Many use the terms “interior designer” and “interior decorator” interchangeably, but should they? The short answer is no.
Andrea Bursey is the lead designer at Design House London and she said, “an interior designer can be a decorator but a decorator cannot be a designer.”
There are many reasons for this such as the education needed, licensing requirements, and the jobs that each take on.
Education
Dana Morningstar is the Associate Dean for the School of Design at Fanshawe College and she highlighted three main differences between interior design and interior decorating. The differences are: 1. the entrance requirement into the program, 2. the length of time that it takes to complete the program, and 3. the types of jobs that one can get in the end.
At Fanshawe, the interior design program is four years with more pre-requisites, and at the end you obtain a degree. Whereas the interior decorating program is two years, and you get a diploma.
But she did say that “there is crossover, there’s no doubt. Interior decorating and interior design have many similar things. Particular use of materials and interior spaces such as carpeting or countertops or millwork or lighting decisions. It’s just that interior design has two more years of school.”
Furthermore, “both of the occupations have many many doorways. So, you can become a specialist in either category, interior decorating or interior design, by virtue of what types of spaces you end up working in the most. And then you become a specialist and then you drive your clients from the fact that you’ve done all that previous work.”
Licensing
Bursey highlighted how in Ontario an interior designer “does need to have graduated from an accredited post-secondary institution, and further to that they do need to be members of ARIDO in order to officially call themselves an interior designer. Whereas there is no education required to call yourself an interior decorator.”
This can be seen online through Instagram posts and YouTube videos where people who enjoy decorating their homes have made a name for themselves as an interior decorator.
Job Description
The difference between the two when it comes to their jobs is that a designer can design a variety of spaces whereas decorators tend to be more so for residential only. Also, “a designer can do floor plans, elevations, and different types of detail drawings as part of a project. Whereas decorators might only do floorplans,” said Bursey.
Furthermore, designers work closely with architects and construction crews to make spaces functional, safe, and beautiful for clients. On the other hand, decorators work with fabrics, furniture, and colours to create beautiful spaces. But both work to create beautiful and functional spaces while taking guidance from the clients on their wants, needs, and dreams.
Job Market
Just like everything else in our lives, COVID has impacted the interior design and decorating industry. Since we are currently in a lockdown, designers and decorators cannot go into people’s homes. But Bursey said that once lockdown is lifted, they will possibly be able to go into homes to meet clients and see the space.
“I would say they are in demand more now then almost ever before just because of that fact that people are spending money on their homes… We are seeing a lot more people spending more money on home offices or even just small offices around town. People want to kind of jazz them up and add some things to make them prettier for when things do get back to normal… so I do think that there is a large need for designers and decorators right now for sure.”
Bursey also followed up by stating that even home staging is in high demand. “The market is absolutely crazy right now. So, a part of decorating is often home staging. And I feel that that is something that’s really in high demand right now as well just to try to get the most profit off the sale of your house.”
Comments