Story of My Life

“What is Interior Design?” I have never really been asked that question...

 “What did you go to school for?” Now that is a question I am asked almost daily!

But to answer “what I went to school for” I need to explain what interior design is first. You see, it seems very few know exactly what interior design is. Sure I get the “Oh you pick paint colours for people, right?” and the “Why would you waste money on learning how to match colours?”  or, my personal favourite “When are you going to start your own staging company?” (My Grandfather asks me this every time he sees me)  I guess the effort is warranted, but it really annoys me! Something else that really annoys me is when I begin to answer the question and explain what interior design is, people often lose interest. I have always found this to be incredibly RUDE. Especially when the questions come from family members and they don’t even have the few moments to hold up their end of the deal by listening.  

So that is why I’ve decided to “blog” about it!

The quickest way for me to really get people to understand what Interior Design is, is to say “Interior designers can design any space up to 6000 square feet without an architect stamp of approval” 6000 square feet is a lot. What this means is, we need to know the Ontario Building Code, I have two copies. Lighting plans, electrical plans, interior and exterior elevations, and cross sections are some of the drawing titles you will find in a set of blueprints. Typically there are 32-36 drawing in a set of blue prints, and all need to be completed to acquire permits to build. These are all things I have done by hand drafting and by Auto Cad. We also do site plans, furniture plans, flooring plans, interior and exterior finish plans, create presentation boards and present our project that took an entire semester to the class and school faculty. These bodies would someday represent potential clients and business colleagues.

I have put a lot of blood; literally, I sliced my finger at 5 am one morning making a scale model of a structure I designed and had to have my friend drive me to the hospital in a snow storm. When you haven’t slept and used cola and chocolate to stay awake, the blood does not stop.  Sweat, often pulling all nighters, the longest I stayed awake was 3 days, so I’m sure I didn’t always smell the nicest. But never any tears, which is something not everyone in the graduating class of ‘08 can say. So you can understand why I would take offence to some of the comments the “un educated” people say to me regarding my schooling and current career.

I tried to Google the definition for interior design. Even the definition didn’t say what it was exactly “The profession of interior design is not clearly defined and projects undertaken by an interior designer vary widely.”

So I am going to paste the definition from the NCIDQ website which is the National Council for Interior Design Qualification.

Definition of Interior Design

Interior design is a multi-faceted profession in which creative and technical solutions are applied within a structure to achieve a built interior environment. These solutions are functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants and are aesthetically attractive. Designs are created in response to and coordinated with the building shell and acknowledge the physical location and social context of the project. Designs must adhere to code and regulatory requirements, and encourage the principles of environmental sustainability. The interior design process follows a systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals.

Interior design includes a scope of services performed by a professional design practitioner, qualified by means of education, experience and examination, to protect and enhance the health, life safety and welfare of the public. These services may include any or all of the following tasks:

·         Research and analysis of the client's goals and requirements; and development of documents, drawings and diagrams that outline those needs

·         Formulation of preliminary space plans and two and three dimensional design concept studies and sketches that integrate the client's program needs and are based on knowledge of the principles of interior design and theories of human behavior

·         Confirmation that preliminary space plans and design concepts are safe, functional, aesthetically appropriate, and meet all public health, safety and welfare requirements, including code, accessibility, environmental, and sustainability guidelines

·         Selection of colors, materials and finishes to appropriately convey the design concept and to meet socio-psychological, functional, maintenance, lifecycle performance, environmental, and safety requirements

·         Selection and specification of furniture, fixtures, equipment and millwork, including layout drawings and detailed product description; and provision of contract documentation to facilitate pricing, procurement and installation of furniture

·         Provision of project management services, including preparation of project budgets and schedules

·         Preparation of construction documents, consisting of plans, elevations, details and specifications, to illustrate non-structural and/or non-seismic partition layouts; power and communications locations; reflected ceiling plans and lighting designs; materials and finishes; and furniture layouts

·         Preparation of construction documents to adhere to regional building and fire codes, municipal codes, and any other jurisdictional statutes, regulations and guidelines applicable to the interior space

·         Coordination and collaboration with other allied design professionals who may be retained to provide consulting services, including but not limited to architects; structural, mechanical and electrical engineers, and various specialty consultants

·         Confirmation that construction documents for non-structural and/or non-seismic construction are signed and sealed by the responsible interior designer, as applicable to jurisdictional requirements for filing with code enforcement officials

·         Administration of contract documents, bids and negotiations as the client's agent

·         Observation and reporting on the implementation of projects while in progress and upon completion, as a representative of and on behalf of the client; and conducting post-occupancy evaluation reports.

Imagine if I recited that to everyone who asked me what I went to school for!

Decorating is yes, paint colours furniture, window treatments. Decorating is cosmetic and often for aesthetics.  Architecture is the exterior structure of a large building, over 6000 square feet, generally. Interior design is the interior of those large structures designed by architects. So we kind of cross both lines with what we know and do. In school it was often discussed that we should really be called “interior architects". And I think we should, it is technically what we do. Restaurants, malls, office buildings, banks, arenas, sports venues, bars, night clubs, theatres, the list goes on and on.  Next time you find yourself indoors, look around, and think of the space you see. Everything from the windows, to the carpet was part of a larger team of designers that worked together to make that structure complete.

I graduated when the recession hit and had to spend longer than I imagined waitressing. I didn’t mind, it was what I knew and had been doing since 2001, and quite frankly I was really good at it. I then took a job as ‘Showroom Decorator’ (I know I know you’re thinking didn’t she just say she isn’t a decorator?) for the largest Canadian furniture retailer, in one of the largest furniture showrooms in Ontario. That showroom was attached to their Home Office and I met a lot of the higher up people who had great things to say about my work. I helped on photo shoots in the studio for weekly flyers and helped on commercials that were shot in our show room. I was responsible for the overall look of the showroom. That included bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, children’s furniture area, and appliances and electronics. We would decorate the entire store for themed promotional events and holidays. It was a great job that helped me gain confidence in the “decorating” world, since we did not have these real life “props” to explore with in school. And decorating wasn’t our main focus in school. 

After 9 months, I moved onto ‘Kitchen Designer’ for probably the largest home improvement store in Canada and America. This is a career that is totally different from showroom decorator. It is a little more design involved. I enjoy seeing the finished project and having clients actually buy MY design. It is fulfilling and I am still learning something new every day.

I don’t know what I would LOVE to be doing with my career. I am just happy to be designing and learning right now. Something that inspires me to keep at it is that this career path can take me pretty much anywhere in the world.  So I am not worried about the money I spent on my education, the loans I need to repay every month, or the pay cut I took for taking a job in my field. Even if I never got the chance to work in design, I learned so much about the industry and myself, and the memories I made in 4 years at college, are ones I will never forget. 

So the next time I hear “You spent all that money on school and you’re only designing kitchens” I will respond with “Yes, I am. And what are you doing every day that you love and learn from, and inspires you?”

-AR