What Interior Designers Do

Interior designers make interior spaces functional, safe, and beautiful by determining space requirements and selecting decorative items, such as colors, lighting, and materials. They read blueprints and must be aware of building codes and inspection regulations, as well as universal accessibility standards.

Work Environment

Many interior designers work for the specialized design services industry or for the architectural, engineering, and related services industry. In 2014, about 1 in 4 were self-employed.

How to Become an Interior Designer

Interior designers usually need a bachelor’s degree with a focus on interior design.

Job Outlook

Employment of interior designers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2014 to 2024, slower than the average for all occupations. Designers will be needed to respond to consumer expectations that the interiors of homes and offices meet certain conditions, such as being environmentally friendly and more easily accessible.

Growth & Trends

This occupation supported 54,900 jobs in 2012 and 58,900 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 7.3%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 12.8% in 2022 to 61,900 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 56,300, compared with an observed value of 58,900, 4.6% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 4.0% in 2024 to 61,100 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 63,300 jobs for 2024, 3.6% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.

Interior Designers Employment and Labor Information 2023

Interior Designers Employment Brief:

Plan, design, and furnish the internal space of rooms or buildings. Design interior environments or create physical layouts that are practical, aesthetic, and conducive to the intended purposes. May specialize in a particular field, style, or phase of interior design.

Interior Designers Job Description

Here is a Job Description an employer might post for potential Interior Designers.

Interior Designers Responsibilities and Duties:

• Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success.
• Design spaces to be environmentally friendly, using sustainable, recycled materials when feasible.
• Estimate material requirements and costs, and present design to client for approval.
• Research and explore the use of new materials, technologies, and products to incorporate into designs.
• Formulate environmental plan to be practical, esthetic, and conducive to intended purposes, such as raising productivity or selling merchandise.
• Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items.
• Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination.
• Render design ideas in form of paste-ups or drawings.
• Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans.
• Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents.

Typical Daily Tasks of Interior Designers:

• Thinking Creatively: Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes. Draw detailed or technical illustrations. Incorporate green features into the design of structures or facilities. Plan facility layouts or designs.
• Working with Computers.
• Getting Information: Review details of technical drawings or specifications.
• Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment.
• Communicating with People Outside the Organization.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Select materials or props.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Confer with clients to determine needs.
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work.
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others.

Interior Designers Skills and Requirements:

• Instructing Teaching others how to do something.
• Negotiation Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Installation Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
• NavigationUsing scroll bars, a mouse, and dialog boxes to work within the computer's operating system. Being able to access and switch between applications and files of interest.
• Operations Monitoring Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Coordination Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• SpreadsheetsUsing a computer application to enter, manipulate, and format text and numerical data; insert, delete, and manipulate cells, rows, and columns; and create and save worksheets, charts, and graphs.
• Time Management Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Interior Designers Education and Training:

Typical education for include: Bachelor's degree.

Interior Designers Salary, Wages, and Salary and Job Outlook

Interior Designers average pay is: $61590 per year according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employees who work in Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services are the highest paid making $35.79, while Building Material and Supplies Dealers make the least at $24.03 per hour.Here are the top city/metro areas with the highest paying salaries for a Interior Designers: