The difference between Interior Design and Interior Decoration. Which one should you become?

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Design or decorate? Two terms that everyone talks about few know the difference between the two. Is one better than the other? Who designs and who decorates? In today's post I will be explaining the difference between interior design and interior decoration, and I will also cover the pros and the cons for both practices. 

Oftentimes these two terms are used interchangeably and while sometimes there's an overlap between the two, these concepts are very different from one another. 

 Becoming an Interior Designer

Interior designers are responsible for the health, safety and welfare of people. The job of a designer is to minimize the risks that may occur at home or work or any interior space. If you think about it, this is a big responsibility for an interior designer and sometimes it gets overlooked because what most people are familiar with is the job of decorators, who are not necessarily responsible for the health, safety and welfare of people, so interior design and interior decoration are not the same careers.

What do Interior Designers do?

Designers focus on space planning (to enhance the function of a room), health, safety, ergonomics, acoustics, efficiency, environmental impact, building codes and regulations, and most designers also focus on styling and decoration. To be able to do all of this, most of the times, formal education is needed. Although there are self-taught interior designers, some states/cities require designers to be registered and licensed to practice interior design, which is possible only if you go to university for interior design.

Becoming an Interior Decorator

While some interior designers are also interior decorators, someone who is a decorator cannot do the job of an interior designer and cannot call him/herself a designer but rather a decorator. The job of an interior decorator is to work with existing layouts of spaces with the only purpose of enhancing the aesthetics of the space. Interior decorators focus on furnishings, texture, textiles, color, and accessories. So the nature of this job makes it less complex than interior design, but that doesn’t mean its always easier. In fact, trying to enhance a space without changing the structure can be very challenging. And although interior decorators do not need formal education, it is important that they learn about things such as the elements and principles of design to be able to create balanced and harmonious spaces with what they have available.

Do you need to go to school to become an interior decorator?

The answer is no, however, there are some certifications that you can earn to give your job more credibility. And self-learning and hands-on experience are two practices that are truly going to scale up your skills as an interior decorator. 

Pros of being an Interior Designer

One of the many things that I love about interior design is the flexibility that we have to work with spaces. While there may be limitations or constraints within certain homes or buildings, we are capable of tearing down walls in awkward locations or changing door or windows, changing the flooring, etc, so I personally love the freedom to create custom designs that are not only the shell of the spaces but the structure within them. Another interesting part of this job is that we work closely with other professionals such as architects and engineers and we learn a lot from them to execute larger size projects. 

Cons of being an Interior Designer

The not so good part about interior design is that unfortunately you will not be designing all the time. There are times where you have to deal with material orders, and go from place to place to find that perfect piece of furniture, and sometimes you have to learn how to budget a project and  clients might get upset with delays, so there are just so many tasks that need to be done as part of this job that are not as fun but still have to get done. 

Pros of being an Interior Decorator

For many people interior decoration is all fun and games, and it is hard to not agree on that because it is truly so much fun to choose the decorative pieces to make a space look beautiful. Decorating a space is, most of the time, less complex that designing a space from scratch so it can be done in a considerably shorter amount of time, having said so, if you like things done fast, maybe you would enjoy being a decorator. Another great part about this job is that you don’t need to go to school for it, but that does not mean that anyone can become a decorator. You must have the talent, passion and also have the drive to self-learn about the right way to decorate spaces, otherwise why would anyone hire you for business?

Another aspect that interior decorators love about their job is the headache-free experience, although you can have some bumps along the way when decorating a space, there is less complexity required, no building permits, no home inspections, non governmental regulation and all of that stuff that designers and architects deal with, in fact decorators don’t work with engineers, builders, or the city, so this can be considered a less of a workload for them than the workload of a designer.

Cons of being an Interior Decorator

It's quite obvious that the not so good part about being an interior decorator is the fact that you are very limited in the things that you can do to a space and that can be quite frustrating sometimes. Imagine you are redecorating a bedroom and the layout is just terrible and it's quite impossible to make it work, this can be very frustrating, and adding some furniture and decorating pieces may not solve the problem that the space is facing, this type of jobs would need to be done by interior designers. In a nutshell decorators have certain limitations in the amount of work they can do, but, this may actually not be a disadvantage for everyone, because there are still a lot of projects that decorators can work with and if you know how to pull it off you can have amazing outcomes. 

Both paths can be very rewarding if you truly love all things interior.  Some people say... Hey but decorators don’t earn as much as designers. Although someone with a design degree will have some other opportunities,  decorators are also in high demand as well and there are many clients who require their services. So regardless of what anyone says, do what your heart tells you because you are going to be living the job every single day, not the other people.