Interior Designers
If you ever wanted to take your partner out for dinner, which restaurant would you choose? Let me tell you my own story first before you answer. One time I thought I'd treat my wife to something nice, so I took her to a restaurant that had just opened in my city. I figured it would be great since it looked amazing from the outside, but the moment I walked in and sat down for a few minutes, I felt uncomfortable and we left quickly to continue our evening somewhere else. The seats were uncomfortable, the lighting was harsh and I couldn't stand it, but what bothered me most was that most of the tables were crammed so close together it felt like the other guests were sitting right there with you. That left me unable to relax or enjoy myself at all, because I love sitting somewhere that makes me feel comfortable, calm, and at ease. What I just described matters most when we think about the places where we spend our time, whether at home or in the restaurants and cafés we frequent — good interior design of any building we're in is what makes us feel relaxed and comfortable, and creates a bond that makes us want to come back again. From this, we can understand the importance of the interior designer's profession — someone tasked with making homes, restaurants, companies, hospitals, and all sorts of facilities where people spend time comfortable, appealing, and beautiful. They're responsible for choosing the right paint colors and lighting for different spaces, and for deciding on the best building materials that give a building a sense of warmth or a fresh, airy feel. The interior designer's core job lies in planning the space well and making the most of every square meter in the building or room. They're also the ones who arrange furniture in a harmonious, attractive way, and may help clients choose it too. Imagine you live in a two-bedroom apartment — what's the best way to lay out the furniture? Or imagine you live in a huge house — how do you arrange the furniture in a cohesive way without leaving too much empty space? A skilled interior designer is the only one who can help you with all of this.
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Estimate material requirements and costs, and present design to client for approval.
- Confer with client to determine factors affecting planning of interior environments, such as budget, architectural preferences, purpose, and function.
- Advise client on interior design factors, such as space planning, layout and use of furnishings or equipment, and color coordination.
- Select or design, and purchase furnishings, art work, and accessories.
- Formulate environmental plan to be practical, esthetic, and conducive to intended purposes, such as raising productivity or selling merchandise.
- Subcontract fabrication, installation, and arrangement of carpeting, fixtures, accessories, draperies, paint and wall coverings, art work, furniture, and related items.
- Render design ideas in form of paste-ups or drawings.
- Coordinate with other professionals, such as contractors, architects, engineers, and plumbers, to ensure job success.
- Review and detail shop drawings for construction plans.
- Use computer-aided drafting (CAD) and related software to produce construction documents.
- Design plans to be safe and to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Inspect construction work on site to ensure its adherence to the design plans.
- Design spaces to be environmentally friendly, using sustainable, recycled materials when feasible.
- Research and explore the use of new materials, technologies, and products to incorporate into designs.
- Research health and safety code requirements to inform design.