Imagine
having a career that lets you use your creativity to make homes and
businesses more beautiful and comfortable. Welcome to the world of interior
decorating!
(article continued below ...)
There are few careers that offer so many benefits. As an interior
decorator you will have the satisfaction of making your vision a reality.
You will meet interesting people, and because many people who hire interior
decorators are wealthy, you will likely spend time in many beautiful homes
and businesses. If you start your own decorating business you can enjoy the
freedom of being your own boss. And perhaps most importantly, your
"work" will be fun, interesting, and rewarding.
As long as you have the desire, you can become an interior decorator. No
special education or experience is necessary to break into this career and
succeed. (Unlike becoming a certified interior designer which has strict
requirements including two to five years of post-secondary education in
interior design.) You can become an interior decorator immediately.
If interior decorating sounds like the career of your dreams, here are 10
steps to breaking into this fabulous job, based on the FabJob.com Guide to
Become an Interior Decorator:
1. Train your
eye. Since you are
interested in a career as a interior decorator, chances are you already have
a “good eye” for design. In other words, when you look at a room you can
see what looks good, and what could be improved. But no matter how naturally
talented you are, you can continually “train your eye" by studying
what people consider to be good design.
Seek out beautifully decorated interiors to look at. You can find
numerous examples of beautiful interiors in design magazines or in your own
community by visiting show homes, open houses for sale in wealthy
neighborhoods, furniture showrooms, historic homes, art galleries, and
offices of professionals such as interior decorators and corporate lawyers.
2. Educate
yourself. Interior
decorators are expected to know about the various elements involved in
decorating such as: space planning (how to arrange furniture and other items
within a particular space), use of color and light, furniture and decorating
styles (for example, Colonial or Southwestern), floorings, wall coverings,
window treatments, and use of accessories such as pillows and art. You can
learn decorating basics through courses, books, web sites, and even by
speaking with retailers of products used in home decorating (paint, carpet,
lighting, hardware stores, etc.)
3. Practice at
home. Most interior
decorators get their first decorating experience working on their own homes.
Even if you have just one small room to experiment with, you can get “hands-on”
experience with a variety of decorating techniques. For example, you can
make a dramatic change to any room, quickly and inexpensively, simply by
rearranging the furniture or painting the walls a new color. Give it a try!
Experiment with techniques you wouldn’t ordinarily use. Consider this room
your “research lab” where you can try things out before recommending
them to a client.
4.
Volunteer your services.
Your friends and family members may already have asked for your advice about
decorating, but if they haven’t yet asked you to actually decorate their
homes or businesses, why not offer?
Some occasions your family or friends may want to redecorate are when
they experiencing transitions in life, such as: marriage or co-habitation
(help them merge two households into one), moving into a new home,
childbirth (offer to decorate the baby’s room), hosting a special event
such as a wedding or dinner party, starting a home business (you could
decorate their new office), and selling a home (explain how a well decorated
home can attract buyers).
5. Prepare a
portfolio. A portfolio is
a collection of samples of your work, plus any other documents that can help
show why someone should hire you. The most important part of an interior
decorator's portfolio is photographs of interiors you have decorated, so
make sure you take "before” and “after” photos of every space you
decorate. Choose 15-20 photographs of work you are proud of, and arrange
them in a photo album or portfolio case.
Your portfolio can also include letters of recommendation and
"design boards" (poster boards onto which you have pasted pictures
and samples of materials such as fabrics, flooring, wallpaper, etc.) to show
clients what you recommend to decorate a particular room.
6. Get a job.
Even if you plan to start your own interior decorating business, you can
learn about the business and meet potential clients by starting with a job
in the industry. Companies that hire people with decorating talent include
home builders, manufacturers of furniture and housewares, hotel and
restaurant chains, retailers (furniture stores, home improvement stores,
antiques dealers, housewares stores, etc.), plus interior design and
decorating firms.
To get a job, you will need to prepare a resume that emphasizes your
experience with decorating plus any other skills the employer is looking
for, such as customer service or organizational ability.
7. Start your
own business. Many
interior decorators dream of being their own boss. If that's your goal,
you'll need to decide on business matters such as your company's name and
whether to incorporate or not. Free basic business advice is available from
organizations such as SCORE and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Many interior decorators choose to work from home when they start their
businesses because it saves on the cost of an office and, unlike many other
types of businesses, you won’t be expecting clients to come to you you
will usually be going to their homes or offices.
8. Establish
relationships with suppliers.
Suppliers are companies that supply the products and services you need to
decorate. They include manufacturers of furniture, wall coverings, flooring,
fabrics, etc. as well as contractors who do painting, carpentry,
installation, etc. When you go shopping as a professional interior
decorator, you are entitled to “designer discounts” of up to 50% off the
regular retail price which you can pass on to clients.
While some decorators charge an hourly rate or a flat fee, others charge
"cost-plus." For example, if your cost for a product is 40%
percent below the regular retail price, you could charge the client your
cost plus 20%, thereby saving the client the other 20% they would pay to buy
the same item at a retail store. This opportunity to save money on
decorating may convince clients to hire you.
9. Get clients.
Your potential clients could include home builders, new home buyers, wealthy
home owners, professional couples, advertising agencies, art galleries, bed
and breakfasts, boutique stores, corporate head offices, hotels, law firms,
restaurants, spas, and many other types of businesses.
One way to market your services is by networking with professionals who
can refer business to you, such as real estate agents, architects, antiques
dealers, art dealers, home renovators, and owners of businesses that sell
home furnishings. Other marketing techniques include putting up a web page
with photos of interiors you have decorated and getting publicity in the
homes section of your local newspaper.
10. Grow as a
professional. Successful
interior decorators continue to learn new decorating techniques. Once you
have started a business you can continue to develop your skills by attending
trade shows, reading decorating magazines and books, and joining
professional associations. You can also impress clients and have an
advantage over your competition by becoming certified as a professional
interior decorator.
-- Tag Goulet is author of the FabJob.com Guide to Become an Interior
Decorator. The complete guide gives detailed advice on how you can get paid
to decorate homes and businesses, be hired for a job in the decorating
industry, or start your own interior decorating business. The guide is
available online at http://www.fabjob.com/decorator.asp
Like
this Article? Recommend This to a Friend
| 
