Interior Decorator

Description of Job
• Draw plans to decorate a client's home or office with attention to style, quality, and budget. •Meet with designers, contractors, and suppliers to draw up specifications.
• Oversee purchases, renovations, and installation.
The Need
Somewhere in the mind's eye of most of us is a vision of the house beautiful and the office spectacular. Yet relatively few of us have the background, the training, or the time to create a handsome environment all at once. An interior decorator can redo an entire house or a single room. A new baby may be on the way, or a spare bedroom may be due to make the transition to a home office. Companies need to have attractive spaces for conferences, meetings with customers, and showrooms for products.
Challenges
There is no license required to hang out a shingle as an interior decorator. Instead, you'll have to demonstrate your abilities through examples of plans you have drawn or work you have accomplished. In addition to a good sense of design and color, you'll need to be knowledgeable about construction, fabrics, and styles of furniture, lighting systems, and flooring. In most cases you will be called on to interpret your client's needs and wants; you'll rarely be given a blank sheet of paper and an unlimited budget. You'll have to be able to work in a variety of styles, from antiques and reproductions to commercial and industrial to ultramodern.
Know the Territory
You can take courses on interior design at community colleges and major universities. There is also a tremendous amount of information about design and decorating in books and on web sites. Consult the sites for furniture makers to learn about their products; many manufacturers offer impressive catalogs to decorators, and some have sales conferences and demonstrations of products. Become an expert, or attach yourself to a knowledgeable associate who knows about upholstery, carpeting and other flooring, wallpaper and paneling, and other furnishings. Make contact with manufacturers of lighting systems, audiovisual and computer furniture and fixtures, and office presentation equipment. Plan on attending national or regional interior decorating shows and conventions where manufacturers display their products and conduct seminars.
How to Get Started
Post flyers and ads at community centers and retail stores. Furniture and home supply centers may allow you to advertise your services in their stores if you promise to direct some of your customers to them. Contact area contractors. They may want to have a model home decorated and in return would allow you to promote your service there, and they may be willing to give your name to any client who asks for a designer. Offer a commission or bonus for work they send your way. Ask friends and acquaintances to recommend your services; offer a bonus or discount on future jobs for any business they direct to you. Do the same with satisfied customers.
Create a portfolio of jobs you have completed; obtain permission from clients to take photos for the portfolio or for a web site. (You don't have to identify the names and addresses of clients if they prefer anonymity.)
Up-front Expenses
You may have some expenses in educating yourself about furniture and equipment. Other costs include advertising and promotion.
How Much to Charge
Most interior decorators make their income in the form of commissions from wholesale or retail outlets. Depending on the complexity and size of the job, you might also charge the client an hourly or fixed fee for consultation and drawing up a plan.

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