Interior designer vs. decorator

Many people hear the terms “interior designer’ and “interior decorator” thrown around, but they may not understand the difference. According to Cliff Welles, an NCIDQ-certified, practicing interior designer for over 10 years, each job has its own distinct characteristics, with a layer of overlap in between.

“Designers tend to produce more drawn information and plans, whereas Decorators are more associated with personal presentations to clients on space planning, furnishings, palette, and finishes, often (but not always) in residential settings, sometimes including drawings,” writes Welles in the blog Decorating Den.

Welles offers the following explanation on the difference between interior design and interior decoration:
Interior design entails creative and technical solutions applied within a building to enhance the environment to suit the needs of the client. The clients here are often corporate committees or boards. The interior design process includes research, analysis, and integration of knowledge into the creative process.

Depending upon state regulations, many professionals who usually work on residential projects that a “decorator” is also qualified to do refer to themselves as “interior designer,” partly because there can be interior re-construction, lighting changes, or specification of surface materials and trim elements in the planning process before the “decoration” is applied. Decorators do the very same things in residences.

Interior decoration typically involves residential space planning, color palette, floor and wall surfaces, window treatments, furniture, accessories, and lighting—particularly for residential applications—and also incorporates elements of functionality and utility, as well as aesthetics. Thus, residential designers and decorators often are involved with selling style and home furnishings rather than ideas and drawn plans for commercial spaces. The career focus is largely a matter of preference or interest, as is the nomenclature (unless regulated by the state).

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