Q & A on Becoming a Designer (Kitchen or Otherwise)

Below is an email I received from Yahoo Answers where I sometimes lurk and post answers:

At 10:01 PM 7/23/2009, you wrote:
Subject: Interior Design Complications

Q.
Message: Hi my name is Savannah. I was looking up some answers to interior design when i came across yours and you said you were a designer of some sort. I would like some advice if that's OK.

I'm 18. I live in Sacramento, and I really want to become a interior designer. But it seems like what I want to do more is be an interior decorator. I'm not sure what the difference is.

Also I am enrolled at American River College for the fall and trying to get into the Art Institute of Sacramento, but there are some things I hear about private schools that get me confused on what I should do?

Should I go to AI and take the courses for my major which are hands on but pay back around 60 to maybe 70 thousand dollars; or go to community college for two years then transfer to a UC?

Also is being a interior designer a family oriented job? I really want to have a family and also have a good job (interior design) but I don't want to live that life where you move because your job demands it.

I am really stumped at the moment and kind of freaking out because I originally wanted my college plan all laid out before I started, you know? I sense you're in the same area of interest that I want to be in. I could really use your advice.

Sorry for the long message. If you can give me any direction I will really appreciate it

Savannah

Hi Savannah,

I'm a Certified Kitchen Designer.
I have been in "the business" for 26 years, but never really went to college to learn my craft. Would you believe I actually went to college to become a nurse?

When I started working in kitchen and bath design there really weren't any schools teaching the discipline. I learned on the job.

As a certified designer (by the National Kitchen & Bath Association - NKBA), I am required to take a defined number of hours of continuing education courses annually to maintain my certification. It is necessary to educate and re-educate myself just to keep up with the many changes in my industry.

Nowadays, most new interior designers DO go to college to learn the basics of design and how it is documented and governed by the cities, counties and states we work in.

There is a lot to learn:

Professional interior design encompasses furnishings and fittings in commercial buildings, like office buildings and hotels. The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) pretty much sets the standards for commercial interior design with their NCIDQ examinations. Designers who pass those (very difficult) exams get to use the designation ASID or FASID after their names. Students who wish to become commercial interior designers really must go to college to learn what they need to know to specify furnishings and carpeting, etc., that will pass fire and egress codes in commercial buildings.

Kitchen and bath designers are also interior designers. We work on mostly residential structures. We also design in commercial buildings when we do residential condos in high rise building, for instance. As a result we need to know a great deal about the building codes that apply to each kind of project we do.

There are other sub-specialties in interior design: Such as lighting designers, who must keep up with a very fast moving specialty.

Interior decorators usually design furniture, window coverings, paint and wallpaper, in residential settings. They do not usually get involved with structural changes to homes, although some do. They may have attended to a four year college or a community college. Or they can just hang a shingle, if homeowners are willing to pay for their talent.

There are no legal or educational requirements for calling oneself an interior decorator or and interior designer in the State of California. There is a certification program for interior designers in California that is administered by the California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC). I am also certified by them as a Certified Interior Designer.

Most of us designers have families.

I suggest that you do some research to learn more about the various specialties and where you might fit best and what education you need. Talking to career counselors at the various colleges is good. Calling people who advertise in your local Yellow Pages or interiors magazines as interior designers and/or decorators might give you some insight. Ask if you might be permitted to drop by their offices or even "shadow" them for a day. I have allowed students to "shadow" me and they always thank me for the experience. Go to an ASID meeting. You'll have to pay to get in but the experience could tell you if you want to go in that direction. Same way for an NKBA meeting.

Good luck with your career Savannah.

Peggy