How is Interior Design Different from Interior Decoration?

Posted by Thasleeq V M on January 8th, 2020

Interior Design and Interior Decorating - Though there are many similarities between the two jobs, some significant differences draw a distinction between the two. Let's first try to answer the question 'What is Interior Design?'. Well, the website of National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) explains it best. 'A distinct profession with specialized knowledge applied to the planning and design of interior environments that promote health, safety, and welfare while supporting and enhancing the human experience. Interior Designers apply evidence-based methodologies to identify, analyze, and synthesize information in generating holistic, technical, creative, and contextually-appropriate design solutions'. Now let's check the definition of an Interior Decorator provided by The Cambridge Dictionary. 'A person whose job is either planning the decoration of the inside of a building such as a house or office or doing the decoration himself or herself.'

Though people use the terms "interior design" and "interior decorating" interchangeably, it is well understood from the above definitions that these professions differ in critical ways. Interior Designing is a profession that is held to higher standards and it requires specific schooling and training. Interior designers work closely with architects and contractors, draws up initial floor plans and work till achieving the final look the client desires. They don't just enhance the look but also look for enhancing the functionality of a room and hence the profession holds more responsibilities than that of interior decorating.

As an effort to tackle the question 'Is there really any difference?', a Google browsing was performed for 'Interior Decorating Degree'. The search results generated not as the searched keyword, but it with the results for 'Interior Designer'. One can fairly conclude that an interior designer must obtain a degree to practice, whereas an interior decorator is not required to get one. Also, the designers may decorate, but decorators are not allowed to design.

So, how does the distinction comes between a designer and a decorator? The definitions explained earlier can anticipate the key difference. The designer is associated with 'creating functional spaces within a building' whereas the decorator is associated with 'furnishing and adorning of a space to create an aesthetic environment'. The designer typically has complex responsibilities. Their work usually involves studying color and fabric, CAD training, space planning, lighting, furniture design, electrical, architecture and more. In short, a designer should follow a systematic and coordinated methodology to satisfy client's every need. A decorator does hold these much responsibilities as they just embellish interior spaces that already exist.

It's very crucial for the designer to help achieve the look the client desires, whether the client is designing a residential space, a work space or any other interior space. So, in order for a designer to best serve their clients, they should sit with the client and establish what they would like to see as a finished product. A designer should be really thoughtful about how people use their spaces and design as per so as to better fit the people who live there. In short, managing expectations is a huge part of interior designing. That is, sometimes, customizing a small space to corporate business spaces turns to be challenging and the knowledge of the designer to handle these are some extra requirements that differentiate the designing from decoration.

It's high time we all should understand having eco-friendly interiors are always better and brighter for a sustainable future. Many of the clients nowadays tend to incorporate sustainability principles in their interiors. Interior designers have a huge impact on the sustainability because they are the ones who need to decide how ecologically people will be able to interact with their spaces around.