How To Become A Set Decorator
If you’re interested in becoming a Set Decorator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We’ve determined that 72.7% of Set Decorators have a bachelor’s degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.3% of Set Decorators have master’s degrees. Even though most Set Decorators have a college degree, it’s possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Set Decorator. When we researched the most common majors for a Set Decorator, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor’s Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Set Decorator resumes include Master’s Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Set Decorator. In fact, many Set Decorator jobs require experience in a role such as Production Assistant. Meanwhile, many Set Decorators also have previous career experience in roles such as Production Designer or Art Director.
Apply To A Variety Of Interior Design Jobs
Cast a wide net as far as areas of interest, explore a host of interior design jobs, and remain open to all opportunities. If something sounds remotely interesting to you, apply to the post. You never know the connections youll make by speaking with people at various design firms.
This is an exciting time to be in interior design, the field is ripe for new thinking, imagination, and bold innovation. Being multifaceted and open to new experiences will be key, Ames Noble says. Sometimes having a specific career arc can limit yourself from what you can become and what you can offer. The future of the practice probably wont be as linear as it used to be.
When you are able to incorporate authenticity and passion into your work and have knowledge of multiple sectors and types of work, youre setting yourself up for success.
Arrange informational interviews to learn about firms and their areas of expertise. Research about different interior design jobs, and become well-informed about distinct roles within a design firm so that you see which types of positions are most in accord with your background and skill set. Learn about the company culture, the workforce, and upper management at the design firms you are targeting for employment, and pay attention when visiting workplaces for interviews. Ask yourself if you can see yourself working in this office among these colleagues.
Take Pictures To Learn How To Decorate
One thing that will make you a better decorator is taking pictures of what you decorate. Use your phone to take lots of images and then go back through them. You will be amazed at how the camera picks up what your eye cant perceive! Its really quite astonishing!
It takes just a few extra minutes and your camera works as your assistant to tell you what doesnt look right and whats out of place. I bet you never knew you had a little personal decorating helper to help you decorate your home!
This is a secret I use all day long! Taking pictures of anything I have just styled gives me a clear picture of whats out of place or a little wonky. Then its an easy fix!
Most of us carry our cell phones around so why not put them to use!
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How To Become An Interior Designer
Becoming an interior designer is a very popular career path at the moment, and its easy to see why. If you have a passion for design and bringing out the beauty of a space, interior designing is the perfect career to flex your creative muscle and artistic ability. But how do you become a professional interior designer?
It isnt as simple as waking up one day and deciding that interior designing is youre going to do. You have to get some training or work experience, no matter what route you take to become an interior designer, but whether you choose the traditional route or option B or C, you can still achieve your dream interior design career.
In this post, well take a look at the many ways how to become an interior designer. But first, lets get something out of the way
How Long Does It Take To Become An Interior Decorator
The amount of time it takes to become an interior decorator will depend on a few factors. If youre planning to receive a formal education, this can take anywhere from a few weeks to years, depending on the program. Other time constraints include whether youre planning to be self-employed or search for a firm. If choosing a firm, then it may take time for the interview process and to locate a well-qualified one in your area.
In the end, becoming an interior decorator can take as little as a month and as much as years, depending on the route you take.
Quickest Method: If youre looking to get started immediately, you will want to forgo the formal education and try to locate your first client immediately. Building a portfolio that shines will be the key to acquiring new business.
Medium-Length Method: Obtaining a certificate is a nice medium option that promises the shortest amount of time spent on education while establishing credibility with clients. Certificates are usually obtained via short programs and will give a brief overview of everything you need to know without spending years doing so.
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Exceptional Sense Of Design
As an interior decorator, you must be able to view a space and plan ways to improve its appearance. For example, you need to know if a change of fabric can improve the feel of a room or whether an office space needs its furniture rearranged to achieve the client’s aims. Your ability to understand how to improve an existing design to increase its appeal is important in interior decoration.
Things To Do Before You Hire A Decorator
Lauren Flanagan is an interior design expert with over 15 years of experience writing, editing, and producing articles for renowned Canadian publications and shows for HGTV on home decor. She worked in high-end home decor retail before discovering her passion was to share what she knew in publications and on television.
Hiring a design professional to work on your home can be a great investment. Whether you know what you want but don’t know how to get it, you don’t have the first clue where to start, or you simply don’t have the time to invest, a professional interior designer or decorator can help channel your ideas and turn them into something beautiful. They can lend their experience and their creativity to your home, creating a restful and welcoming retreat that’s unique to you and your loved ones.
While hiring a design pro can be a great solution to your decorating problems, they won’t just magically appear one day and solve everything. You need to play a part in the process as well. In order to make the most of the experience, make sure you’ve taken care of the following things before you hire a designer or decorator.
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What Is An Interior Designer
An interior designer is a person who works on architecture and interior space. The interior designer develops the plans, researches, coordinates, and manages the projects. They focus on space planning all the while creating cohesive and aesthetically pleasing design ideas for homes and businesses. As an interior designer, you can focus on specializing in a particular design field, whether that be residential interior design, commercial, environmental designs, and much more.
Pathways To This Career
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Interior Decorator Salary And Career Path
The career outlook for Interior Decorators is expected to grow at a fast pace through the year 2026.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there will be a 19% increase in employment opportunities.
However, competition will be intense as there are many creative people who want to go into this field.
Some candidates will benefit from specializing in one aspect of interior decorating, for example, a candidate can specialize in the bathroom or kitchen design.
Many professionals in the industry do this in order to stand out to potential clients.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports wages and salaries for Interior Decorators.
The national median wage for these professionals in 2019 was approximately $60,990 per year.
Wages can depend on the niche an Interior Decorator works in, whether they are self-employed and the industry they work in.
In 2019, the salary range for all Interior Decorators was between $31k and $96k.
The below information is based on the 2019 BLS national averages.
- Annually
Master The Skills Needed To Be An Interior Designer
Theres more to being an interior designer than creativity, impeccable taste, and a keen designers eye. Effective communication goes a long way in every aspect of a designers life, from landing the interview to getting the job and being promoted throughout your career, Headley offers. The art of storytelling is critical when it comes to explaining a concept or showcasing the design in the earliest stages. That is something that needs to start in class when students are presenting their projects.
Organizational, time management, project management, and communication skills are all prerequisites for the job, as is some very specific technical knowledge. While mastery of drawing and perspective are fundamental for every interior designer, computer-aided design now is as well. CAD technologyin the form of computer software such as Autodesk AutoCAD, CorelCAD, SmartDraw, ARCHICAD, DraftSight, and CAD Pro, among othersallows you to render your design ideas in 2D and 3D models with proper dimensions, colors, texture, and other design details.
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How To Become An Interior Decorator
This article was co-authored by Suzanne Lasky, ASID. Suzanne Lasky is an Interior Designer and the Founder of S Interior Design, a design consulting company based in Scottsdale, Arizona specializing in new home builds, home remodels, and all related design options for residential and small business clients. Suzanne has over 19 years of interior design and consulting experience. She is an Allied Member of the ASID . She earned a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University and an AAS in Interior Design from Scottsdale Community College.There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 17 testimonials and 94% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 414,790 times.
If you have a love of decorating and a knack for arranging furniture and choosing décor and color, a career as an interior decorator may be perfect for you. To become a “decorator” you don’t need an extensive education or a fancy degree, just a good eye and a passion for the job. However, if you are interested in interior design, you will need to take specialized courses and gain the proper licensing from the state, depending on which state you are in.
Whats The Difference Between An Interior Designer And An Interior Decorator
While people may use the two words interchangeably, they are not actually the same. Interior designers and interior decorators each play a special role in putting together interiors, but they vary slightly.
Furthermore, an interior designer will take a more scientific approach to help clients design their space. As such, they are part of the process from the ground up, usually working with architects to produce a room or home that complements the clients behavior and needs.
At a glance, this means that interior decorators are only dealing with the decor in a space while interior designers may deal with the design AND decor. Once an interior decorator is involved in the designing process too, their title is usually switched over to an interior designer rather than a decorator.
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Four: Build Your Design Portfolio
In this type of industry, visual aids are everything. In fact, your portfolio will probably be the very thing that, more often than not, creates a strong and favorable first impression for your business.
Heres why step three is so important: by getting all sorts of practice under your belt, youll be perfectly set up to crush step number four!
And why is step four so important? Because if you want to become an interior decorator, youre going to need a strong, high-quality design portfolio.
When prospective clients are thinking of working with an interior decorator, theyll likely turn to Google. As they conduct their search, theyll come across your website and check it out. If theyre able to clearly find and view your design portfolio, and all of your photos are impressive and of the highest quality, theres a great chance theyll reach out to you to book a consultation!
If your portfolio is inadequate you could wind up turning away potential customers before youve even had a chance to speak with them. And of course no aspiring interior decorator wants that!
Want to learn everything you need to know about developing the ultimate interior decorating portfolio? Check out QC Design Schools Accelerate Your Business Workshop today!
How To Discover Your Client’s Style And Color Preferences
When you first start the gig a task on your list is ‘get to know the client’ but despite the game suggesting it’s ‘optional’ it’s really not, at least not if you’d like to keep them happy. Talking to them will allow you to discover their likes and dislikes.
You can use the options‘ask about favorite color’ and ‘ask about favorite decor’ under the friendly interaction menu. There are also various other design-focused questions under the career sub-menu.
As you speak to clients you’ll notice that the boxes underneath the family name on your career tab will populate with the information you discover.
If you get lucky, as seen in the screenshot above, you’ll find out some color preferences as well as styles the clients love or hate. If you’re unlucky they’ll tell you they love to bake and hate handiness or something equally useless.
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Understand Interior Decorator Descriptions And Responsibilities
A successful decorator does much more than pick out pretty fabrics and rearrange furniture. In a typical day, they may cope with cabinet spacing, steer a homeowner away from a budget-blowing item, track down a missing tile installer, work on a seasonal installation for a business storefront, make a presentation in front of an architectural review board and the list goes on.
Do I Need A Designer Or A Decorator
Choosing between an interior designer or decorator depends on the scope of your design project and your budget. An interior designer can handle any type of project regardless of complexity, including structural and functional improvements. Theyre ideal for a new build, an addition or an extensive remodel since the designer can also work with contractors.
An interior decorator comes in when the room is a reality, and is more limited to the cosmetic aspect of a job, focusing on furnishings, room flow, color selection and home accents. Although the decorator works on a less-extensive scale than a designer, their services may be more than adequate, especially if what you basically need is a shopping buddy to brainstorm ideas and find the perfect piece of furniture.
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What’s It Like To Be An Interior Decorator
Interior Decorators plan and implement decoration schemes for residential homes and commercial properties like offices, shops, restaurants and hotels. They assist in the design and planning of the spaces colour scheme, lighting and furniture, and overall aesthetic, and supervise and coordinate the activities of tradesman including Painters and Carpet Layers.
Tasks and duties
- Performing inspections of client premises to establish existing design and take measurements.
- Advising clients on the selection of colour schemes, layout, lighting, furniture, floor coverings, curtains, paint, wallpaper, curtains and blinds.
- Providing design sketches, specifications and quotes for client approval.
- Supervising and coordinating the installation and layout of furniture and furnishings and ensuring subcontractor work meets quality, safety and cost expectations within established deadline.
- Selling to the public or tradespeople in a retail setting.
- Meeting with clients and other tradespeople such as architects, electricians and builders to discuss project requirements.
- Selecting suppliers of materials and labour.
Interior Decorators may also work in a consultant role or in a sales role in trade and retail shops. They are often self-employed or may manage a team of staff, and interact with members of the public daily, advising them on a broad range of matters relating to the look and feel of their home or business.
How To Become An Interior Decorator: The Ultimate Guide
Do you want to know how to become an interior decorator? Youve come to the right place!
Chances are, you have a lot of questions about this new possible career path. Luckily, weve answered ALL of them in the article below. So, sit back and put your feet up. By the time youve finished reading, youll know everything you need to get started ASAP!
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