If you love design, color, and working with people, then becoming an interior designer could be the perfect career path for you! It allows you to combine your creative mind to design homes, buildings, offices, and more with your practical mind to take care of logistics, budget, customer-service skills, and planning.
However, sometimes people enter into careers without understanding what an actual day in the life is like! Before you commit yourself, keep reading to learn what a day in the life of an interior designer is really like.
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We’ve done research on a number of interior designers around the country to give you a pretty decent picture of what an interior designer’s day is like.
Let’s get started!
9 AM – Meet with a Client and a Paint Color Expert
Color is one of the most important parts of any interior design project. Oftentimes, the color scheme of a room will impact the layout, the overall design style, and the furniture that will eventually be chosen for a room.
Many interior designers are also considered a paint color expert as well, but there are others who choose to employ a separate interior paint consultant as well. These people specialize in color to bring another expert opinion to the table.
Meetings like this will bring the design experts together with the client so everyone can understand the expectations, wants, and desires of the project. The client will outline a budget, what theme they’re thinking of, brand colors, as well as another other factors they can think of.
Then, the designer and the color expert will suggest various color schemes, oftentimes laying out paint swatches and options to give the client a visual of what to expect. At the end of the meeting, you should either have gathered information to later finalize the colors or you should have confirmed the color palette that will be used for the project.
10 AM – Check on Construction of a Project
As you’ll soon see, a lot of the day for an interior designer is taken up with check-ins and meetings. You’ll most likely need to check on a construction project during the day to make sure things are progressing, that construction is following design and architectural plans, and to make sure the timeline is on track.
You’ll need to take measurements of rooms, notice where/how much light there is, and speak with the head of construction to understand the completion timeline. This will help you as you plan, order furnishings, see how flooring/walls look, and more.
11:30 AM – Consultation with a New Client
Meeting number three! A big part of being an interior designer, especially when you run your own business, is finding and taking on new clients. During an initial consult, you’ll probably show them some of your past work, get to understand what they’re looking for, and discuss some preliminary ideas and proposals for the project.
12:30 PM – Working Lunch
Taking time for lunch is crucial for both your mental health and your productivity ! On busy days, it may need to be a working lunch where you reply to emails or calls. However, even taking just 20 minutes to yourself will help you feel recharged and ready for the rest of the day.
1:30 PM – Notes from Client Meeting, Start Planning
After your meetings from earlier, you’ll want to make sure you have detailed notes, measurements, paint swatches, and fabrics compiled into a folder in order to start planning for the overall project.
For new clients, you’ll want to create a visual guide, presentation, and/or sketches to outline your vision and ideas for the space taking into account everything you spoke with them about. This is where you’ll likely continue to collaborate with other experts like flooring designers, color experts, architects, and more.
2:30 PM – Finalize Sketches and Visual Plans for Another Project
The grind never stops! Once you finish with the outlining and planning from the meeting and consults of the day, you probably will move over to do some work on existing projects. Finalizing sketches, incorporating feedback, creating a presentation, outlining a budget, etc, are all things you’ll need to stay on top of each and every day.
3:00 PM – Meeting with Furniture Source
Now you get to what you probably envision interior designers doing: picking out furnishings and other components for a room!
Many interior designers work closely with suppliers, sources, and sellers in order to furnish and supply a room with items that match the design scheme you’ve settled on. You can request various textures, colors, styles, and more and these people will show you options in the hopes that you’ll use them in your design.
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You’ll need to take measurements, watch for color and texture, and make sure that you options match with the client’s wants and needs.
4:00 PM – Networking Meeting with Architect
People you work alongside are often the best people to network with. When you have connections within the industry and with people who are on the periphery of the industry, they’ll often be able to get you more work, connect you with clients, recommend you, and generally help your business grow.
Scheduling networking meetings can be a great way to get both of you more work and leads.