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An interior designer usually spends the day responding to clients and fulfilling their needs. You may work for one or two people at a time re-doing their homes, or you could work for a large company and do the interior design for lots of offices or even an entire shopping mall. But every assignment will always come down to helping people make their workspace more functional or their home more comfortable, and that becomes your daily focus.
Some clients want you to pick out everything in a room, including the lamps, paint for the walls or special drapery draw rods. Other clients will hire you just to find one perfect piece, like a side buffet for the dining room, for example. You then spend your day searching through antique stores and attending estate auctions. -
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No matter how large the project actually is, you will spend lots of time listening to your client. Clients will tell you how much they want to spend, so you need to figure out a budget and stick with it. You may spend time on the phone during your workday checking prices or you might research items on the Internet.
When a client calls you to work for them, the first thing you do is go out to the site and take measurements, photos and lots of notes. You may need to get permits or know the building code for the project so your client has no problems with load-bearing walls or too many electrical outlets in one place.
Your artistic talent and training, eye for color and practical knowledge of placing furniture, doorways and windows for good traffic flow, air and light will all come into play. You will likely spend part of the day making a sketch to show your client what you have in mind. This sketch may be part of your bid package if the clients are looking at several studios to find the perfect design. -
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You will always have a lot of daily client responsibility to deal with, too. Some clients will want you to choose home furnishings only when they can be with you and some will want you to supervise the workers needed in remodeling. Other clients will want to just take a vacation and leave everything in your hands, including the house keys.
Clients may go with you to supply centers and design studios so you can gauge exactly what your client wants and needs in his home or office. You may drive to fabric stores, and wall covering and carpeting outlets looking for just the right picture or rug. Some interior designers have an assistant to do these tasks.
Being an interior designer takes a lot of study and means a lot of work, but it also brings a great deal of satisfaction when your client is happy with the new area, whether it is a home or office.
