Breaking Into Interior Design

Breaking into interior design can be a time consuming process that is full of bumps along the way. Interior design is a tight knit industry that does not always greet new professionals with open arms. This article is focused on giving advice to the novice interior designer on breaking into interior design with lightning speed.

The first item on the agenda of breaking into interior design would be to be sure to have the proper skills before accepting any potential clients. If you have been formally trained in the area, great. This will likely be to your advantage when starting out because credentials accelerate your sellability. If you have not been formerly trained and would like the advantage of a certification to improve your resume while breaking into interior design, there are many interior design classes and training sessions available at local colleges, community colleges, online sessions, and learn-from-home academies.

Beware of scams, and be wary of any school or training that offers credentials without effort on your part. Part of the idea, after all, is to receive the training associated with the certification, not just the certificate!

Once you are satisfied with the amount of training you have received and the amount of credentials on your resume, its time to begin to understand the actual application of the interior design business. Breaking into interior design with no applied knowledge of the art is not advisable. Actually designing and arranging a space is much more complicated then it sounds and often more worrisome then explained in articles or textbooks, so it is probably best to begin with a familiar space that is yours (or someone who loves you!). This way, mistakes are tolerated and there is not much possibility of collateral damage if you happen to have an accident.

Small, subtle designs are a great way to begin your first design project. Remember that while breaking into interior design and your initial project are very exciting; dont get wrapped up in the moment and make large, dramatic changes that you are likely to regret later. Along the same lines, it is probably in your best interest to begin with inexpensive, modest designs as opposed to extravagantly expensive ones. Budgets are important to most any consumers these days so keep this in mind while making any monetary decisions. If you feel like your idea might encompass a bit larger financial chunk then your client is ready to bite off, its better to run it by them with a cost analysis before hand rather then afterwards.

Okay, your first project (whether a paying one or volunteer job) was a complete and total success. You are now gaining the confidence and perspective that you will need while breaking into the interior design industry on larger jobs. Dont get overconfident, when your first job is complete; always ask your first client what they liked about the design, what made it work for them, and what you could have done better. You will gain insightful knowledge this way about how you can improve your chances of breaking into interior design that perhaps you were unable to view from your perspective.

Although it may appear to be easy, you will find after your first job is complete that breaking into interior design is a somewhat more difficult task then it may sound to be.

Successful interior designers generally have an established portfolio as well as an established clientele. Generating returning customers is an excellent way to prove to prospective clients your talent and dedication to a high standard of design. Many customers you are established with will promote your business just by divulging your name and contact information to guests in their homes or offices who admire the new style you have created for them. Remember, although it may seem difficult at first, interior design can be a very fun, fulfilling career with which you can earn a great living.

Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home dcor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary's Interior Design website for more articles and resources - http://www.interiordesignprofits.com. Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design."

Traditional Interior Design

Traditional interior design encompasses a great variety of elements in a home. From the ceilings to the floor; including the trim, the wall finishes--all the way to the window treatments and the furniture.

The careful designer must focus attention on each of these items in order to create the ideal design. Lighting, wall treatments, flooring, and furniture are all fundamental steps in creating a smooth design. Each of these elements should tie in carefully with the last, creating an interchanging staircase of design. Theme, color, texture, and placement are the tools with which you are to design this delicate stairway.

Themes of traditional interior design vary from traditional to modernistic, from eclectic to yes--even retro. The decision of theme should (in my opinion) be left entirely up to the individual homeowner or business owner. Each person has a message they would like to convey to the world through their space. It is your job, as the designer, to listen to their wants and needs and to develop a solution that suits them perfectly.

If the client is having difficulty in assessing his or her design needs, provide them catalogs or magazines to browse through. Traditional interior design is a concept that is simple and everyone should be able to understand. After browsing through magazines and determining what appeals to them visually, it would be a good idea to ask them about their lifestyle needs.

Most clients with children will definitely need to keep the cost modest of their furniture. If the person is active socially and plans on entertaining, you will want to be sure to organize any recreational spaces in a way that is ideal for that type of entertaining.

Once the basic theme has been decided upon, the next major set of choices will be what colors to base those themes on. I always advise clients that it is better to fit the color with the space than the person in this situation. Does that sound unfair?

Many clients will associate their first color selection with their favorite color. A favorite color and wall paint sometimes dont mix very well. Traditional interior design motivates the color choices more towards colors that match the rooms needs. This is so because very often you will find that even if a client is less then enthusiastic about the color selection, after the room has been painted and they have had the chance to see it, they change their minds quickly.

Try to offer this type of solution to your client in an encouraging, helpful way rather then with a know-it-all attitude. If they are still not very enthusiastic, try to show them pictures of similar colors in catalogs to give them a better feel of how it will look. Catalogs and magazines are an endless resource for things like this because it offers people a little insight into how designs play out.

All right, you have a theme in mind and a palette of colors to work from. Whats next in traditional interior design?

It honestly depends on the magnitude and scope of the project. Choose your wall treatments and get those out of the way if you intend on making any flooring changes. Dont become hasty and have new flooring installed or the existing flooring refinished only to paint over the top of it while applying your wall treatment. Once the walls have been complete and allowed time to properly dry, then is the time to make flooring changes.

Flooring! Traditional interior design offers so many choices for all types of flooring; it is best to base this choice upon the needs and lifestyle of your clients. If they have children, suggest that easily washable, flat surfaced flooring is used with the compliment of a large rug in any recreational room. These rooms will be the rooms that are used the most often and are danger areas for anyone with kids or children. Explain to them that the rug is easily replaced but carpeting is not!!!

When the canvas is ready (the bare bones of the room), it is time for you to treat any windows before you begin moving furniture in and things get crowded. For small rooms, open them up by adding more light using sheer window coverings. The same idea with dark rooms that need a little extra light. Make short rooms tall using window-to-floor curtains or draperies in contrast to short furniture.

Traditional interior design includes MANY alternatives to window coverings that will fit any home. Keep in mind while doing this the activity on the outside of the window as much as you do to the appearance on the inside of it. If it is a very open window and the setting of the home does not offer much privacy, they will probably want privacy window coverings. After your windows are complete, hang any wall accessories before proceeding to the next step.

Time to bring in the furniture! A few key rules to remember while positioning furniture in traditional interior design: first, create lines and continuity. Second, be sure to create adequate walking space. Third, dont over clutter. And fourth, be creative.

Once your furniture is in place and has been tested, it is time to accessorize. Traditional interior design normally does this by placing a few instrumental accessories into place. Simplicity is elegant and too many accessories can lead to an uncomfortable room.

Try to purchase well-defined items that can even make great conversational pieces. If the homeowners are hands-on and involved, get them to add personal touches by creating an accessory themselves.

Traditional interior design is a catch-all that incorporates the workability and usability with the beauty of a room. Achieve the perfect balance by properly combining these items and you will be successful!

Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home dcor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary's Interior Design website for more articles and resources - http://www.interiordesignprofits.com. Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design."

Learning Interior Design

Learning interior design can be a simple or complicated task depending on a wide variety of factors including exposure, ability, creativity, and willingness to learn. This article is dedicated to explaining the basic elements that interior design is based upon so that you will have the ability to go out and research these elements on your own in order to advance you ability and perspective of the interior design world.

Lets begin with a few suggestions of where to properly conduct your research. A good beginning point for all of those interior design newbies would be television shows dedicated to the subject, books, magazines, other interior design professionals, ect.

Another resource that you have an unlimited exposure to that doesnt cost you anything but time and focus are your eyes. Your eyes are wonderful tools for learning interior design and successful application of it. They are such terrific tools because eyes are the ears of the interior design symphony. They possess the ability to look upon any element of design and transmit information to your brain concerning the colors indicated in the design, textures, layout, and whether or not the overall effect is pleasing.

If you can master the ability of viewing a particular setting or scenario and delving from it the key elements of its visual success, you are enormous steps forward in your journey of learning interior design.

Find an example of a design setting that is pleasant or pleasing to you. This can be located in a book, magazine, or even in real-life. Close your eyes. Now open them. What do you look at first? The first item that your eyes focused upon is considered to be your focal point.

In television discussions or magazine articles it is sometimes wrongfully alluded to that there is one appointed (by the designer, of course!) focal point. This is simply untrue. For every person that views the room, that person offers a unique perspective.

One person might gaze intently at the fireplace due to the warmth and secure nature of that design element. Another might focus upon the sofa. Yet another person might elevate towards the remote control (ha!).

The point is, is that the focal point of a room is the area of the room that demands your attention upon arrival in it and generally you base your placement of activities that take place in that room on the location the that focal point. This is the reason why so much strategic planning is normally based on the focal points of a room when designing the creative outlay of the room. This is why your fundamental understanding of the focal points of a room is dramatically instrumental in learning interior design.

It is true that certain architectural elements of a room demand more attention then others. I think that this is one of the reasons that many people misunderstand the concept of focal points. Throughout your journey of learning interior design, you will come to understand the importance of balancing the understanding of architecture focal points, and living ones.

Certain people are naturally going to elevate towards different activities and objects in a room. This is why a basic understanding of both the human element and the architectural one are a keystone to successful interior design.

Once you have a basic to medium understanding of focal points and placement of items in and around those places, the other key feature of learning interior design is visual representation of objects.

Color, texture, and shape are the fundamentals in this category. When you view an object, the way that the light is reflected off of it onto your eyes is commonly known as color. Texture is the way that the object feels to you visually. Shape is the basic makeup of the object reflected visually. The correct combination of these characteristics results in a visually harmonious atmosphere.

Lets imagine a few terms you hear when associated with design. Gaudy always pops into mind. A space with bold color representation, an overkill interjection of texture, and the overuse of modern or untraditional shape forms are all factors that would encompass that title.

Simple would generally refer to the use of light, neutral color schemes in combination with small interjections of light texture and straight lined shapes. Simple, in my opinion is the basic ingredient to a successful recipe of design. Begin simply and build to your comfort level of complexity. This will not be an area that will flow naturally with you when you begin learning interior design. It will more then likely become an understanding that you will develop over time and exposure to different aspects of design.

To wind things up, the road to learning interior design is filled with information and visual perspectives that will open both your eyes and your mind to an entirely different world. Observation is the key to better understanding this world. Open your eyes and begin the adventure!

Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home dcor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary's Interior Design website for more articles and resources - http://www.interiordesignprofits.com. Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design."

Interior Design For Baby Rooms

Babies, babies, babies-yes the topic of this article is based on interior design for nurseries. The new arrival of a baby brings a time of thankfulness and joy into all parents lives. It also brings to mind an important question: where will the nursery be?!? Once the actual space has been decided upon, the next concern will be color scheme and furniture. Before you make all of your choices concerning the new arrivals bedroom quarters, keep these important tips in mind.

To begin with, the gender of a baby will may influence the color scheme used in the room and this will not be something that will be able to be determined right away so either neutral colors should be used or the painting of the walls and purchasing of the accessories should be prolonged. Keep in mind not to wait too long if it is your intention to paint the room. You will want to be sure to allow any noxious fumes time to disperse before bringing baby home and actually using the nursery. The safety of the child should be one of the main elements involved in the planning of interior design for nurseries. Keep this aspect in mind as you make every choice involved with your design.

Fortunately for the early birds, the traditional pink for girls and blue for boys theme is not the happening thing in interior design for nurseries these days. Sure, pink is still associated with girls and blue is still normally in tune with boys design but the strict adherence to these rules is no longer the norm. A complimentary mixture of these colors is the basis of most contemporary designs. There is no reason to limit the possibilities of colors used in interior design for nurseries based on old traditions. Exposure to color in the nursery is your babys first environmental experience and it has been confirmed by doctors and scientists alike that this exposure aids in your babys development.

Stenciling is a method that has been and still is very popular in interior design for nurseries. Almost any of your neighborhood crafting stores should have a sizeable supply of stencil designs that you can easily use to create a ceiling-level or mid-level border around your babys nursery. If you are feeling a little more ambitious, there are many more intricate nursery themed designs that you can purchase in stores or even online that will require a little more time but produce astonishingly impressive designs. If this is still too little work for you, then go all out and create your own stencil patterns by sketching them first onto mat board and then cutting them out with an Exacto knife.

Once your walls are complete, it is time to begin making decisions on the furniture for the room. If you have heirloom baby furniture, let me make a suggestion. Dont use it. Keep this furniture for display purposes and purchase new furniture. I make this suggestion for two reasons. First of all, baby furniture that was made prior to the 1960s did not have to adhere to any safety regulations. While your fathers philosophy of they dont make em like this anymore might apply to cars, it does not seem like excellent advice concerning childrens furniture. Secondly, even if the furniture were safe, there is a good possibility that it will be damaged or broken during use. The best bet in any case would be to save these treasures to pass along to your child when they are older and to invest in a new set of furniture for use in your interior design for nurseries.

After the major choices of furniture that cater to the new arrivals needs have been made, it is important to remember to include a space for mom or dad to sit during those sleepless nights! Rather then purchasing another traditional yet impractical item for the nursery, try considering your alternatives to the long-backed, hard wooden rocker. A comfortable alternate choice might be a spacious, comfortable recliner. You will appreciate this advice at four oclock one morning as you roll over and try to envision how you would feel sleeping in a rocker around then.

Accessories can make interior design for nurseries come together in a wonderful, and useable way. Never focus on the visual aspect of an accessory for a nursery before you consider its usefulness. You will find out soon that practical items such as diaper holders, changing tables, and so forth are much more appreciated then aesthetic items such as ceramics or stuffed animals. The purchase of stuffed animals brings forth another important safety issue. Be sure not to purchase items with small parts or pieces on them which the baby can choke on.

Once all of the necessary and useable accessories have been purchased for the babys room, then feel free to go out and invest in some purely decorative items which you can treasure at a future time. This is, after all, a time you will remember and cherish for the rest of your life.

Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home dcor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary's Interior Design website for more articles and resources - http://www.interiordesignprofits.com. Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design.