What is the Difference Between Interior Design and Interior Decorating?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The main difference between interior design and interior decorating lies in their scope and focus. Here are the key distinctions between the two professions:
Interior Design:
- Focuses on creating functional spaces within a building, taking into account people's behavior.
- Requires specific education and formal training, often including studying color and fabric, computer-aided design (CAD), drawing, space planning, furniture design, and architecture.
- Involves space planning, structural execution, and adhering to code and regulatory requirements.
- Interior designers often apprentice with a registered and established interior designer before launching their careers.
- In some states and provinces, professional designers are required to pass an exam and become registered with a governing council.
Interior Decorating:
- Focuses on furnishing or adorning a space with fashionable or beautiful things, such as style, color, furniture, and accessories.
- Does not typically require formal training or education, as decorators concentrate on aesthetic decisions.
- Works closely with furniture makers, upholsterers, and other home decor professionals to create visually pleasing spaces.
- Involves the final aesthetic decisions, such as selecting color schemes, accessories, and other decorative elements.
In summary, interior designers create functional spaces, while interior decorators focus on making those spaces visually appealing. Although some interior designers may also decorate, the roles of designer and decorator often overlap, and they may collaborate on projects.
Comparative Table: Interior Design vs Interior Decorating
The main differences between interior design and interior decorating can be summarized in the following table:
| Interior Design | Interior Decorating |
|---|---|
| Focuses on creating functional spaces within a building | Focuses on furnishing or adorning a space with decorative elements to achieve a certain aesthetic |
| Involves research, analysis, and integration of knowledge into the creative process | Does not typically involve designing the structure or making large-scale changes to a space |
| Addresses the needs and resources of the occupants, aiming to improve their quality of life and culture | May involve only decorative elements, such as color schemes, furniture placement, and material specifications |
| Requires formal training and certification in some cases | Often does not require formal training, but courses can be taken to learn about furniture styles, colors, and fabrics |
| May liaise with contractors, electricians, painters, and plumbers during a project | Typically does not involve coordinating with other professionals, such as contractors or architects |
| Aims to understand human behavior and how people interact within spaces | Primarily focuses on the aesthetics of a space, rather than its functionality |
In summary, interior designers create functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces within a building, often working with contractors and architects to make structural changes, while interior decorators primarily focus on the aesthetics of a space, such as color schemes, furniture, and materials.
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