A day in the live of an Interior Designer

So it’s 9:00 am and the day is fresh. I come to the office with my hair and makeup in place. looking forward to the day with a positive outlook.

I get to the office, prepare myself a cup of coffee and try to enjoy the few minutes of caffeine treat until I hit the power button of my desktop computer and start the day.

Yikes! I got an email from the client and it’s urgent! Oh well…

Emails and Correspondences

I guess it’s safe to assume that this part is essential to all industries. This is is what determines the day’s priorities before one begins the next following tasks in an interior designer’s day:

The following would obviously not fit in a single day. But this paints a picture of what an interior designer may or may not perform in a day’s work.

Being Creative

So this is the fun part of interior design, right? In all honesty, this is also the most fun part of this article. People always see the glitz and glamour of the interior design business. The creative flair, the luxury and the constant exposure to beauty and elegance. Well, let me just confirm the myth. It’s true. Although of course there will be the gruesome parts of budgeting, purchasing, and execution, most of interior design is creative and heart-warming.

Space planning.

Some designers actually are not excited by this. But to me, this is the part that gets my creative blood flow like the Niagara Falls. I’m a qualified architect at the end of the day. I like the control of circulation, the constant trial and error and getting things right. I love the opportunity to create a pleasant surprise in space management. It’s like a puzzle that gets solved through informed and creative decision making.

Color and Material Selection

This is the apple of an interior designer’s eye. Mixing and matching of colors, patterns and texture is an exciting and fulfilling process. However, it takes a deeply engrained creative flair to confidently accomplish this task. It takes long practice to establish a personal style.

F. F. and E.

Selecting furniture, fabrics and equipment requires knowledge of the current trends. Interior designers often go to expos and exhibitions and meet with suppliers to keep up. A library is also often found in an interior designer’s office with a collection of material samples, fabric samples and furniture catalogues. To me, being inside a library is bliss.

Presentation

Ok, so everything has been set. The floor plan has been approved, the colors and materials have been carefully chosen and the furniture selection has been confirmed. The next step is to find a presentation medium to effectively convey the design intent. This can be on a form of a printed book, a digital presentation or mood boards. For most interior designers, mood boards or material boards are always the best way to present design ideas. This is because an interior design environment is not just about visual aesthetics. It is about the experience, the feel and the emotion that a whole design scheme induces. And nothing comes closer to giving that encounter than real fabric, materials and colors for the client to touch and feel.

Delegating and Execution

Ok, so this is where the boring part starts. But it’s all very VERY important. Interior Design is of course about the creative process but there is also the business and execution process which provides fuel to any type of company.

More correspondence.

After the design has been confirmed, then the process of contacting contractors, suppliers and collaborators start. This means emails, meetings, and phone calls to find the right partnership to find the best solution for the clients.

Costing

As scary as the term may be, costing makes a huge difference in an interior design project. Evidently, a lower budget would always make a client happy. So a constant trial and negotiations with suppliers and contractors is key to a successful interior design program.

Design Drawing Production

Preparing design drawings, especially when it involves construction, is a tedious process. It involves experience and skills, not just in regards to construction knowledge but also to the skilful use of design software to make the production smoother and faster.

So it’s 6:00 pm. The most important assignments have been done and I have managed to inject a task or two in advance and I feel productive. I turn off my computer, freshen up and call it a productive day. I bid my boss goodbye. She has decided to stay a bit longer. And we give each other a smile as we say “See you tomorrow”.