How to Become an Interior Decorator: The Ultimate Guide

That depends… Do you consider the chance to put your eye for design to good use on a daily basis a “good career”? How about making a lucrative income while playing a fundamental role in your clients’ homes? Do you thrive best when you’re able to tap into your creativity?

Technically, no, you don’t actually need a degree to get started as an interior decorator. But that doesn’t mean that getting properly educated and certified isn’t still the smartest possible option!

The fact is, prospective clients will always prefer to hire an industry expert who’s actually put in the time and effort to earn their stripes. After all, our homes are sacred. Why risk paying someone who can’t prove that they know what they’re doing? By having a reputable education and designation under your belt, it’ll be a lot easier for you to establish trust and credibility with potential clients.

The amount of time it’ll take you to become an interior decorator depends on a few key factors:

On average, brick and mortar interior decorating courses can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to finish. The obvious pro of in-person schooling is that you’ll be surrounded by your fellow peers, as well as your instructor.

However, there are also some cons to consider. For instance, you’ll have to pay a much higher tuition rate for a much less personalized learning environment.

Distance learning, on the other hand, has become the preferred method of education over recent years – and especially over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Why?

First, your tuition will be a lot more affordable, since there’s no physical campus or building to maintain. Second, since it’s just you and your tutor, you’re guaranteed a customized learning experienced, tailored specifically for YOU and your needs.

Additionally, the right online interior decorating course – such as the program offered by QC Design School – will be 100% self-paced. Essentially, this means that you’ll never have to commit to deadlines or the need to travel. That’s right, you can become an interior decorator while you sit on the couch in your jammies!

For an interior decorator, the primary focus of your job are the aesthetics of your clients’ living spaces. If you’re ultra passionate about color section, furniture placement, decor and accessories, and bringing balance to a room, then you’re positively going to thrive in this profession!

However, to work as an interior decorator involves a lot more than simply walking into a home and making it pretty. On the contrary, you’ll have more than your fair share of daily responsibilities – many of which, you’ve probably never even thought of!

Here are just some of the regular tasks you’ll need to take care of for any given project:

While we’re on the topic of research, now is also a great time to check out your local competition! Who are the other interior decorators in your area? What are their businesses like? How much do they charge for their services? How would you define their brand?

What are people nearby looking for, in terms of interior decorating services? Is the demand high where you live? If not, in which ways can you adjust accordingly to appeal to a larger range of clientele and ensure that your career endeavors are a success?

If you want to know how to work as an interior decorator, you’ll first need to know what the demand is like for this field in your local area. So, do some heavy duty research! Test out some relevant SEO keywords and inquiries in Google, and see what pops up.

Now it’s time to get properly trained, educated, and certified as an interior decorator. Start by deciding whether you’d prefer to pursue your schooling online or in-person. Once you’ve determined that, you can then conduct the necessary research to figure out the different options that are at your disposal.

(Insider tip: If you do your training online, there will be a LOT more interior decorating courses to choose from!)

Regardless of whether a program is online or in-person, it’ll need to meet the same criteria. In order to ensure that you get your money’s worth – and the highest-quality education – we strongly urge you to only consider interior decorating courses that:

Although your professional training will teach you how to be an interior decorator and run your very own business, it’s practice that will truly make you perfect! So, we recommend getting as much of that as possible – especially before you jump head-first into booking paying clients.

After all, paying clients will expect nothing short of the very best from you. In order to achieve those desired results, you’ll want to have some experience under your belt first.

Why not start by offering complimentary interior decorating services to your closest friends and family? You can also use your own home to try out different techniques and styles you’ve mastered during your schooling. Another possible option is to take part in a stylized photoshoot, or lend your expertise to some sort of charitable cause.

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.

Here’s why step three is so important: by getting all sorts of practice under your belt, you’ll 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, you’re going to need a strong, high-quality design portfolio.

When prospective clients are thinking of working with an interior decorator, they’ll likely turn to Google. As they conduct their search, they’ll come across your website and check it out. If they’re able to clearly find and view your design portfolio, and all of your photos are impressive and of the highest quality, there’s a great chance they’ll reach out to you to book a consultation!

Networking will be your BEST FRIEND as you become an interior decorator and advance in your career. The home design industry is a pretty tight-knit community. It won’t take long for you to meet and/or become acquainted with the other decorators in your local area, as well as contractors, suppliers, and other types of designers.

“But wait,” you might be thinking, “why do I need to become friends with other interior decorators? Aren’t they my competition?”

Yes, but in no way does this mean they aren’t also allies. Your career will be much better off if you establish positive connections with others in the community (even your competitors) than if you tried to go at things completely solo.

After all, by networking, you’ll be increasing your chances of getting referrals. Those in the industry who are not also interior decorators can collaborate with you on projects or send potential clients your way. Heck, even other decorators can do this for you (so long as they know you’d do the same if ever given the opportunity). Proper networking cultivates a mutually respectful agreement of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”.

This is the step that most aspiring interior decorators tend to forget about – and this is ultimately why they’re unsuccessful in the long run. In order to start a career as an interior decorator, you have to get properly trained and really learn your stuff.

In reality, the learning process will be a lifelong effort. After all, the home design industry is constantly changing and evolving. As a result, there will forever be new trends to try, new knowledge to acquire, and new skills to harness.

To limit your training is to limit your career’s potential. Staying in one place will make you (and your subject-matter expertise) stagnant… and believe me, clients will notice this.

So, be proactive about expanding your education! Take more courses and add even more certifications to your already-impressive resume. Browse social media during your downtime, read interior decorating publications, and research the newest trends as they come.

The real estate market is red hot right now, and will likely remain that way for years to come. Thus, now is the optimal time to offer staging services to clients – which can be complimented effortlessly and elevated by your interior decorating know-how!

Once you’ve helped a client declutter their home and re-organize their spaces, why not take things one step further by decorating those spaces in the most aesthetically-pleasing way possible? Professional organizing is all about efficiency and practicality, but visual appeal plays a big role, too. If your business offers both professional organizing AND interior decorating services all under one roof, think of all the clients you’ll book!

Some people mistakenly believe that color consultants only help clients pick paint colors. But in reality, their jobs involve a lot more than that! Part of their job can also be to help clients pick out the right colors for furniture, decor, and accessories. Since, as an interior decorator, you’ll be a master of all these things, why not also be your clients’ leading color expert, too?

The best part?

Feng Shui has been wildly popular for as long as we can remember. One thing’s for certain: it’s definitely not going anywhere! In fact, it’ll only continue to get even more popular in the years to come.

And you’ve guessed it: it also pairs seamlessly with interior decorating!

This is because both Feng Shui and interior decorating ultimately share the same goal: to create cozy, beautiful spaces. It’s no surprise that a lot of successful Feng Shui designers also offer interior decorating services as part of their business.

Florals have always been – and always will be – one of the best decor elements a home can have. So, our honest question is: why outsource such an in-demand service when you can offer it to clients yourself? With the right training, you’ll be equipped to design all of your customers’ floral arrangements and then place them throughout the home accordingly.

Thanks to the pandemic, people everywhere discovered that a lot of home design services can, in fact, be offered online instead of in-person. What does this mean for you? Firstly, you’ll be able to offer your interior decorating services to local clients who might not necessarily be able to make in-person meetings. Secondly, you’ll also be able to service long-distance clients from all around the world, too!

Brand-new to e-design and not sure where to start?