Kitchen and Bath:

This is a branch that you may wish to specialize in if you are quite adept at it, or if you have a general knack for it already. There are a great many possibilities in this branch because these are areas of the house that are often in need of dramatic change, and they are high traffic areas. You should have knowledge in cabinetry and plumbing for this particular branch.

Commercial Interior Designer

Designers that specialize in commercial property and work do projects for businesses. The type of business varies greatly. You can do work for banks, hotels, restaurants, law firms; you name it. Any business that you can dream of is open to this specialty.
Good people skills and negotiation techniques are a vital aspect of this specialty as well. After all, you are dealing with business people. They respond well to a good business person. You could be required todesign an office space, a hallway, lobby, and possibly and entire interior building. The possibilities are endless here.
This is a specialty where your ability to estimate the value of your own work will come in handy because many businesses accept bids from the designers that they are interested in working with. Also, you will often have to work under specific instructions as to what the client is looking for, so listening skills will be important here.
This type of specialty can be very lucrative if you can establish a good rapport with your client. Doing a good job will lead to a steady, return client, and your ability to satisfy this client will often guarantee you more work as the client’s word of mouth can lead to other businesses desiring your services.
You may also have to work a little more closely with your client in this field as well because business people like to be on top of things to ensure that they are done right. It may be a little bit annoying at times, but it is worth it in the end.

These are not the only branches of specialty. Some designers can choose any sub branch to specialize in as well. There are quite a few and all of them are intended for the designer that has a particular forte in the field. They also offer great employmentopportunities for the designer that would like to make extra money on the side. They are as listed below.

Residential Interior Designer

These designers do most of their work in people’s homes. They design various rooms inside and around the home. There is a lot of freedom in this type of field because clients generally let their designers have free reign to let their creativity create a beautiful space for them. You can do inside work, patios, guest houses, and even garages.
Many Interior Designers prefer this type of work because it is less stressful, and the deadlines are usually a little bit more relaxed. Homeowners rarely harass you to keep them posted on every aspect of what you are doing, so it can be a rewarding specialty. When you are allowed to create something that makes both you and the client happy, the feeling is much better.
The money that can be made doing residentialdesign can be a little bit less lucrative at times, but there are always wealthy people that can use a great interior designer as well. Sometimes, the work for residential areas can be quite small also. This type of work is generally for the designer that is in love with the aspect of being creative, rather than the need to be rich. If you are thinking of Interior Design as a means ofexpressing your creativity, this could be the right place for you.

Different Types of Interior Designers

Interior Designers rarely work in every
work in every field. It is common for them to pick areas to specialize in. By choosing a specialty, you can further enhance your skills and abilities in that mode of design. It will certainly make for a better portfolio, and will allow you the time to become an expertdesigner in that field. Here are some of the specialty fields that you can go into.
Sometimes designers choose to specialize in residential areas, and sometimes they choose to specialize in commercial properties. Some even narrow their field that they specialize in by only doing work for certain types of homes and businesses.
It is also quite common for designers to refuse to specialize at all. Some will work wherever the work is. This leaves the field a little bit wider for them, but specializing is a more professional route to take. It is also better for your portfolio in the long run.

How Is My Business Sense?

As an Interior Designer, you will need
to have a head for business. You will need to have the ability to estimate and put a value to your work. To do that correctly, you will have to calculate the cost of all materials, extra employee labor, furniture costs, paints etc. The ability to negotiate is going to be a priceless skill that you must have or be willing to learn.
· Negotiation is the key to almost all of your dealings as an interior designer. You will be negotiating with your clients, either to get them, or on budget requirements. You will be negotiating with contractors at times, furniture dealers, and everyone else that can play a role in you getting the job done to your client’s specifications.
· Marketing is another aspect of business that will be very important for you to be familiar with. Interior Designers spend a great deal of time in marketing their services. The easiest aspect of the marketing that is needed in Interior Design is that the demand will always be there. Buildings, shops, homes etc will always be in the world, as well as the need to design the interiors of them. All you will need is the ability to produce the supply.
· Advertising can be the most effective tool in developing your interior design business. It will be difficult to get the public to know that you are there without it. If your budget is small there are many thing that you can do for a cheap price or even free. You can pass out flyers, build a internet homepage from a free host supplier (many of these have their own wizards to help guide you if you are not html savvy), pass out business cards or leave them in stores that will allow it. There are many things that you can do, just be creative.
· Bookeeping is a necessity for the self employed. You have to know how to manage your business’ financial statements. You also have to handle payroll, accounts payable (money you owe) and accounts receivable(money people owe/give you)

Can I Be Versatile?

The ability to be versatile and change with the times is a definite must. As Interior Designers are expected to be ahead of the pack when it comes to the newest trends and fads, your ability to change your current way of thinking will be critical to your success.
Most people hire Interior Designers so that they can keep up and stay modern. If the designer is only capable of sticking to the basics and originals, it will be a disastrous career as a designer.
Of course, that is not the only reason why versatility is a necessity. Clients sometimes change their minds about what they want. It’s annoying, but it happens. You have to be able to change with them. Your ability to give the client what they are looking for can be the difference between your being on top of the field, and your finding yourself unemployed.

Am I personable?

·The ability to meet and associate yourself with people is a good and necessary skill when seeking to be an interior designer. Much of your job will require you to meet and convince people that you are the best person to design their space. A friendly, outgoing, and professional attitude is the easiest way to accomplish that.
· You must be able to speak to people at their level. Speaking above them is going to confuse your client; while speaking below them is insulting.
· You must be able to read people in order to properly assess how to deal with them. This is a quality that you cannot afford to be without. Much of your job as a designer is negotiation, and knowing how read other people is the key to success in this area.
· People have to feel at ease when they talk to you. You should always try to exude warmth and intelligence when speaking to your clients and possible clients.
· Since you are to be aware of what other people’s body language says about them, know that they are looking for the same thing when they are speaking to you. Be aware of all of your facial expressions and hand gestures.

Tips for Multitasking

1. Using computers can be a great way to save time and get many things done at the same time. Windows programs allow you to use more than one program at a time. Get familiar with it.
2. Review the tasks ahead of you before hand, and work on one item at a time. It helps you to prioritize your day. Focus on the most important tasks first, and the less important later.
3. Use your down time to prepare for the next day. This will help you to be more organized at the start of your day, so that you can keep your tasks at a comfortable level, and minimize stress.
4. Having constant access to your employees and clients is invaluable. Cell phones are a must for the successfulmultitasker. It keeps you in touch with everyone you need to talk to during the course of your day. (remember to start each day with a fully charged battery)
5. The ability to keep calm is a must. Practice relaxation techniques as often as possible. Some of these include deep breathing, warmsoaks in the tub, and reading. If you already have great techniques, use them.

Can I Multitask?

Most jobs require a good ability to multitask. None of these jobs requires it as much as Interior Design does. The reason for this is because Interior Designers are often doing more than one thing at a time. You can be giving instructions to your contractors, working with your assistant on the fabrics, all while explaining it your client. This can cause a little bit of stress, but if you are good at multitasking, it is not so bad.
If you are not particular good at multitasking, you need not worry. Some people have just never been put to the test as far as that’s concerned. You may have had a relaxed job setting, or you may have worked on an assembly line for a few years. Many jobs require you to do regular tasks. They can be quite monotonous. If this sounds like you, I will list a few tips on how to help you learn to multitask.

How Good am I at Problem Solving?

The ability to problem solve is a necessity for an Interior Designer. As an Interior Designer, you will encounter glitches, and it is a must that you can deal with them. Many times, these glitches will need to be solved on the spot.
Your organizational skills will come in handy when you need to solve a problem as well. An organized workplace will help you to have an organized mind. Thoughts have a way of being cluttered when your work space is likewise.
Being able think quickly and under pressure is a definite asset to problem solving. Your problem is not going to get easier if it takes you too long to come up with a solution for it. Actually,waiting can just give the universe more time to make the problem get bigger.

Am I Organized?

·Believe it or not, Interior Designers have to be extremely well organized to be able to handle all of the little details that go into doing a good job. You have to be able to keep track of your entire inventory, while keeping on top of other things also like, materials, tracking orders, employees, and making sure that you stay on or below the budget that your client set out for you.
· It is no easy feat to try and keep track of all the things that have to be done; especially when you’ve got people constantly surrounding you. You must monitor what everyone is doing and still manage to keep up on what you should be doing. Do not forget that you also have to appear calm because your clients will likely be asking you a great deal of questions. If you are scattered and panicked, it will be difficult to answer all the questions and look cool at the same time.
· The ability to know where everything is at, and where every person is at is another aspect of organization. It is very hard to keep jobs if you are constantly wondering where things, and employees are.
· You will need to be very well organized if your design projects lead you to having to add or remove a room and/or wall. This type of work requires the use of blueprints. You must be able to read them as well as draw them up, you cannot do this without a great sense of organization.

Am I Creative?

Creativity is a subtle, but important quality to have when considering interior design as a profession. Much of your advancement will depend on your ability to be original in your creative efforts to design any space. Clients will always want to keep a designer that can offer them something that nobody else has.
You will also need to be able to turn whatever items that they already have into works of art. Sometimes clients do not want to change everything, or buy new furnishings and draperies; they simply want to make whatever they do have look and feel different. Creative thinking is the only thing that is going to help here.
· Colors are your friend, and creativity can help you in setting colors against one another. Many designers love to add color to a room and change things just using this method and perhaps adding accents to existing items.
· Accents in a room can vary. You can create a great space by adding throw pillows, valances, and vases. This is the perfect career choice for a person that likes to be creative, abut not idle and/or isolated.

Basic Plumbing & pipe structure:

If adding or changing spaces in kitchensand bathrooms, plumbing fixtures are often changed or re-organized. You will need to understand their basic functions in order to effectively plan a change that involves them, or is to be done around them.
Before you consider Interior Design asa profession,you shouldask yourself these questions.

Environmental Lighting:

Many people forget that lighting isClick Here! included in any space changing project. You must have knowledge of how lighting works, and have a general idea of what is needed to install
light fixtures in areas that do not have them already. Many homes are not equipped with lighting fixtures in some rooms. Of course, if you wish to change the lighting fixtures from general lamps to say, track lighting, you may haveClick Here! a problem if you do not understand how to install it.

Environmental Analysis:

Once you can read blueprints, you will haveto analyze the information that is listed so that you can best decide where to go with your ideas. You need the ability to effectively create or remove space in a particular environment so that you can cause little or no disturbance the environment as a whole when making your changes.

Designing and reading blueprints:

This is particularly for the projects that require a greatchange in the area’s structure like wall removal etc. This is also required in order to make additional rooms, build gazebos, and adding extra rooms. You will need to draw up blueprints of the entire house or read the originals copies, so that you can do yourjob job without causing much disturbance to the rest of the house or environment.

What does it take to be an Interior Designer?

When trying to decide if InteriorDesign is right for you, it helps to know what that really means. Interior Designis not simply the profession that “makes rooms and places pretty”; it takes a little bit more than that. You need to know how to do some of the technical aspects of design also. Some of these technical things include:

Introduction: How To Know If Interior Design Is Right for You

Have you ever seen a beautiful houseor office building
and wondered who did the work? Have you ever wished that you could do some of the work that you’ve seen elsewhere? Many people wonder what it would be like to be an Interior Designer, but they rarely ever go beyond thinking about it.
If you really want to know if Interior Design is right for, this book will be your comprehensive guide to the ins and outs of the business. In this book, you will learn what it takes to be an Interior Designer, what it costs to get certified, you will get all the techniques on how to get started, and much, much more.

An interior Designer is a consultant. You are there to beautify any particular environment as well as provide your clients with the service of explaining why you are recommending, and doing the things that your project will require. You must educate your client about interior design as well as design.
You have obviously given the idea of being an Interior Designer serious thought or you wouldn’t be reading this. Of course, like most people, you are probably wondering whether or not it is the right choice for you. I can guarantee you, that after you’ve read this, you will know for sure if Interior Design is the right career choice for your future.
InteriorDesign can be a very lucrative job choice for the right person. You might be wondering exactly what an Interior Designer does. It is really simple. An Interior Designer creates, organizes, and designs commercial and/or residential properties. Basically, an interior designer works with the interior of a particular space, such as rooms, offices, boardrooms, and various other internal spaces. Here is a list of some of the places that interior designers can work in.
· Hotels
· Banks
· Restaurants
· Stadiums
· Arenas
This doesn’t seem very broad, but think of all of the other types of homes and businesses that I didn’t mention. The possibilities are truly endless in this field. Interior Designers do more than just decorate a space. In some cases they can add extra rooms, design patios and gazebos, add or remove wall space, and they spend a great deal of time networking with people.
Interior Designers are responsible for creating a comfortable and relaxed space for their clients to live and/or work in. It is your duty to offer clients the best work that their needs, and budget can give.People put a great
deal of trust in you, and you must reward that with the best final result possible.