Interior decorators are constantly sought after by clients for their expertise, creativity, and ability to bring a design vision to life. But to be at the top of your game in this industry, you’ll need proper training as a home decorator.
Becoming a certified designer will open all kinds of career opportunities to you, including some that don’t fall within the traditional interior decorating definition. Read on to find out how an interior decorating class can lead you into 5 fabulous, unexpected design careers!
Retail Store Interior Design Coordinator
Working in a retail environment can prove very rewarding, and it’s an excellent way to hone your interior decorating skills! Depending on where you live, there are likely several different stores that specialize in interiors, and it’s worth it to get in touch with these stores to find out if they’re hiring.
In the role of a Retail Store Interior Design Coordinator (or Manager, depending on whether you work your way up in the organization), you’ll get to know clients, share your design expertise, and provide solutions on color and décor. With an interior decorator certificate, you’re already familiar with how to assess client needs, prepare designs, and put color theory to use. Your interior decorating course also taught you how to work with a variety of budgets and client personalities, so you can readily apply this knowledge to a retail role.
Your employer will be thrilled to see that you’re equipped to handle clients and provide helpful suggestions, and you’ll gain some invaluable real-world experience!
Open House Associate
Interior decorators are, by nature, outgoing and personable. There are some careers, however, that will require you to take your people skills to a whole new level, one of which is an Open House Associate. In this role, you’ll be employed by a building management organization, and provide assistance to homeowners during open houses. Excellent customer service and great organizational skills allow you to provide customers with a fabulous experience, but your strong knowledge of color theory, design, and furniture placement is what will set you apart in this role. And guess where that knowledge comes from? That’s right – an interior decorating course.
A position like this is a great choice for a newly certified interior decorator, as you’ll meet many people, build your skills within a large organization, and learn a great deal on the job.
Set Decorator
If you’ve always considered yourself a film aficionado, and love the thought of working on an exciting film set, we have some great news for you – an interior decorating course will prepare you to become a Set Decorator!
Just because your class focused on home and office décor doesn’t limit your career options! Being organized and having a strong knowledge of design, decoration and color theory are all seriously valuable qualities that will land you a Set Decorator job in no time. Because you pursued a career as an interior decorator, we’ll assume that you’re also a creative, outgoing person – these personality traits are necessary to succeed in this role. You’ll run into a variety of different personalities in the film industry, and while this will keep your job exciting, you’ll also be knowledgeable about different clients from your design training.
So how do you go about finding interior decorating jobs in the film industry? We recommend checking out these conferences during the remainder of 2017, and chatting to as many people as you can!
Kitchen Designer
Creating home design plans, selecting and arranging furniture, and creating custom interiors for clients are just some of the skills you’ll gain from an interior decorating course. While this knowledge will prove incredibly valuable in an interior decorating role, you can also choose to focus solely on one room of the home, namely the kitchen! Kitchen Designers are generally employed by design firms or retail stores, and create custom interiors for clients based on their vision and preferences, working closely with them to determine which features of the space they use most and create a design they’ll love.
Not all kitchen designers have an interior decorator certificate, so be confident in the fact that this will give you a competitive edge, and will also allow you to use a wide variety of background knowledge to make the best possible décor choices for your clients’ kitchens.
Office Space Planner
The role of an Office Space Planner is one that is becoming more and more in-demand, as the need for comfortable and productive workplaces increases. Think of this particular role as a project manager – you’ll be employed by an organization that specializes in office furniture and layouts, and you’ll help clients through each step of the planning process. Putting those people skills to use, you’ll work closely with office employees to find out what their goals are, as you want to ensure that the boss and employees are both happy with the results of your work.
An interior decorating class will equip you with knowledge of design materials and wall treatments, as well as how to draw floorplans. This knowledge is seriously important when planning an office space, as your employer will require a floorplan before you make any big changes. They’ll want to see different options for the office space.
Knowing which lighting works best in a corporate space, as well as how to maximize floor space, are skills you can take directly from your interior decorating course and put to excellent use in this role!