How to become an Interior Designer

An interior designer creates the plans for a room, in terms of the design and arrangement of the entire space that they are given.  Making decisions such as where furniture should go, lighting and colour schemes are just some of the typical tasks asked of an interior designer.  They might design for offices, hotels, schools, private homes or restaurants – just to name a few!

It is an extremely artistic and creative profession to be a part of.  Having an eye for design is vital, as an interior designer will have to be able to look at a space and know how to make the most of it, accentuating certain areas as well as fulfilling a client’s needs.  Being functional as well as aesthetically pleasing is the ideal result for a project.

As an interior designer you will need to have the following skills:

• Vision – as an interior designer you will need to see the potential of the space that you are given.  This can be difficult as you could be working from an empty room, or even one that is completely full of other furniture etc.  Either way you will need to be able to see the prospective of the area.
• Creativity, style and good taste – without this it is impossible to become an interior designer (well, a good one at least!)
• Organisational skills – this is a crucial skill as there are usually many different tasks needing to be completed at the same time. You will be responsible for keeping the project on schedule, arranging contractors and vendors, and making sure you stick to the budget provided by your client.
• Being able to communicate effectively – not only will you have to communicate with your client – making sure you know exactly what they want from the project; you will also need to do the same with any contractors or vendors that you use.

What an interior designer may typically do:

• Come up with an overall design style or theme for the area
• Choose colour schemes
• Drawing/sketching designs to show the client; some of which will be achieved using computer software
• Co-ordinating furniture, fittings and fabrics
• Being able to check building codes to make sure any building work will be legal.  This may result in having to obtain a permit

Arrange for any other contractors or vendors to come in and complete work, such as architects, plumbers, electricians etc.

Qualifications and Training

To become an interior designer, you will need a professional qualification.  There are many different types of courses and choosing which one will all depend on what area you want to specialise in.

The British Institute of Interior Design is a professional organisation for the industry; they offer a list of all the courses, diplomas and degrees available across the UK.

If you decide to take a degree in interior design you can expect it to last for two to four years.  Examples of some of the subject areas covered are:

• Drawing/technical drawing
• History of interior design
• Spatial layout and planning
• Budgeting and time management
• Materials studies

The Interior Design Institute is an online diploma course that you can study from home in your own time; it’s for people who have had little or no experience in the industry.  They offer feedback from professional tutors and 24-hour student support.

Benefits of freelancing

There are many advantages in becoming a freelance interior designer, some of which include:

• Flexibility and time management – you make the decision when and where you want to work
• Job satisfaction
• Greater tax benefits being a freelancer

The opportunity to make more money – by freelancing for one or more clients at a time, you can often have more income than what you would expect from a full time salary.

By using our Freelancer Calculator you can work out exactly how much you could potentially take home.

Finding work as an Interior Designer

A strong client-base is vital for becoming a freelancer.  Word of mouth can certainly help to increase the amount of work you get, but to gain a good reputation, you will need to market yourself and sell your services well.

Here are some helpful suggestions on how to do this:

• Join the British Institute of Interior Design.  There are certain requirements in order to become a member, but if you do join then you will be entitled to use their recognised logo on all marketing materials and have your profile put on their website, where potential clients will see you. 
• Set up a professional website.  Once you start gaining interest, your clients will need somewhere to go to see who you are, what your offering and your prices.  And of course, those searching for an interior designer will easily find you.
• Make business cards and give them out to friends and family.  They can then pass them onto other people as well as recommend your services.
• Talk to retailers whom you buy your products from.  Furniture and antique shops will be the types of places that will attract your clients – you could leave business cards or leaflets with them.
• Take advantage of social-networking sites.  You can set up links to your business website from your personal accounts, which should hopefully generate more interest.