No I am not referring to someone's chest size. This is my acronym for the Designer vs. Decorator Debate. I am here to educate the public, as are my fellow designers. I am a graduate of University of Kentucky's College of Design: School of Interior Design. This consisted of a four year program, endless studio hours and lots of craziness. For a person to call themselves an Interior Designer, they must achieve a college degree first. Most collegiate programs in this matter focus on the commercial design world (hotels, corporate offices, hospitals, etc.). As designers we are taught fire codes, public handicapped accessibility and commercial finish attributes in order to create beautiful and functional spaces for all.
Following the wonderful achievement of graduation: one hopes to either start their career with a design firm or continue on with getting their masters. I chose to go down that career path and once a designer has worked in the field for a minimum of two years they are then eligible to take the NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification). I will not bore you with details, but this test is for real HARD! It is a two-day, 16 hour exam that causes many a sleepless night for us young designers. Once this is achieved, we are assigned an official designer number and can legitimately design across the country. This exam tests our knowledge, problem solving skills and health. This job really is more than picking out paint colors and fabrics (although that is one small part of our job). And don't ask us, most of us do not watch HGTV all the time. HaHa.
An interior decorator can be absolutely anyone. Whether you are an actual interior designer, a former psychologist or a carnival employee. These are individuals usually who have the innate talent in the decor department. This is a talent that I do not fully possess. I can decorate/design my house how I prefer, but as far as helping someone else....Nope. Home decor is far too personal for me, everyone has their own tastes. A decorator needs to no degree, accreditation or knowledge of building/fire codes.
So I will come down off of my soap box and hope you found this egg of knowledge useful and interesting. If not, sorry but I cannot give you the three minutes it took you to read this back.
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| Busy at my office. |
