Is Interior Design Right for Me?

There are many pros and cons to being an interior designer. To best understand whether or not you might be interested in being an interior designer you may want to explore these items listed below, and learn all that there is to know.

 

PROS	CONS
There is a great potential to make a lot of money	This field goes through dry spells. The economy plays a big part in this.
You are uninhibited in your potential to advance	Can be quite stressful at times
You can make your own hours at times	Deadlines can be hard to meet
You are your own boss	Client ideas may be unrealistic
There is always a demand for it	You often work under pressure
You are free to be creative and express yourself	You are responsible for your employees actions
You can work as much or as little as you want	You may encounter horrible people
You have the option of turning down projects	You may lose projects to lower bids
You get to set your own work environment.	You are often subjected to one area of expertise.

This should have given you a pretty good idea of what you may generally expect from your career as a designer. You may be wondering how the economy plays a role in this particular career choice. The answer is simple. If the local or national economy is going through a recession, or depression, the potential to encounter any new clients is rather small if at all.

Current clientele cannot afford to hire an interior designer if the economy is suffering, no one can. In times like this, people are a lot more careful about how they spend their money, and hiring an interior designer seems more frivolous than it might seem under normal circumstances. Of course, during most economic conditions, an interior designer can always locate someone that is willing and eager to hire them.

The first thing that you are going to need if you want to be an interior designer is the passion for it. You must ask yourself is whether or not designing homes and/or properties is something that you could feel passionate about. To find out ask, yourself these questions.

• Do you constantly rearrange the furniture in your own home?

 

• Do you often have ideas about friends and families homes, and what would make them look better?

 

• Are you finding that people often ask your opinion about their own homes, and what you think may make it look better?

 

• Do you like planning the rearrangement of your home before you do it?

 

• When decorating your own home, do you find yourself wondering how best to incorporate colors into your space?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, than you already have the passion to become an interior designer. These questions merely touched on the very thing that drew you to this book in the first place. It just helped you realize that you were right in doing so.

The second thing that may need to become an interior designer is the interest. This basically explores whether or not your actual interest is genuine. Many people consider a great many careers before they develop a genuine interest in choosing one. We know that you have the passion, but does that passion mean that you have enough interest to follow through? I have some more questions for you to answer if you really want to know if the interest is really there for you.

• Do you feel the need to learn how best to coordinate the colors in your room before you seek to change them?

 

• Do you seek outside advice from professionals on how best to accent a particular object or color?

 

• Do you seek to know the history behind a particular style of décor when you notice one?

 

• Do you find yourself wondering what sort of planning went in to the creation of a glorious room you've been in?

 

• Would you prefer to read a design magazine above any other? (Modern Living, or Country Style Home)

 

• Do you think that Martha Stewart is nothing compared to you?

Again, a yes answer to any of these questions means a yes to your interest. But there is another aspect of interior design that must be covered. You may wish to be a certified interior designer. If that is the case, you will need to get a formal education in this field.

Self-Teaching or Informal Education

Teaching yourself to learn any field takes a lot of discipline and a great deal of interest. You have to be a motivated person and have the ability to focus solely on your task, but it can be done. There are many Interior Designers that are working without any formal education. They are simply going on intuition and talent. It is rare to learn all of the things that you need to know by teaching yourself, but it a possibility. These are some of the things that you will need in order to teach yourself interior design.  

  Learn the proper terms from various books on interior design. 

  Observe the many techniques and trends from circulating magazines and catalogs.

  Teach yourself to calculate the amounts of paint and wallpaper need to per wall by talking to your local professionals.

  Get as much practice as you can in your own home or at others'

  Use your local library or bookstore to help you brush up on the proper ways of incorporating space and a balance of space.