What About Interior Decorators?

The interior designing profession is a relatively young one. True, people have always been decorating the inside of their houses, but beautifying another person’s house for a price only started to really gain traction in the past few decades.

With the maturing of the profession, came the inevitable specialisation. In the past, interior designers were roughly understood to be people who built, designed, and decorated the inside of a room or house. Nowadays, the term interior designer is mainly used to describe the person who only does the designing of the space. The structural design and actual building plans will be handled by someone else usually known as the interior architect.

In recent years, there has been a branch-off into an even more specialised field, called the interior decorator. What is an interior decorator, and what do they actually do? What is the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator?

Put simply, interior decorators decorate, and only decorate.

Generally speaking, all interior designers are interior decorators. Sometimes they are architects as well. However, an interior decorator focuses on only the decorations. The embellishments that beautify. They usually play no part in the functional design of the house or workspace except when consulting floor plans and layouts for a rough overview of the area to be decorated. The word “decorate” means to “make more attractive”, and that is the main, if not sole purpose of a decorator. This goes against the principle of form and functionality that interior designers adhere to. And that is where the subtle difference lies.

Due to the highly specific nature of this particular profession, interior decorators are usually only called in during the final phase of a renovation; after all the basic items of the home or work space are ready and in position. The other common scenario is when a homeowner or office manager wants to adjust their current interior design without making any big changes or disrupting the day-to-day operations of their life in that space. In this case, an interior decorator is probably the professional they need.

It can be difficult to succeed as an interior decorator, since most assignments only affords the chance for restrained and minor creativity. On the other hand, the decorator who has an eye for such things and can really remould the ambience of an interior space with only slight touches will be highly sought after indeed. So if you need your house to look good and don’t care much for practicality, you know who to engage!

Focusing only on the ornaments that beautify

Things To Remember When Working With Your Interior Designer

Remember, it takes two hands to handshake.

The last thing you want to happen when engaging an interior designer is to suffer from what many people not-so-affectionately call “buyer’s regret”!

No one wants to regret having paid for something only to later find out they either don’t need or don’t like it. And no one should have to! To decrease your chances of getting hit by this unfortunate syndrome when working with an interior designer, you have a part to play as well, as a buyer. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1) Interior designers are not mind readers.
Though I’m sure some of them fervently wish that they are. You need to really communicate with your designer about your preferences. If they suggest something that you are uncomfortable with, let them know right away. Do not ignore the discomfort, because you will be the one living in the house after the work is done, not your designer. They won’t know if you don’t say anything, so talk to them often!

Of course, also listen. Sometimes the designer may have a point. You may think that lemon yellow and neon pink is the best colour combination for your living room walls, but for goodness sake, listen to what the professional has to say first before finally making that decision. Regular communication also lets the designer know that you have a serious interest in the work being done the right way. This will likely have a strong influence on their attitude towards the project.

2) Be upfront about your budget.
Sometimes, people just don’t like to dwell too much on the dollars and cents. But having a contract basically means that this is a business deal, so there’s nothing wrong with treating it like one. There are definite benefits to both sides when the budget is communicated right at the start. The interior designer will know how much leeway they have to go crazy with ideas. You, too, can proceed with the project assured that there will be no nasty surprises awaiting at the end of the day.

3) Be nice.
Your designer is here to help you, so be as nice and helpful as you can. Don’t be surprised or agitated when your designer asks questions or proposes something that may seem unacceptable to you at that moment – like a longer milestone than you expected. Remember that they are professionals, not minor deities who can swing a wand and get things done in an instant. It’s also a proven fact that irritated people don’t do good jobs!

It’s not that hard to get your space designed the right way. How well you cooperate with your interior designer will play a large part in the success!

Is An Interior Designer Also An Interior Architect?

Building the outside and designing the inside - all the same thing?

We often use the words “interior design” and “interior architecture” interchangeably. Do they really mean the same thing, though? To find out, we need to take a closer look at the words being used.

Design is defined in WordWeb dictionary as “the creation of something in the mind,” or “a decorative or artistic work,” amongst others. Some synonyms of the word include “blueprint,” “purpose,” and “conception.” As implied, design can be something rather abstract, having to do with the manipulation of thoughts and ideas.

Architecture is defined as “the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings,” and “the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their esthetic effect.” It is therefore evident that design can be a subset of architecture, but the discipline of architecture focuses on actual building and construction work as well. Most architects also deal with outdoor environments and house exteriors.

Comparing the two now, it becomes clear that they are not as similar as many people seem to think. An interior designer deals strictly with enclosed spaces. They do not actually construct the space, or design what goes on behind the space in terms of plumbing or electricity. What they do is work within the constraints of a certain space, filling it in with selected furniture and decorations to achieve a certain look and feel.

An interior architect, on the other hand, can be the person who designs and builds the actual form of an interior – dimensions, walls, windows, doors, the whole nine yards. They are also often in charge of the background system that makes a space suitable for living or working. Many a times, interior architects can also be interior designers. However, the vice versa seldom applies.

This begs the question: Between interior architects and interior designers, who is the one you really need, the one who can do the job better? That depends on what you need, and how you view the two professions. If you need to construct a building, or perhaps just need advice on how to adjust certain background systems in an existing house that is slated for renovation, maybe an all-in-one architect would be the best solution. If you only wish to redesign the house interior, though, an interior designer may be able to offer more specific advice due to their specialised experience.

Interior Designing Principles

Designing is an art. Like most artforms, its beauty is often in the eye of the beholder. That said, unlike many traditional artforms, tasteful interior designing can be said to be pretty clear-cut. There are a few principles that designers often apply when conceptualising their blueprints.

First of all, however, one needs to be aware that interior designing can be quite different from traditional or even modern artforms like painting, sculpting, handicrafts, or website designing. The interior designer works with an enclosed space that has a fixed length, breadth, and height. This work can appear to be different things to different people, depending on where they are standing and what they are looking at. While there is room for creativity, this avenue is bound by spatial restrictions and the designer must defer to the context and location of the space they are working on.

How do you harmonise a variety of elements to achieve a visually pleasing yet functional room design?

There are no rule books of dos and don’ts for free-form art like interior design. There are, however, a few good principles many designers keep in mind.

Balance
Sometimes it’s hard to find the right balance of things to place in the available space. Not too much and not too little. An eye for balance is especially important in interior designing, as you will be juggling more than one type of object and finding ways to arrange them in a way that is visually pleasing.

How does one balance visual elements? Here are a few principles to follow:
* Big objects have heavier visual presence than smaller objects.
* Patterned or complicated designs and textures have heavier visual presence than plain ones.
* Dark colors are heavier on the eye than light colors.

Mood and Theme
To decide on colours, embellishments, textures, and sometimes even specific furniture, one of the principles is to select the mood and theme of a particular space. Depending on the context, you may not have a lot of space for imagination, but at least it will provide specific guidelines that you can play around with.

General things to think about:
* Is the space for residential, commercial, industrial, or some specific technical use?
* Bright colors give off a livelier feel. Pastel colors are neutral and calming. Dark colours can be intimidating, so use with good taste and caution.
* Wooden furniture can feel rustic. Plastic and metal give a modern feel.

Functionality (Ergonomics)
When usability demands that certain plans be thrown out of the window, that is also part of interior designing. Remember that an interior designer designs working spaces that are used by humans, so the human touch is also a very important guideline to stick to. A fancy table may look just right in a certain space, but if there are no chairs to go along, it would be quite a white elephant.

What you can consider:
* Would you live and work in what you have just designed?
* Is there something you can add to make certain items more accessible?

When you make an effort to maintain a good visual eye for balance, mood, and functionality, a simple interior design that is pleasing yet ergonomic in nature can materialise.

What Do Interior Designers Do?

What goes on behind the scenes?

The idea of helping someone else to design and decorate their houses was not widespread until recent years, as most homemakers were usually more concerned about their own houses. However, books and records about the maintainence of furniture and fittings were published from time to time in the 18th century, showing that people did care about helping others to have great looking home interiors. Slowly, a trend developed where successful home decorators began to offer to do up the homes of others for a price, giving birth to what we now know as the interior designing profession.

So what does an interior designer do? On the surface, decorating the inside of a house may seem like a trivial job. A fresh coat of paint, a few tables and chairs here and there and voila! That may have worked a few decades back, but the modern home needs to make allowances for a lot more furniture than that. Even on the most minimalist of designs (which is another story in itself), home decoration planning is often a long-term project – from the day you set your eyes on your new house or room, until the day you finish putting up the final trinket on your kitchen cabinet.

The first thing a seasoned interior designer will probably do is to gather relevant information. They will need to ascertain what their client’s preferred style is. Does the client want a modern look? Country? Gothic, perhaps? Or a bit of a mix here and there? What about colours? Warm? Pastel? Cool? Lively? They will also probably need to get a floorplan, or at least some specifications to work with, until they can finally see the actual space in question. Preparation work accounts for a major part of a successful interior design, and thus a good designer never skimps on the details.

Having done all that, it would be time to start visualising and conceptualising the actual design. Some designers are engaged to redo an existing decor, so these ones will usually do an inventory of existing items in the house to decide whether it is feasible to integrate them into the new design, or do away with them altogether. After making an inventory of existing items (if necessary), the designer will need to make another list. This time a list of items to get for completing the interior design.

Up till now, it is all quite theoretical, but the next step is probably one of the trickiest part of the whole chain of events – translating what is already on paper into reality. Even if, let’s say, you have the most perfect green chair sitting on your drafts, that doesn’t really matter until you can get the perfect green chair to be sitting in your living room. Finding, locating, and procuring the necessary things on the list can be a real challenge – especially if the client is on a tight budget. Nevertheless, a resourceful interior designer should have a few places already on the back of their minds when undertaking this step.

Finally, all that’s left is to put the everything together. Things need to be moved in or out, some work may need to be finished on time before the next one can begin, and other logistics will have to be coordinated. That means a work schedule needs to be drawn up. Some room for unforeseen circumstances may also need to be negotiated.

All in all, these are just a few general steps that interior designers will take when helping a client with their new or existing decors. It’s amazing to see how the art has developed into such a large profession, and even more amazing to learn of the work and passion that goes behind every tastefully done Singapore interior design!