Pros And 3 Cons Of Being An Interior Designer

Interior designing just like any other occupation is filled with its share of pros and cons. When you take up interior designing as a career you are bound to face various ups and downs of the profession. Stated below are three of the negatives and positives of being an interior designer.

Pros:

*Advancement: An interior designer advances himself through his own skill and creativity. When it comes to advancing in his career, the sky is the limit. It all depends on how much work he is ready to put in and how good he really is. Success follows suit!

*Requirement: At any given time, an opportunity presents itself for interior designers. The job is such, that the services of an interior designer are required by someone or the other. This is due to the current trend in people to change the look of their homes or offices from time to time in order to keep up with the changing trend.

*Choosing work: Interior designers work mostly on a contract basis. Independent interior designers, have the choice to take up a particular work. You get to work for yourself, i.e. you are your own boss. It’s not necessary that you have to pick up every project that comes your way, not many jobs let you do that , do they?

Cons:

*Stress: An interior designer’s job is tough. Multiple workloads may lead to huge amount of stress. Although stress is part and parcel of any occupation it is a con which cannot be ignored. The stress factor will lead to health related issues later on and thus must be dealt with from time to time.

*Clients: Working according to client requirements is one thing, and working on some haywire scheme of the client is another thing. Interior designers are sometimes approached by clients who will have some unrealistic and sometimes absurd ideas. These ideas are not only ludicrous but impossible to manage. Handling such clients will prove testing.

*Competition: You do realize that you will not be the only interior designer out in the market. There will be others who will provide their services at lower rates. Competition is one of the major things an interior designer worries about. Nothing irks them more than their client going to their competitor because of his lower rate!

Working as an interior designer is both rewarding and challenging. Getting the rewards depends on how you meet the challenges.

Interior Design Is More Than A Career, It’s An Art Form

Interior design is much more than just a career; it is almost an art form. Interior designers are amongst the most creative, imaginative and artistic people in any industry. However, a good interior designer must be extremely disciplined, organized and skilled in business. Interior designers professionally combine their knowledge with aesthetically pleasing visions to design solutions that are safe, functional, and attractive.

As with any professional career, the practice of interior design can be a very rewarding and fulfilling job as long as hard work and self discipline prevails. Mastering interior design as a career requires time, energy, technical proficiency, vision, and dedication. Like the members of any professional service, an interior designer’s success depends entirely on her ability to satisfy her clients’ needs. Therefore, she must understand both the artistic and technical requirements of a project.

Communication is a must-have skill for professional interior designers, as they will be meeting and dealing with many different kinds of people throughout their careers. They must be able to communicate clearly and effectively, as well as be attentive listeners. Because interior designers often work side by side with other professionals such as architects, contractors, and other service providers, interior designers need to be both good team leaders and good team players. Negotiation and mediation skills are also very important attributes for an interior designer to possess.

Education is the single most important start in becoming an interior designer and involves enrollment in a college or university program followed by several years of professional experience, typically under the direct supervision of a senior interior designer in the industry. It generally takes around six or seven years to become a fully qualified interior designer. Courses of study may include but are not limited to:

-Business management
-Debate and problem resolution
-Art Appreciation
-Frequent lectures and field trips
-Computer Graphic design

Just like many other professional careers, such as lawyers, accountants, and many healthcare professionals, there is an entrance examination that all interior designers must pass. This interior design examination provides a method for identifying interior designers who have met the minimum standards, and it is a more formal way of making certain an individual is qualified in particular knowledge and skills. This examination also protects potential clients by assuring competent professionals. The National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) is the organization that is responsible for administering the examination twice annually throughout the United States and Canada.

The NCIDQ also conducts regularly scheduled research and uses the information gathered to update the examination. Twenty five states require interior designers to obtain licenses and certifications upon successful completion of the NCIDQ examination to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of the public. In order to be eligible to take the NCIDQ examination, interior designers must have taken interior design education and have actual full-time interior design experience totaling to at least six years, with at least two of those years being postsecondary education.

Kitchen Interior Design – The Importance of Getting it Right

If there is one room in the house that is very important when it comes to design, it is the kitchen. This room is often times the heart, or the center, of the home. This is where most families spend a great deal of their time together. The interior design of the kitchen needs to not only be reflective of your family’s taste and personality, it also needs to be highly functional.

No one likes to try and prepare a meal in a kitchen that is not as functional and up to date as it should be. For this reason it is highly important that if you are considering a kitchen redesign, that you take your time and research all of the different designs that are out there for you to choose from.

While you are searching for information, there are many places that you may want to go to find it. many people choose to do a hands on search at a local home improvement store. This is a great way to just see what all is available and at what price. However, the best way to get information is to simply start online. The internet has a plethora of information on just about anything that you want to know. When it comes to kitchen designs, this is one of the best tools that you can use.

Not only will you be able to see what all is available and how much, you will even get to see all of the different interior kitchen designs that other people are using. There are even companies that operate online only, who will help you come up with a new design. They do this by working with you and learning what it is that you are interested in and what your personal tastes are. This is a wonderful way to get a plan for what exactly it is that you are trying to achieve.

All in all, a newly redesigned kitchen can change the look and feel of your entire house. That is if it is done correctly. This can only happen if you take the time that is necessary to research all of your options. Remember that hasty decisions can often times result in a design that does not fit in your home or with your style ideas. Therefore, take your time, use the right tools of research, and get the kitchen design that you have always wanted for your home.

Interior Design By Mail Order – Does It Really Work

Anyone who is used to the traditional approach to interior design
may immediately question such a proposition but the idea has real
attractions and merits. Just how can a traditional interior designer
become a product sold at a distance by mail order or over the internet?

Traditional Interior Design

Interior
design is one of the visual and tactile arts. Its practitioners work
with fabric, wood, glass, metal and colour and the finished product
always needs to be seen and experienced to be fully appreciated.
Photographs rarely do justice to real room settings, which is why many
photographs of rooms are in fact staged settings in a photo studio.

Despite this, interior designers usually work in a logical and progressive way, starting with two key points:

  • The
    room as it currently is. In particular those aspects which cannot
    change, such as the direction of sunlight or position of a chimney.

  • The aspirations and goals of the client, including personal
    taste, budget and the desire to retain certain items or themes from the
    existing environment.
  • Traditionally, it may seem that an interior
    designer somehow effortlessly absorbs the key points. However in
    reality they are merely building up a clear mental picture, supported by
    notes, photos, sketches and measurements.

    Interior Design at a Distance

    Just
    how can a designer build up a picture of a room without actually
    visiting it? Well, it is entirely practical for much of the first stage
    of the interior design process to be treated as a structured process.
    This applies to capturing all the factual information about the existing
    room which can be recorded on a survey form or questionnaire.

    In
    fact a survey form or questionnaire is a great tool for capturing the
    client’s personal tastes, preferences and lifestyle aspirations. Often
    partners living together have differing requirements, goals and tastes,
    but one may be more assertive. If both use identical survey
    questionnaires and then compare their thoughts it will help enormously
    in reaching a suitable compromise less a lot of argument or suppressed
    anger.

    Even if two partners use this approach to interior design
    and do agree a compromise, both sets of information would be analysed by
    the interior designer so that the resultant design proposal will be
    attractive to both parties, rather than a neutral watered-down design.

    How does it work

    The
    more information the client provides about their room and tastes the
    better the final design will be. It helps considerably if the client can
    provide swatches or samples of fabric (e.g. from a three piece suite or
    carpet) that are already in use or planned.

    Similarly the
    interior designer will appreciate it if the client collects magazine
    clippings that illustrate styles that they particularly like and
    dislike. These can be submitted with the survey or questionnaire.

    Once the questionnaire is complete the client usually
    packs this up with material samples, magazine clippings, room
    photographs and sketch floor plans. The whole pack is sent to the
    interior designer.

    Based on the information received the designer
    starts work putting together a personal plan for the client. Often the
    designer will phone the client to make sure they understand the
    requirements or clarify some detail. Also once the designer starts to
    formulate a design they will run it past the client to test whether the
    solution is a good match to the requirement.

    Finally the designer
    will formulate a detailed plan which will be sent to the client by post.
    This may include some or all of the following:

  • Mood board with samples of proposed fabric, carpet, paint, wood-work etc.

  • Computer aided design of the room

  • Inventory of materials required; description, quantity, source and price.
  • Once
    the client receives their room design by post hopefully it will meet
    all their requirements, but there is always room for refinement with the
    designer. The client then has several options:

  • They can
    implement the design themselves. Perhaps they are confident at
    decorating and "Do-It-Yourself" (DIY) but lack confidence in the design
    process? The client would then source the materials and any help from
    contractors locally.

  • Alternatively they may be able to order some or all of the
    recommended materials from the interior designer. Everything from a tin
    of paint, through finished curtains, right up to items of furniture
    could be delivered to the client's door!

  • A third possibility would be to revert back to a more
    traditional interior design model. If the client really liked the design
    that arrived by post they could still call in the designer to manage
    the implementation on site, assuming the travelling distance was still
    practical!
  • Why do interior design at a distance?

    Mail-order
    design is ideal for clients who are leading busy lives. Perhaps the
    client wants to re-style their home but they spend most of their time
    away on international business. In the normal course of business it can
    be very difficult for the client and the designer to synchronise
    appointments on site. Working by post, e-mail and phone can actually
    speed up the process considerably.

    Other clients are somewhat shy
    or embarrassed at having an interior designer in their home. Perhaps
    they feel the designer will criticise their existing home or their
    taste. Interior design at a distance can be a good solution and it
    certainly can break down barriers.

    It may come as a surprise, but
    mail order interior design can be a very cost effective way of getting a
    unique personal interior design for your home.

    Insights Into Interior Design Designing In Style. Part Iii Traditional – Georgian

    Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
    Interior design has always been impacted by fashion trends – both historically and in the modern day. In this article series, “Designing in Style,” I explore the meaning of style for interior designers. I draw on my experience working alongside many of London’s best-known interior design teams.

    This third article in my series continues my discussion of traditional/period design, with a focus on the Georgian style.

    In terms of dates, the Georgian period is generally considered to have extended from 1714 until 1830. It has since inspired one of the most popular traditional interior design schemes.

    London design was considered world-class in Georgian times – UK craftspeople were highly skilled and uniquely specialised. The wealthiest classes insisted on the highest quality, with exacting standards in terms of dimensions and proportions.

    A few designers were particularly famous during the Georgian era. Their names, ideas and concepts live on today in the many homes and residences that feature Georgian-inspired interior designs.

    William Kent lived from 1684 until 1748 and was an architect/interior designer who is best known for his tables and chairs which featured extravagant gilt decorations and strong connections to Greek and Roman insignia. Today these traditional designs continue to be used by many London Interior Design Consultancies that specialise in the Georgian style.

    Thomas Chippendale is a name famous to many discerning Londoners. This cabinet-maker lived from 1718 until 1779 and designed furniture that was less ostentatious than that of William Kent, consistent with British (and London) tastes at the time, and yet exceedingly graceful and refined. Interior designers today will adopt either Chippendale’s original designs or re-envisionments/replicas of his originals.

    Finally, Robert Adam was an architect and interior designer who dominated the 1770s with his vivacious use of Roman and Greek motifs, including urns, tripods, and mythological iconography.

    Today, London interior design consultancies tend to be cautious with Georgian designs, recognising that this style can look pretentious if too pronounced. Larger, more spacious London mansions with tall ceilings are best suited to the Georgian style of interior design.

    The next article in my series “Designing in Style” moves away from historic traditions and focuses in on a timeless interior design classic – the rural countryside.
    Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.