How to Become an Interior Designer

by Liz Smith
What exactly is involved in becoming an interior designer? It's probably much more involved than you might think. The following steps will walk you through what it takes to pursue a career in interior designing.

What Interior Designers Do

Interior designers plan and design spaces and furnish interiors in residential, commercial and public settings. The work can vary from simple projects that involve re-arranging furniture and applying a fresh coat of paint, all the way up through full-scale redesigns that require advanced knowledge of structural documents and close work with architects and contractors.

Schooling

You can earn a certificate, diploma, associate or bachelor's degree in interior design. Many schools throughout the United States offer interior design programs. Coursework varies at each school, but will likely include courses like computer-aided design, color theory, textiles and more.

See Through a Designer's Eyes

If you want to be an interior designer, you need to get used to looking at things the way designers do. Become aware of the trends that are popular in the industry, get a feel for what's out there and what's in style. Do this by looking through design magazines, attending home shows and even open houses in upscale neighborhoods. Read literature available on the styles of design that interest you most, and begin to analyze spaces that you like by breaking them down into their constituent elements - what principles of design are being employed by the designer that you find appealing?

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Liz Smith writes about Interior Decorating and Interior Design and is Editor-in-Chief of Trouve Publishing.