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Usually, people tend to use the two words interchangeably calling decorators, designers and vice versa.
BUT THIS IS NOT THE CASE!
There is a stark difference between the two professions! In fact, there are interior designers who believe that unlicensed individuals calling themselves "interior designers" should not be calling themselves as such since there are high standards to becoming a professional and licensed interior designer in the first place...😳
(Insert drama in the interior design community here!!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥)
Or at least, that's what a handful of interior designers out there think it should be like. Throughout the various Interior Designer podcasts and communities that I have joined since embarking on my own interior design college journey, I have seen this topic mentioned every now and then. Many newcomers to the industry (such as myself) are curious about the "rules" in the design world and which title belongs to who.
There are many seasoned designers who argue that going through schooling and studying for/passing the NCIDQ Exam have earned them the right to hold that title while others should resort to calling themselves "interior decorators". But there are other professional designers that say otherwise and agree that it actually depends on the state that you live in and what the state design rules say about who can call themselves a designer or not. Many people actually agreed with the state opinion and chimed in saying that "If the state you live in allows you to have an interior design business without a license and a degree, then you have every right to call yourself a designer if you want to" or "There's nothing wrong with calling yourself an interior decorator either! Both professions should be respected as they both can be two different careers".
There is a difference in both careers, where interior decorators usually have the important job of dressing up the inside of the home in a cohesive manner while juggling what the clients want and what actually looks good together. Decorator tasks can involve helping the client pick out the perfect tile, paint colors for the walls, vases and plants that compliment each other, furniture, rugs, light fixtures, and how everything in a home can magically combine together based on color theory, fabric & textile know-how, and having a real eye for design. Some decorators can go beyond the simple definition I mentioned, but that's the typical gist of the many decorator businesses out there.
Interior Designers study do be able to do all of that, AND have the ability to work side by side with general contractors to help create the interior layout of a home or place of business. This could be designing wall features, constructing entire floor layouts on blueprint, designing spaces to be more useful, even creating furniture from scratch, being able to consider the clients' desires for what they intend to use the space for and understanding how the different people who live/use the space they're designing can get the maximum benefit out of it. The job is pretty intense the more complicated the project is as there are many things to balance and consider. But being a decorator is a skill! And so is knowing how to do what a designer does! Both are true.
There still seemed to be a healthy split between those who believed that one should have to study and earn their way towards being able to call themselves a designer. However, there was one opinion that I couldn't help but agree with which was "Why can't there just be interior designers/decorators AND licensed interior designers?" This was the one that I have to agree with because it is true that anyone who is able to legally run a design business and does their job well should be able to call themselves an interior designer in their state. We can also, at the same time, hold space for the designers who do go through schooling and earn the many licenses that are available and call themselves licensed interior designers because they did in fact, earn that title. Everyone has a right to be proud, regardless of the type of hard work they have done!
In the state of Florida, anyone can be an interior designer but they are limited to working on residential places (if they're the ones leading the project). IF you would like to take on bigger projects such as doing interior design for commercial properties, then the state requires you to pass the NCIDQ Exam and hold a license to practice commercial interior design. You can only sit down to take the exam if you have a bachelor's degree in interior design and you've worked a certain amount of hours at a design firm/business. This makes sense to me because I can only imagine the multitude of things that could go wrong if you're trying to design a commercial kitchen, or a boiling room for a hotel and all the different legal things and safety codes you would definitely need to know, and commercial experience to have prior to taking on complicated projects like those.
It's also a lot of responsibility sitting on your shoulders when it comes to taking on commercial design projects so it makes sense to have gone through years of schooling, graduated, worked under other professional designers for a few years, and take the three part NCIDQ Exam that tests you on how you would work in commercial design situations. It doesn't even sound easy but there are thousands of people who have done the work and have earned the right to legally practice commercial interior design in their respective state. But not all interior designers want to go down that path and not everyone has to in order to make a nice living from this industry and to even be considered successful. But it would be a nice license to have especially in an economy that is not very forgiving at the moment. One can dream!
What are your thoughts and opinions about this topic? I believe that its a beautiful thing to hold space for the various differences in opinions that people can have on something like this. It's true that going through schooling and passing exams is not easy, but the same can be said of someone who has taken on project after project and has a well-earned portfolio of past work that can look just as good or sometimes even better than some portfolios of licensed designers. Drop your opinions down in the comment section below!
Next blog post, I think I will start talking about the different pathways that are available to people who decide to go down the school route of interior design as that's the next thing I've been looking more into! Stay tuned and subscribe to the blog! Follow me on my design socials linked below for more Mauina Design!
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