Overview of Interior Design

          Interior Design is a relatively new field that is continuously developing. The responsibility of an interior designer is to use problem solving skills to design a safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing interior environment that includes the wants and needs of the client.  Interior designers do much more than furniture and fabric selection.  Interiors designers take on many different types of projects ranging from residential kitchen design to commercial hotel interiors.  Interior designers are responsible for creating environments on the interior of a building designed by an architect.  Clients contact interior designers to design spaces that will better their lives and others using the space. Interior designers produce designs for interior spaces both residential and commercial.  For example, an interior designer would be contacted to design the interior of a hospital because interior designers are trained to know ADA codes to ensure safety.  Interior designers are also trained to understand how people think and what affects their moods.  For example, certain colors evoke different types of emotions from individuals.

A multi-step process is taken to design an interior space beginning with a meeting between an interior designer and their client. The design process involves countless meetings with clients, gathering research, developing a plan, revising that plan, and ultimately turning the plan into a tangible environment.  Meeting with the client is crucial to the design process.  This meeting is the interior designers chance to figure out exactly what type of space the client wants the designers to create.  The interior designer has to act almost as a mind reader during this phase of the process because most clients do not know how to articulate the design ideas in their minds.  The interior designer would ask questions pertaining to the purpose/function of the space they will be designing, color scheme ideas, like/dislikes of the client, budget, etc.  After meeting the client the interior designer then goes onto the next step of the design process: schematic design.  During this step of the process the designer comes up with different concept ideas that will help guide the design of the floor plan and furniture/finishes that will be used in the space.  A concept, or parti, is any word or image that tells the basic idea behind the design of a space.  For example, a concept for a spa interior might be tranquility, or a concept for a children’s center might be energy or growth.  After coming up with a concept the interior designer begins to translate it into a floor plan.  In this phase the designer drafts a floor plan, elevations, sections, and perspectives of the space being designed to present to the client.  Multiple drawings are created in order to make it easy for the client to be able to visualize the space.   More often than not the first design presented to a client is rejected no matter what type of client that designer is working with; interior design is an industry that focuses on collaboration between the designer and the client.  The interior designer is then sent back to the drafting table after being rejected to adjust all of the work they did for the first presentation; this step can be extremely frustrating.  After the client approves of the plans for the space the interior designer drafts construction documents for the architect and contractors working on the project.  Once these plans are approved the space can finally be constructed.  An interior designer is not only responsible for communicating their through drafting to their client but also to the people responsible for constructing the actual space.  One of the many jobs of an interior designer is develop strong communication skills; without these skills it would be impossible for a design to be safely executed. 

Interior designers are faced with many different challenges, the two main challenges being the challenge of collaborating with peers and clients for projects as well as the challenge of working with a set budget.  The interior design industry is a collaborative industry.  Designer’s cooperation and collaboration skills are put to the test for every project that they are a part of.  Interior designer’s patience is also tested when working with difficult clients.  The most irritating client to work with is a stubborn one who is not willing to listen to the designer’s professional opinion.  It is in these types of situations that the interior designer is challenged with satisfying the client without losing their voice on the project.  In an interview with interior designer, Eileen Ulrich, I asked about the challenges she faces as a designer; she responded saying, “It is very challenging working with partners and learning how to share responsibilities peacefully.”

The other major challenge that an interior designer is faced with is staying within budget on a project.  A designer is usually given a set budget by a client.  It is the interior designer’s responsibility to keep track of every dollar spent on the project.  Failing to do so could cost the client more money than they are willing to spend or could cost the interior designer their job.  Fortunately interior designers are taught how to manage a budget in school so this task should not be too hard to mess up.

All interior designers share the common goal of designing a safe, interesting space within budget, while satisfying the client and making a positive impact on their quality of life.  Interior designers achieve this goal by listening to the client’s requests while following IBC codes (International Building Codes) and ADA codes (American Disabilities Act) when designing a space.  The end result of an interior design project should leave the client with a space that betters their lives, business, and the lives of others who will experience the space.

Work #1 Work That Hurts

In the chapter "Work That Hurts" from Ciulla’s “What is Work” she talks about work and the toil and drudgery that go along with it. Drudgery refers to work that is dull and minuteness, while toil refers to exhausting, continuous work/labor (Ciulla 30).  I would not say that interior design is dull but I would definitely say that it is extremely time consuming and exhausting.  Interior designers spend hours upon hours using their problem solving skills while drafting plans and creating presentations to present to clients.  The problem solving continues after the presentation to the client because more often than not the client rejects the first set of plans.  Interior designers are constantly modifying plans to meet the required safety codes and to satisfy their clients.  Ultimately the problem solving, or “work that hurts”, aspect of interior design benefits everyone involved in the project that the interior designer has taken on.  A direct result of an interior designer’s problem solving is a safe, functional space.

Work #2 Labor of Our Bodies

In Ciulla's chapter "The Labor of Our Bodies" she explains that while labor does involve physical activity is not always an extremely strenuous act (Ciulla 29).  Many people believe that the job of an interior designer does not involve any type of physical labor; they believe that it only involves picking out paint colors and furniture for a space.  This is the common confusion between the work of an interior decorator versus the work of an interior designer.  NCIDQ.org clears up this common misconception by stating, “Interior design is the art and science of understanding people's behavior to create functional spaces within a building. Decoration is the furnishing or adorning of a space with fashionable or beautiful things. In short, interior designers may decorate, but decorators do not design.” (NCIDQ.org Differences Between Interior Design & Decorating)  Ciulla continues on in the chapter to define the word "laborer" as an individual who contributes to the making or doing of something. This is exactly what interior designers do.  Interior design does involve physical labor; however, it is not extreme.  Interior designers take an idea or concept and turn it into floor plans and construction documents. These plans get approved by architects and are then turned into tangible spaces by contractors. The interior designer does not physically take part in building the structure but their "work" is what leads to the actual structure.

Work #3 Labor of Love

In Ciulla’s “Labor of our Bodies” she describes another type of work called “labor of love”.  This type of work is defined as “labor done for someone else or done because the agent cares about it, but it is often unnecessary, time-consuming, or devoid of material reward” (Ciulla 29).  While interviewing interior designer, Eileen Ulrich, I asked if she was still as excited about interior design as she was when she first started in the industry.  She answered, “I would say yes but I don’t put the same priorities first as I used to.  I have learned that the job isn’t all about my pleasure.  The job is about how I can impact the lives of others.” Her answer makes it sound like she definitely still enjoys interior design and finds it rewarding, qualifying it as a labor of love.  However, she realizes now that her designs not only bring joy to her but also to the clients she is designing for.  The work of an interior designer is beneficial to both the designer and the client.  Both are rewarded in the end with a successfully designed interior space.  If the designer leaves the project feeling accomplished and proud then I believe that the project was a labor of love.

Work Cited:

·         Differences Between Interior Design & Decorating. National Council for Interior Design Qualification, Inc., 2009. Web. 3 March 2012.

·         Ciulla, Joanne. The Working Life. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000. Print.

·         Ulrich, Eileen. Personal interview. Feb 15, 2012.