Become a Home Interior Consultant
A home interior consultant accepts projects to make the interiors of homes and businesses more beautiful without sacrificing functionality. Typically, you gain experience in the field of interior design in order to learn the practical aspects of interior decorating such as planning, budgeting, and styling before making the step to become a home interior consultant. Though no formal training is required to become a home interior consultant, it's smart to have a sound understanding of the basics of interior design and an in-depth comprehension of the niche you want to focus on, as well as knowledge of management and networking in order to attract clients and manage projects. The following steps will show you how to become a home interior consultant.
Steps
- Learn the fundamentals of interior design. You can do this by following a course or program at an educational institute such as a community college or arts school, or you can do a course on the Internet. Additionally, you can add to formal education by reading books about interior design, and visiting museums and expos.
- You'll need to know how to use light and color to achieve the desired effects.
- Learn about space planning, which enables you to design an interior that makes the most use of the available space. This includes understanding how to use walls, floors, windows, and ceilings in your designs.
- Study decorating styles. From Baroque to minimalist, you should have a sound understanding of each decorating style, including furniture, paints, furnishings, upholstery, and textures before becoming a home interior consultant. Clients might request a specific style, or you may want to incorporate certain elements from one style to achieve a certain effect in an interior.
- Train your eye as an interior consultant by understanding why certain choices were made in certain interiors. The better you understand this, the better you will be able to make good choices for your own interior designs.
- Determine your niche. Once you understand home interior fundamentals, you can specialize in the style you like best. Styles range from Baroque and Victorian to post-modern and minimalist. Find out everything you can about your niche by studying other interior consultants' work, visiting trade shows, and talking to colleagues.
- Apply for an internship or a position at a home interior consultancy to enhance your understanding of how projects work.
- You'll gain hands-on experience of how to budget a project, from hiring painters, carpenters, and other professionals to buying materials and billing your own hours.
- You'll learn how to determine exactly what clients want by listening to their wishes and systematically reviewing the designs and budget to make sure you're both in agreement.
- You'll create a network of colleagues, clients, and suppliers you can rely on once you become a home interior consultant.
- Build your portfolio. Document each project you work on by describing the process, taking photos, and asking clients for testimonials upon completion. Your portfolio is your most important marketing tool as it shows potential clients what you're capable of.
- Expand your client base through trade shows, marketing campaigns, social networking, and accepting overflow projects from larger home interior consultancy companies.
