6 Tips on How to Become an Interior Decorator

If you happen to receive constant stream of compliments regarding the way you design your own home and how good your taste is when it comes to shaping up interiors, then a career as an interior designer might just be waiting for you. Though it’s not an easy task, becoming a professional interior decorator only requires you have an eye for fashion, an intuitive sense of style and the ability to adapt and create/recreate. Here are some simple and easy tips that could help you start your journey towards a whole new career…

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Train your eye to pick up on details instantly

A good interior designer has a natural talent for picking up what is right with the room, which stuff looks out of place and what needs to be altered to change the current look. No matter how good you are (instinctively), it is only honing these skills will make you better. Whenever you walk into a room from now on, just observe what you like, what you would change and how you would improve its beauty. Start the practice for now in your own mind. Flip through magazines and the internet for more new ideas.

Obtain an appropriate degree or certification to get started

While this is not a must, if you are setting big goals and wish to go completely professional in interior decorating, then this is a must. Schools such as devry university online offer courses that can assist in your career path. The education will not only polish your existing talent, but it will open your mind up to new ideas, past designing trends and latest in the world of style. Certification can be obtained at various skill levels depending on the goals you have set for yourself. Start modest and soon you can aim for the peak. A degree in this regard will also help you get a job at a designing firm.

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You will need to study a lot beyond what meets the eye

Decorating a home not only means understanding style, elegance and looks but also materials, their respective nature and how well they fit into the given atmosphere. For this, one must take a look at stuff like the toxicity and flammability of materials apart from their nature of wear and tear and how they interact with different climate conditions. When it comes to setting a house in place, functionality is as much an issue as form.

Get lots of practice- even if it pays nothing

Like in every other profession on the planet, practice is the difference between success and failure. No matter how good you are, you will not understand many practical hassles unless you get down and get things done across the home. Keep altering your own home constantly and also decorate the homes of your friends and relatives – even if it does not pay a dime. There will come a day when all this ‘free work’ will pay off in a big way.

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Make a portfolio and build your own contacts

In the world of fashion and design the two most important aspects that define your success are your portfolio and your contacts. Make a great portfolio initially and if that means working as an assistant to someone for a small amount of time, so be it. Then make sure you have some good contacts. As your contact list and the amount of work grow, your portfolio looks more impressive and clients can be roped in. It is a like a chain that sustains and grows!

Always keep leaning- Design locally, but think globally

It is important to work keeping in mind the local sensibilities, tastes, climate patterns and needs. Try to mix and match with new trends and be connected with the world; stay with the pulse of the industry. Interior decorating is a very dynamic field and those who fail to keep up will have to face the ‘axe’.

Decorating interiors for a living is a great feeling as you take home not only the cash but also the satisfaction that you have touched, altered and improved the life of someone. It is feeling that not many professions have to offer-a combination of aesthetics, cash, creativity and functionality.