Interior designing ideas for creative home business seekers
By: Susan Hutson | Posted: 17th August 2008
A lot of women who want to work from home prefer to do creative tasks. It doesn’t evoke monotony. One can use the imagination to a great extent and experiment with ideas.
If you love beautiful things and colors and can make the best of a given space, you may have a career in interior designing ahead of you. This is an extremely satisfying job for the ladies. Homemakers are interior designers, in part.
One disadvantage in this business is that you won’t be able to sit at home much, although you are operating from home. You will need to go to others’ homes or offices to check out the space, lighting and the furniture. You will not always be involved in designing new homes or offices. Sometimes, you will be asked to redesign old places. This can be a bigger challenge than starting anew.
Is there a difference between an interior decorator and an interior designer? The latter is distinguished by having the necessary accreditation. If you are not professionally qualified or trained, then you will be called a decorator. Perhaps you can start out as a decorator, and, when you’ve made inroads into the market and gotten some experience, you can attain professional qualifications. By then you’d be in a network of designers and have a better idea about what kind of training you need and what you’d like to specialize in.
The Faces of Commercial Interior Designing
You have two choices before you start your business:
1) Product driven designer- This is the more practical approach and the beginner’s approach as well. You will be applying all you’ve learnt directly into others’ homes and offices. You can even get involved in marketing decorative products. If clients buy products from you, it’s worthwhile to offer them free advice. Otherwise, you can charge per hour. A sizeable cut of your earnings will come from selling products.
2) Design consultant- For the experienced designers, this is a very good choice. You’d do well to have years of designing to your credit, as well as a loyal customer base. A good reputation makes it easier for you to start work as a consultant. Product sales will not be part of your daily itinerary but you will dispense with much sought after advice.
The Market
The world over, interior designers are treated with much respect. They are artistes, with good taste. This is why interior designing is one of the best home based business ideas for women.
There are a few niches in this market. You can venture into the two main segments: residential and corporate interior design. The first one is more personal. You will have to get to know the client or the family well. Find out about their lifestyle and their interests. For instance, the home of a scientist will not look like that of a rock star. Residential jobs are lower in scope but when you add up the number of clients, it pays well.
This is opposite to corporate interior designing. Your work will be less personal and you may have to follow some basic design norms, like incorporating company colors or logos. The design has to fit into the work environment and give an air of status. There is a high range of specialization here- government, private sector, social service, health care, education, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment venues and offices. Apart from being high scale projects, bringing color and beauty to schools and hospitals can increase work satisfaction. Your work will be admired by more people too.
For more information, contact the American Society of Interior Designers (http://www.asid.org).
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Tags: imagination, extent, earnings, professional qualifications, two choices, monotony, faces, free advice, interior designers, new homes, accreditation, lighting, beautiful things, interior designer, interior decorator, homemakers, inroads