You might think that anyone with a good eye for detail can call himself an interior designer. That is not the case, according to Melania Holiat, director/designer of Trade Mark Design & Build, based in Hawthorne, New Jersey. A member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), here she discusses why it’s important to hire someone with the right training – and the right certification – to get the results you require.
The primary difference between a decorator and a designer is that a designer is certified on many levels. A designer will have undergone a certain level of schooling and he is certified typically by the state. In fact, all states require certification in order for individuals to call themselves interior designers.
So apart from schooling, internships and work experience, someone who wants to become a certified interior designer will also be required to sit for the NCIDQ, or National Council for Interior Design Qualification. The importance of that cannot be underestimated, as it requires that the designer understands the codes and standards required by the state in order to be a licensed designer.
Standards and Codes
The NCIDQ takes into account all the codes and standards, whereas typically a decorator is not concerned with those aspects. He is primarily concerned with surface look of a space, color and fabric. A decorator will not usually be worried about circulation, for example, or how people maneuver though the space they are creating. A decorator also will not be concerned with the function of a space. Instead, he will primarily care only how the space appears visually.
In fact, to become a decorator requires no schooling at all, and a decorator typically is not concerned with the structural elements of a space whatsoever. An interior designer, however, takes into account structural things, codes and circulation traffic throughout the space at hand.
Historical Knowledge
A designer typically also has knowledge of art history, and can understand how the influences of architects in history over time will affect the space at hand. They can put everything into a historical context, which may sound unnecessary but actually is an important part of design.
If you want to find a qualified interior designer, you can go to the state website, where they should all be listed, or look at the ASID, or American Society of Interior Designers website, and locate by each state which designers are certified. So if someone is looking for a designer to work with them on a project, this is an excellent resource. Anyone can call himself a designer, but certain codes of practice are necessary for to follow if he’s actually certified.
