Interior Design Jobs: Career Opportunities for Interior Design Graduates

Are you creative or artistic? Do you find yourself visually improving a space in your mind or making suggestions on how to improve it? If so, Interior Design may be a career for you to consider. When you think 'Interior Design', color swatches and furniture stores may come to mind. Decorating is not the only aspect to design, however. There are many careers to consider in the field of Interior Design. Which aspect of design intrigues you the most? Many Interior Design graduates go into the Kitchen and Bath industry; Kitchen and Bath is a large part of the design industry. Maybe you are more interested in remodeling. Some Interior Designers strictly do remodeling work. Interior Designers work with clients and other professionals to come up with solutions that are safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing, as well as to meet the needs of the people who will use the space. Here is a list of a few of the career options in Interior Design:

Kitchen and Bath Design - Kitchen and Bath design often includes the design of cabinets, so cabinet shops may hire Interior Designers to provide a cabinet layout for a kitchen, bathroom, or even a laundry room. Designers must follow guidelines to provide a safe environment for their clients. Kitchen and Bath design also includes the selection of the proper materials (countertop, flooring, backsplash...) and appliances. It is a desirable field for Interior Design graduates, as there are many opportunities in the Kitchen and Bath field.

Commercial Design - Commercial design includes hotels, schools, healthcare (hospitals, clinics, medical offices), retail stores, and any other public buildings.

Hospitality Design - Hospitality design is a part of Commercial design. It includes hotels, motels, restaurants, bars and clubs, resorts, theaters, and other places that offer 'hospitality'.

Residential Design - Residential design may include space planning of the living areas and bedrooms of a home, as well as selection of the color schemes and materials. Residential designers design the interiors of houses, apartments, and condominiums.

Residential Remodeling - Remodeling may be complicated, as the home to be remodeled is pre-existing. There are many problems for the remodeling designer to consider. The designer must inspect the home before coming up with a design. He needs to identify load bearing walls, water lines, and anything that may be an obstacle in the remodeling process. He also needs to come up with a safe and aesthetically pleasing solution to the design problem. This may be especially complicated when the entire house is being remodeled at once.

Lighting Design - Lighting designers specialize in the design of lighting in interiors. They are concerned with the types of lighting (ambient, accent, and task), the amount of lighting needed in a specific room, and the placement of the lighting sources.

Home Improvement Stores / Retail - There are large home improvement stores where a customer can go to get all of the materials he needs for a home improvement project, or smaller, specialty stores designed to suit a particular need. There is the option of working in a certain department of Menards or the Home Depot, or working in a small retail shop that hires designers to help with the layout of their product. A tile shop may offer design services and paint store associates, such as those at Sherwin-Williams, provide advice for paint colors and may even make home visits.

Distributors - You may choose to work with a company that distributes home improvement materials, such as tile or cabinetry.

Journalism - The Interior Design professional with strong writing skills may decide to become involved in journalism for publications such as design magazines.

Television shows - Home improvement television shows have become more widely popular due to HGTV and other channels that provide remodeling, design, and decorating programs and have home improvement information available to the public. However, television shows will often glamorize Interior Design - they usually do not show the 'behind the scenes'.

CAD Specialists - CAD is computer aided design. Interior Design professionals may prefer to specialize strictly in CAD programs, such as AutoCad and 20/20, among others.

Hand Drafting / Rendering - These are 2 of the skills the Interior Designer learns at the beginning of his or her education at a college or university. Hand drafting is a very precise way of drawing floor plans, elevations, and section drawings. Rendering is a way of providing a conceptual perspective drawing as a visual aid to the clients. Some Interior Designers may wish to specialize in one of these 2 areas.

Furniture Design - Furniture designers design furniture. They may present their ideas to clients or furniture manufacturers in order to sell them.

Teaching - Finally, the Interior Designer may decide to teach his or her skills to students in a college or university. Some even go back to teach at high schools. Often times, instructors will teach during the day and do design work in the evenings.

Employers of the Interior Designer include: design firms, architectural firms, flooring manufacturers, and furniture stores, among many others. Some designers choose to become self-employed by starting up their own Interior Design firms.

Decorating is not the only aspect of Interior Design; there are many areas to consider when entering this field. From Kitchen and Bath design to teaching, the options are limitless. If you consider yourself creative or enjoy helping to improve interior spaces, consider entering the field of Interior Design.

References: Personal Experience and a College Education in Interior Design