Interiors are hot topics, with a wide variety of home improvement, and interior design services reality shows on the air. However, some people might not understand the difference between interior decorating and interior design. An interior designer can also expand their business into decorating, but an interior decorator isn’t skilled, or licensed to practice interior design. This is the first essential difference. To clarify, if someone has a business that specializes in interior design services, then their education, and their base of service is a lot more broad than someone who simply decorates a home or a business. Here’s a look at those differences, and a look at what a designer does exactly.
An interior design professional is someone who has a college education, along with at least two years post-graduate experience. To simplify the explanation, the designer actually plans the design of the interior of a building. They create the design of an interior. They work with blueprints to actually design the compartments of a room. They work to design the openness and the division of room space. They are the ones who determine what the inside of a building will look like from a structural point of view. For example, if a person were to look at a floor plan of a residential home, they would see a drawing that details all aspects of the interior space. They would see where the door is located, and where the various rooms of the home are. They would also see things such as dividers and walls of the home in the drawing. They would probably also see rooms designated for kitchens, bathrooms, and for closet space. This planning didn’t happen by accident. A designer was the one who created the plan of the home in their minds, when they were tasked with creating the interior of a home, or of a residential apartment unit.
Designers also are tasked with the interior planning of commercial space. This professional can offer their services inside of commercial space, such as office buildings, banks, retail stores, museums, and any type of building that needs space and division planned in the building. This is why someone who offers such services needs to have many years of formal education. They must understand aspects of building material, blueprinting, building codes, and other aspects of planning and creating an interior. The most important aspect is that the design is safe, and that it is in accordance with local building codes. Of course codes are laws that ensure that the structure is safe for people to live in, or enter into. All of these aspects and more will be learned when someone is training for a career in interior design services.
Not only does the person training for a career in interior design services need to attend years of college, but they need to certify as well with the National Council For Interior Design Qualification. The trainee must also work with an architect as well, as part of their post-graduate training. There is a lot that goes into training for this profession, but it opens up a world of opportunities for those who have a passion for this career field. Again, the professional who offers interior design services can also offer interior decorating services. The interior decorator doesn’t need formal education, although there are certification classes that teach the aspect of design theory. When a person decorates a home, they don’t touch the structure of the home. They only advise in color scheme, furnishings, and fixtures.
