How to Become an Interior Designer

You love to bring a theme to a room, to make things look just so. Perhaps friends who visit your home make remarks about wishing they could hire you to fix up their place or that they never know what goes with what. If you seem to be a natural at interior decoration, why not become an interior designer?

There are steps you can take that will ease you onto the road to becoming a professional interior designer, bringing your passion to life.

The terms interior designer and interior decorator are often used interchangeably. Both generally mean that you will create a pleasant space in the dimensions given that you won't make major structural changes in the house. This is important as actually altering the configuration of a house, or a room, may need a permit, license and there may be other red tape which involves building contractors and other professionals.

That said, if you want to do interior decoration for a living, the following considerations may be of help.

Education and training:

While you may be able to hang out a shingle and proclaim yourself an interior designer, you may also not have too many clients. In general, people looking to hire you will want to know where you received your education. There are a lot of schools out there, many of them reputable. However, be sure to do your research before you pay for a series of classes that will never do anything except take your money.

Training will likely be more important than the mere fact that you've been educated in interior decoration. While it may take longer, getting a job with an established interior designer may make things easier for you in the long run. Not only will you make a salary (though just starting out may mean the salary is rather small), you will learn on the job and receive real-world training.

Prepare a portfolio:

No matter what you do, a prospective employer or client will want to see what you can do, in a range of interior design options. Can you create a chic country look? How about a warm, modern feel? How can you prove it? This is where your portfolio comes in. When you work on an interior decoration project, you'll want to take lots of pictures, have them organized and easy to go through. Your portfolio will sell you, so make sure it's a tool that shows off the best you have to offer.

Practice:

Your home is your personal showcase. Try different looks within it, just to see what looks good. While you may have found the perfect interior decoration for your living room, try switching things up. While it may not be the look for you, someone else may like it. Plus, you'll have the chance to step back and figure out why something doesn't look right—or why it looks great.

Tap your friends for help. There's no reason you can't offer your interior design services to friends, as long as you get to take pictures of the finished product for your portfolio. Be sure to take before-and-after pictures to showcase your interior designer talent as you create a wonderful living space. If cost is a problem, try using what is currently there or find different, cheaper options, like moving furniture from other rooms in the house.

Network:

Attend home shows as an interior designer. Take your portfolio, dress up a corner of the booth, or raffle off a free interior design consultation. Your name needs to be out there in order to create a business.

Try and visit home shows even if you don't rent any space. Introduce yourself to the various participants and hand out business cards. Get in touch with established interior designers; ask them how they got started, if they have any tips for someone just starting out. Usually there is plenty of business in an area to go around. Talk to builders and contractors, offering interior decoration for their model homes.

Make sure you have good business cards. They are often your longest-lasting impression on potential clients, and a badly designed card doesn't fill people with confidence that you'll do great interior decoration. You don't want to be a nuisance, but giving your business card when you are introduced to someone is a good way to get your name out there.

Specialize:

What type of interior design do you want to do? If you want to work on office buildings, building a portfolio of cozy bedrooms will not help you much. If you want to create wonderful interior decoration on a shoestring budget, talking to a contractor who works on multimillion dollar homes will likely be a waste.

Continue to learn your craft:

Even if you take every step known to man to become an interior designer, if you forget to continue learning your craft, you will likely not get far. Interior design changes regularly. Trends alter, offices and homes change, and you should be prepared to adjust. Subscribe to interior design magazines, join a group of decorating professionals, make sure you watch trends-- basically take steps so that you and your work never become stagnant. Only in this way can you offer fresh ideas to your clients.

There isn't a quick way to be an interior designer, particularly if you want to be a good one. However, the above steps will hopefully ease your way along that path. Above all, be sure to enjoy your chosen profession, for that's the best way in which you can always please yourself and your client.