Wikipedia describes interior design as “the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. And an interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordinates, and manages such enhancement projects.” He/she is a professional who plans and offers design solutions for residential and commercial spaces.
Interior design is the field that helps to make the space of a building achieve a much healthier and aesthetically pleasing environment. When we think about hiring an interior designer to design our space, the first thing that usually comes to our mind is how much money he or she will charge. Wanting to get your space designed by a professional is something we all want to do, but people have very little to no knowledge on what basis a designer charges their fee.
What do interior designers charge?
In today’s day and age where we can find any information with the click of a button, we might think that figuring out what interior designers charge or how an interior designer comes up with their design cost/fee is easy. But this fee is calculated and decided taking several factors into account. Generally, an interior designer will charge around 2000$ to 5000$ excluding furniture bills which get calculated separately. There are other designers that run their business online and their costs range from 75$ to 1600$ this kind of designer does not allow bargaining of any sort, their prices are usually flat.
After the pandemic, we have witnessed the world go into more of an online environment and that has affected the area of interior design as well. People prefer to hire a designer online rather than go out to meet them in their offices. Meetings taking place online are also quick and easy as it saves time and energy for both the designer and the client. Even the work schedules can be adjusted accordingly when the work is done in an online mode. Now that we have a brief idea about what interior designers charge, let us understand what an interior designer actually does.
If you think interior design is only about picking the right kind of furniture or a shade of color for your wall, you are in for a surprise. The role an interior designer plays in changing the overall environment of space is huge. After the drawings are finalized, it is the duty of a designer to make renderings for the particular space so that the client can visualize the space before it’s made. An interior designer also has the job of managing electricians, plumbers, painters, contractors, and more. It is also their duty to purchase and arrange all the products that will be used or installed in the space designed by them.
How do you become an interior designer?
Getting a degree
The first and the most traditional way to become an interior designer is by getting yourself a bachelor’s degree at a university or a college. By going through this path, one can gather the basic skill set required to become an interior designer. However, if one isn’t fully sure that interior design is the exact career path one wants to pursue, or one has the notion that a bachelor’s degree will take up a lot of time, an associate’s degree is the best way to learn the fundamentals. An associate degree is also perfect for a creative person, mainly somebody who is already passionate about interior design or design in general. After getting the associate degree, one could decide to start working directly in the professional world, or could also continue their education and earn their bachelor’s degree.
Getting a license
Not all states require licensed interior designers, but one has to make sure that they are licensed as some states ban or prohibit unlicensed designers from doing any kind of work. There are also some other states that allow unlicensed designers to work, but they cannot use the title “interior designer” in their job description. To get the license, one must pass the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam, which one can appear if they possess a bachelor’s degree. This exam is approved by the state and requires a combination of education and experience of a minimum of 2 years to qualify.
Work on your portfolio
If an interior designer wants to look attractive to clients, the best way to do that is to build a strong portfolio. The portfolio must showcase all the skills and design ideas that one possesses. This helps in showcasing your work and presenting you as an organized professional. One can display their portfolios online, or one could also create a flipbook as clients love to flip through pages of books while in a design studio/office.
Volunteer work
Yes, you read that right, work for free. Without experience, one doesn’t simply get hired. Therefore, one has to work for free for some time so that they can gather experience, learn about the craft, and develop their skills for when paying jobs do come their way. Hence, don’t hesitate to offer your volunteering services to family members, friends, nonprofit organizations, etc.
Finding a job
After you are done with all the four steps mentioned above, it will be time for you to take up a job in a design firm or company. One can also skip the whole job searching option and directly start working for yourself.
Conclusion
People think that interior design is all about painting walls and arranging furniture. On the contrary, interior design is actually an art form. Many people think that art is only those things that can be displayed on paper or a canvas, but people do not know that even a room can be converted into art with imagination and creativity. Interior Designers or designers, in general, must be considered artists as much as a painter or sculptors as it takes the same amount of effort to think and design spaces.
