Too

When people look for interior designers to make their space look attractive, they can hire experts from different geographical locations. With the advent of evolving technology, we are now blessed with modern innovations, such as cutting-edge design software and Skype. Also, this has enabled interior designers to discover and explore a new world of virtual design.

8. You Must Know The Local Laws And Codes

This is where designers think of avoiding education and becoming decorators. This way, they will not have to learn difficult local laws and building codes. If you want to create a functional project, there is a need to learn about regulations regarding health, accessibility, electricity, sanitation, etc. This is how you can get a good advantage over decorators. Ensure to understand the fundamentals of the subject and then move on to the design field.

9. It’s Not About Your Style, It’s About Your Client’s Style

Interior design is not about your style. Instead, you need to consider the client’s style to deliver satisfactory services. Just because designers are tasteful and trained doesn’t mean they make good choices than clients. You need to provide a building construction design for a space as per the expectations of the client. Choosing the right style will make clients feel in control of their decisions. Never design or decorate a house to your taste. Let the client decide on the design.

Interior Designers Skills

Are you looking for the best interior design companies near me in your locality? If so, you must consider looking for some essential skills in an interior designer. Let’s discuss a few below.

Attention To Detail And Creativity

Interior designers should be inherently creative. Most designers are born with creativity and subsequently polish and hone their skills when entering professional life. Since designers have an eye to appropriately visualize the potential of boring, dull spaces, the skill of creativity is a must in this line of work. To implement creativity in designs, interior designers must pay meticulous attention to detail. This will help distinguish him from other designers in the market.

Computer Skills

Computer skills are what must not be taken for granted in this digital era. Today, almost everyone is aware of using computers whether children or elders. As an interior designer, you must have a thorough understanding and knowledge of using the right software to produce 3D renderings or mock-ups of your design. So, you can even enhance your computer skills online.

Trend Following

Trends are consistently sweeping up the world. Today, following different trends has become much easier because of various social networking platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, etc. For this reason, interior designers are also recommended to stay on top of the latest industry insights and design shifts. This will assist them in keeping ahead of their clients. If you want to scale new heights excellently, following trends is the best choice to help you find alternatives.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is also a critical part of most fields. Brainstorming your ideas as a designer will help you deliver results with excellence. Critical thinking is a must whether it’s addressing challenges in remodeling, renovating, flipping, or construction. When you are about to pitch your ideas to potential customers, be sure to think critically first. As a successful designer, you must consider constantly reflecting on your existing knowledge to generate captivating design ideas.

Proper Certifications

People tend to hire designers that are licensed and certified. So, you must earn an NCIDQ (National Council Of Interior Design Qualifications) or any equivalent degree. This way clients will take your services seriously. It is also possible that they will continue to hire you for their future work only because you’ve delivered quality and genuine services. We understand how overwhelming it can be to undertake space planning. So, if you want to be at the top of the design industry, ensure to end up with the right ideas and get proper certifications.

The Final Statement

We hope this guide was helpful for you in becoming a professional and successful interior designer. If you’re considering starting your career as an expert interior designer, it’s never too late. Ensure to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Besides, you can sign up for various design platforms to learn new things and design ideas. Whether you are working with a homeowner or a builder, you must remember to put your whole talent to paper in real-time.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How to start an Interior Design Company?

You must consider some crucial requirements when starting an interior design company. For example, you must first register your business, set up an office, build an expert team, create a professional portfolio of your work, build your brand, and write a detailed business plan. Once done with all this, focus on promoting your business in the marketplace.

2. How much does an interior designer cost?

Skilled interior designers in the USA charge over $100 to $500 per hour, with the average cost being between $150 and $200. However, the typical rates can vary significantly depending on the overall experience of the designer. In contrast to this, junior designers charge as little as around $50 per hour. In addition to hourly rates, interior designers may also charge for deposits, travel, purchase fees, and communication minutes. This method is deployed for small projects.

3. How long does it take to become an interior designer?

Finishing a bachelor’s degree in interior design usually takes a maximum of 4 years. The program covers many crucial topics, including history and design principles, sustainable design, computer applications, and design research. You can also go for an associate program of 2 years to become an interior designer in less time and start your career as soon as possible.