How to Become an Interior Designer or Decorator

• 1). Requirements to become a licensed, professional Interior Designer vary from state to state. If you are required to pass the National Council for Interior Design Qualification certification, you will need six years of combined education and full or part time work experience. With a Bachelor's Degree in Interior Design, you will need less work experience; if you just have a two-year Associate's Degree, you will need more experience actually working in the field of Interior Design.
  
  To become an Interior Decorator, you are not required to pass the NCIDQ exam, and no formal education or exam is required. However, you will want to stay informed about the latest trends, and develop your skills. Take advantage of Interior Design classes that are available in your area.
  
  
• 2). Become knowledgeable about safety and building codes if you are becoming an Interior Designer. The codes differ depending on whether you decide to concentrate on residential design, or specialize in designing for certain environments, such as health care facilities, corporate settings, restaurants or hotels. As an Interior Designer, you may be working with architects, developers, and construction companies.
  
  If you are becoming a Interior Decorator, your involvement will come after architecture, design and construction are completed.
  
  
• 3
  
  
  Learn the differences in decorating trends such as the Tuscan, Eclectic, Goth, Country French and Country styles. The looks achieved result from differences in color emphasis, furniture design, fabric, material and even history. For instance, the Tuscan style evolved through the ages, including the sumptuous Italian Renaissance era. A Tuscan decor may incorporate wrought iron scroll work, rounded arches and a focus on sun-drenched colors in tile and stone. There is a fascinating history behind every decorating trend. Learning the story behind the look will inspire ways to create it.
  
  
• 4). Design room interiors and provide sketches of furniture, its placement and architectural detail, especially as an Interior Designer. Both decorators and designers will combine color schemes, fabric swatches, and photographs with sketches for room design in a composite "storyboard". This style guide pertains to all purchases and changes. Now begin your treasure hunt for the furnishings and fabrics that turn the storyboard into a real interior.
  
  
• 5). Budget the job. By taking inventory of what the client can use from existing furnishings and accessories, you can begin to formulate a budget. Decide what needs to be replaced, recovered, repainted and bought new. Heirlooms, antiques and beloved furnishings may need to be renewed for the new decor.
  
  
• 6). Begin shopping for furniture, using the storyboard you have created, to be true to the decorating style and color scheme, and also the budget you have worked out. You and your client may fall in love with an anchor or "hero" piece, around which everything else flows.
  
  
• 7). Learn how different fabrics are desirable for certain uses. For instance, upholstery fabric needs to be durable and easy to clean in addition to carrying out the color scheme and decorating style of the room. Window treatments and drapery will possibly require completely different fabrics, and yet need to be compatible in color, pattern and decorating style.
  
  
• 8). Be an artist when it comes to interior paint. Not only do colors differ depending on the decorating style chosen, new paint techniques abound. One technique will create an aged, textured stucco look; another will result in a shining Chinese lacquer. Become familiar with the techniques used to create different looks and find craftsmen and artists who can achieve it.
  
  
• 9). Acquaint yourself with all the flooring materials and trends available today. Popular ones include carpeting and hardwood floors, of course, and also laminated floors that look like hardwood. Ceramic tiles add richness; marble flooring adds traditional elegance. Natural stone flooring has a rustic look that goes well with mediterranean and old world decor. The most important factor in flooring is often its expense.
  
  
• 10
  
  Enrich the interior design with lighting, wall decor, sculpture and paintings, wall hangings, shelving, and objets d'art. These final touches and minute details give the room or home a look of completion. In fact, just by changing and moving accessories, you can alter the entire feel of a room.
  
  
• 11
  
  Weigh the risks and rewards of self-employment vs. working with a design firm, furniture store or decorating franchise. The freedom and autonomy you enjoy having your own business may not offset the uncertainty of cash flow and the need to do your own bookkeeping and scheduling. As an Interior Decorator, a position at a fine furniture store helping customers decorate around the purchases they make is a good learning experience.