What is Interior Design?

Basically, interior design is the process undertaken to design and coordinate the interior of a room or building to make it more aesthetically pleasing for people that us or live in the room or building.

As a home or business owner you can undertake the whole process yourself with a variety of different tradespeople and suppliers if you have a good working knowledge of construction, or what is more common is hiring a professional designer to work on a project managed capacity on the project.

A qualified interior designer should bring together a project that not only matches but exceeds your expectations for a project using a good depth of technical knowledge and good design skills.

What Skills Does an Interior Designer Have?

When you hire a qualified designer, they will have a range of different skills which include:

- Proficiency with both 2D and 3D drawings and software.

- A full working knowledge of planning permission, building regulations and health and safety.

- Materials, textiles, colour schemes, eco friendly building and much more.

Many people confused interior decorating with interior design, but they are two completely different jobs and skillsets. Here we look at some of the things your designer will help with:

Layout – This is both the positioning of furniture, equipment, and various objects, as well as perhaps altering structural layout such as knocking down or constructing walls within a room or space. Your designer will want to ensure that the maximum space is made for the project with the given budget. For low budget projects, your designer might only be able to make a space feel or look bigger through more subtle design tweaks. Whereas for higher budget projects there are many more options available.

Budget – If you take on a designer to project manage they will also undertake all the relevant budgetary planning. This will involve helping to, or sourcing all the tradespeople, suppliers of all goods required, and basically everything that is involved in the project.

Plans and Building Regulations – A certified design specialist will also be able to help with the project starting from initial planning phases and designs to getting involved with planning permissions if needed and assisting with building regulations and health and safety. In the UK for example, you will find there is a lot of ‘red tape’ involved where any structural changes are made to a property, and so having someone on board with all this knowledge can be of major benefit. This can help with both ensuring that a project is delivered both on time and budget.

Furniture – Whatever space you are designing, the furniture that is used will play a big part on the finished look and feel. It is the job of the designer to help choose the best furniture for the project. In smaller spaces the designer might look to more ‘flexible furniture’ options which enable the space to really open up when the room is not being used to entertain etc.

Decorations and Colours – Another key ingredient to any good project is a good colour scheme, and a well finished project. Your designer will be able to go through various past projects with you for ideas to help come up with the ideal combination for your project.

If you are thinking hiring a professional interior designer for an upcoming project you will find more information over at Tracey Andrews Interiors – a leading interior designer based in London, UK. Tracey and her team cater for a highe range of different projects ranging from a single room, right the way through to multiple properties of both domestic and commercial nature.