
Interior design is the
art
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
and
science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
of enhancing the interior of a
building
A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...
to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a
creative flair, an interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordinates, and manages such enhancement projects. Interior design is a multifaceted profession that includes conceptual development, space planning, site inspections, programming, research, communicating with the stakeholders of a project, construction management, and execution of the design.
History and current terms
In the past, interiors were put together instinctively as a part of the process of building.
[Pile, J., 2003, Interior Design, 3rd edn, Pearson, New Jersey, USA]
The profession of interior design has been a consequence of the development of society and the complex
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
that has resulted from the development of industrial processes.
The pursuit of effective use of space, user well-being and functional design has contributed to the development of the contemporary interior design profession. The profession of interior design is separate and distinct from the role of ''interior decorator'', a term commonly used in the US; the term is less common in the UK, where the profession of interior design is still unregulated and therefore, strictly speaking, not yet officially a profession.
In ancient India, architects would also function as interior designers. This can be seen from the references of
Vishwakarma
Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman (, ) is a craftsman deity and the divine architect of the Deva (Hinduism), devas in contemporary Hinduism. In the early texts, the craftsman deity was known as Tvastar and the word "Vishvakarma" was originally used a ...
the architect—one of the gods in Indian mythology. In these architects' design of 17th-century Indian homes, sculptures depicting ancient texts and events are seen inside the palaces, while during the medieval times wall art paintings were a common feature of palace-like mansions in India commonly known as havelis. While most traditional homes have been demolished to make way to modern buildings, there are still around 2000 havelis in the
Shekhawati region of Rajasthan that
display wall art paintings.
In ancient Egypt, "soul houses" (or models of houses) were placed in tombs as receptacles for food offerings. From these, it is possible to discern details about the interior design of different residences throughout the different Egyptian dynasties, such as changes in ventilation, porticoes, columns, loggias, windows, and doors.
Painting interior walls has existed for at least 5,000 years, with examples found as far north as the
Ness of Brodgar, as have templated interiors, as seen in the associated
Skara Brae
Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill in the parish of Sandwick, Orkney, Sandwick, on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney, Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. It consiste ...
settlement. It was the Greeks, and later Romans who added co-ordinated, decorative
mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s floors, and templated
bath houses, shops, civil offices,
Castra (forts) and
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
, interiors, in the first millennia BC. With specialised guilds dedicated to producing interior decoration, and formulaic furniture, in buildings constructed to forms defined by Roman architects, such as
Vitruvius
Vitruvius ( ; ; –70 BC – after ) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled . As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissan ...
:
De architectura, libri decem (The Ten Books on Architecture).
Throughout the 17th and 18th century and into the early 19th century, interior decoration was the concern of the homemaker, or an employed
upholsterer
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially chair, seats, with padding, Spring (device), springs, webbing, and textile, fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something.
''Upholstery'' com ...
or craftsman who would advise on the artistic style for an interior space. Architects would also employ craftsmen or artisans to complete interior design for their buildings.
Commercial interior design and management
In the mid-to-late 19th century, interior design services expanded greatly, as the
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
in
industrial countries grew in size and prosperity and began to desire the domestic trappings of wealth to cement their new status. Large
furniture
Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
firms began to branch out into general interior design and management, offering full house furnishings in a variety of styles. This business model flourished from the mid-century to 1914, when this role was increasingly usurped by independent, often
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
, designers. This paved the way for the emergence of the professional interior design in the mid-20th century.

In the 1950s and 1960s, upholsterers began to expand their business remits. They framed their business more broadly and in artistic terms and began to advertise their furnishings to the public. To meet the growing demand for contract interior work on projects such as
office
An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...
s,
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
s, and
public building
A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted through ...
s, these businesses became much larger and more complex, employing builders, joiners, plasterers, textile designers, artists, and furniture designers, as well as engineers and technicians to fulfil the job. Firms began to publish and circulate
catalogs with prints for different lavish styles to attract the attention of expanding middle classes.
As department stores increased in number and size, retail spaces within shops were furnished in different styles as examples for customers. One particularly effective advertising tool was to set up model rooms at national and international
exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...
s in showrooms for the public to see. Some of the pioneering firms in this regard were
Waring & Gillow,
James Shoolbred,
Mintons
Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...
, and Holland & Sons. These traditional high-quality furniture making firms began to play an important role as advisers to unsure middle class customers on taste and style, and began taking out contracts to design and furnish the interiors of many important buildings in Britain.
This type of firm emerged in America after the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. The
Herter Brothers
The firm of Herter Brothers, (working 1864–1906), was founded by German immigrants Gustave (1830–1898) and Christian Herter (1839–1883) in New York City. It began as a furniture and upholstery shop/warehouse, but after the Civil War became ...
, founded by two German émigré brothers, began as an
upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something.
''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English wor ...
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
and became one of the first firms of furniture makers and
interior decorators. With their own design office and cabinet-making and upholstery workshops, Herter Brothers were prepared to accomplish every aspect of interior furnishing including decorative paneling and mantels, wall and ceiling decoration, patterned floors, and carpets and draperies.
A pivotal figure in popularizing theories of interior design to the middle class was the architect
Owen Jones
Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist.
He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...
, one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century. Jones' first project was his most important—in 1851, he was responsible for not only the decoration of
Joseph Paxton
Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...
's gigantic
Crystal Palace for the
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
but also the arrangement of the exhibits within. He chose a controversial
palette of red, yellow, and blue for the interior ironwork and, despite initial negative publicity in the newspapers, was eventually unveiled by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
to much critical acclaim. His most significant publication was ''
The Grammar of Ornament'' (1856), in which Jones formulated 37 key principles of interior design and decoration.
Jones was employed by some of the leading interior design firms of the day; in the 1860s, he worked in collaboration with the London firm Jackson & Graham to produce furniture and other fittings for high-profile clients including art collector
Alfred Morrison as well as
Ismail Pasha,
Khedive
Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...
of Egypt.
In 1882, the
London Directory of the
Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
listed 80 interior decorators. Some of the most distinguished companies of the period were
Crace, Waring & Gillowm and Holland & Sons; famous decorators employed by these firms included
Thomas Edward Collcutt,
Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin (26 May 1833 – 6 October 1886) was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic "John Ruskin, Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by ''Th ...
,
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was an English architect best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...
,
Gottfried Semper
Gottfried Semper (; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in ...
, and
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...
.
Transition to professional interior design

By the turn of the 20th century, amateur advisors and publications were increasingly challenging the monopoly that the large retail companies had on interior design. English
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
author
Mary Haweis wrote a series of widely read essays in the 1880s in which she derided the eagerness with which aspiring middle-class people furnished their houses according to the rigid models offered to them by the retailers. She advocated the individual adoption of a particular style, tailor-made to the individual needs and preferences of the customer:
One of my strongest convictions, and one of the first canons of good taste, is that our houses, like the fish's shell and the bird's nest, ought to represent our individual taste and habits.
:
The move toward decoration as a separate artistic profession, unrelated to the manufacturers and retailers, received an impetus with the 1899 formation of the Institute of British Decorators; with
John Dibblee Crace
John Dibblee Crace (1838 – 18 November 1919) was a distinguished British interior designer who provided decorative schemes for the British Museum, the National Gallery (London), National Gallery, the Royal Academy, Tyntesfield and Longleat among ...
as its president, it represented almost 200 decorators around the country. By 1915, the London Directory listed 127 individuals trading as interior decorators, of which 10 were women.
Rhoda Garrett and
Agnes Garrett were the first women to train professionally as home decorators in 1874. The importance of their work on design was regarded at the time as on a par with that of
William Morris
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
. In 1876, their work – ''Suggestions for House Decoration in Painting, Woodwork and Furniture'' – spread their ideas on artistic interior design to a wide middle-class audience.
By 1900, the situation was described by ''The Illustrated Carpenter and Builder'':
Until recently when a man wanted to furnish he would visit all the dealers and select piece by piece of furniture ....Today he sends for a dealer in art furnishings and fittings who surveys all the rooms in the house and he brings his artistic mind to bear on the subject.
In America,
Candace Wheeler was one of the first woman
interior designers and helped encourage a new style of American design. She was instrumental in the development of art courses for women in a number of major American cities and was considered a national authority on home design. An important influence on the new profession was ''
The Decoration of Houses'', a manual of interior design written by
Edith Wharton
Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...
with architect
Ogden Codman in 1897 in America. In the book, the authors denounced Victorian-style
interior decoration
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior d ...
and interior design, especially those rooms that were decorated with heavy window curtains,
Victorian bric-a-brac, and overstuffed furniture. They argued that such rooms emphasized upholstery at the expense of proper space planning and architectural design and were, therefore, uncomfortable and rarely used. The book is considered a seminal work, and its success led to the emergence of professional decorators working in the manner advocated by its authors, most notably
Elsie de Wolfe.
Elsie De Wolfe was one of the first interior designers. Rejecting the Victorian style she grew up with, she chose a more vibrant scheme, along with more comfortable furniture in the home. Her designs were light, with fresh colors and delicate
Chinoiserie
(, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...
furnishings, as opposed to the Victorian preference of heavy, red drapes and upholstery, dark wood and intensely patterned wallpapers. Her designs were also more practical; she eliminated the clutter that occupied the Victorian home, enabling people to entertain more guests comfortably. In 1905, de Wolfe was commissioned for the interior design of the
Colony Club on
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
; its interiors garnered her recognition almost over night. She compiled her ideas into her widely read 1913 book, ''The House in Good Taste''.
[Lees-Maffei, G, 2008, Introduction: Professionalization as a focus in Interior Design History, Journal of Design History, Vol. 21, No. 1, Spring.]
In England,
Syrie Maugham
Gwendoline Maud Syrie Maugham ( Barnardo, formerly Wellcome; 10 July 1879 – 25 July 1955) was a leading British interior decorator of the 1920s and 1930s who popularised rooms decorated entirely in white.
Early life
Gwendoline Maud Syrie Ba ...
became a legendary interior designer credited with designing the first all-white room. Starting her career in the early 1910s, her international reputation soon grew; she later expanded her business to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Born during the
Victorian Era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
, a time characterized by dark colors and small spaces, she instead designed rooms filled with light and furnished in multiple shades of white and mirrored screens. In addition to mirrored screens, her trademark pieces included: books covered in white vellum, cutlery with white porcelain handles, console tables with plaster palm-frond, shell, or dolphin bases, upholstered and fringed sleigh beds, fur carpets, dining chairs covered in white leather, and lamps of graduated glass balls, and wreaths.
Expansion
The interior design profession became more established after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. From the 1950s onwards, spending on the home increased. Interior design courses were established, requiring the publication of textbooks and reference sources. Historical accounts of interior designers and firms distinct from the decorative arts specialists were made available. Organisations to regulate education, qualifications, standards and practices, etc. were established for the profession.
Interior design was previously seen as playing a secondary role to architecture. It also has many connections to other design disciplines, involving the work of
architects
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
,
industrial designers,
engineers
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...
, builders, craftsmen, etc. For these reasons, the government of interior design standards and qualifications was often incorporated into other professional organisations that involved design.
Organisations such as the
Chartered Society of Designers, established in the UK in 1986, and the American Designers Institute, founded in 1938, governed various areas of design.
It was not until later that specific representation for the interior design profession was developed. The US National Society of Interior Designers was established in 1957, while in the UK the Interior Decorators and Designers Association was established in 1966. Across Europe, other organisations such as The Finnish Association of Interior Architects (1949) were being established and in 1994 the International Interior Design Association was founded.
Ellen Mazur Thomson, author of ''Origins of Graphic Design in America'' (1997), determined that professional status is achieved through education, self-imposed standards and professional gate-keeping organizations.
Having achieved this, interior design became an accepted profession.
Interior decorators and interior designers

Interior design is the art and science of understanding people's behavior to create functional spaces, that are aesthetically pleasing, within a building. Decoration is the furnishing or adorning of a space with decorative elements, sometimes complemented by advice and practical assistance. In short, interior designers may decorate, but decorators do not design.
Interior designer
Interior designer implies that there is more of an emphasis on planning,
functional design
Functional Design is a paradigm used to simplify the design of hardware and software devices such as computer software and, increasingly, 3D models. A functional design assures that each modular part of a device has only one responsibility and pe ...
and the effective use of space, as compared to interior decorating. An interior designer in fine line design can undertake projects that include arranging the basic layout of spaces within a building as well as projects that require an understanding of technical issues such as window and door positioning,
acoustics
Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
, and
lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...
.
Although an interior designer may create the layout of a space, they may not alter load-bearing walls without having their designs stamped for approval by a structural engineer. Interior designers often work directly with architects, engineers and contractors.
Interior designers must be highly skilled in order to create interior environments that are functional, safe, and adhere to building codes, regulations and
ADA requirements. They go beyond the selection of color palettes and furnishings and apply their knowledge to the development of construction documents, occupancy loads, healthcare regulations and sustainable design principles, as well as the management and coordination of professional services including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and life safety—all to ensure that people can live, learn or work in an innocuous environment that is also aesthetically pleasing.
Someone may wish to specialize and develop technical knowledge specific to one area or type of interior design, such as residential design, commercial design, hospitality design, healthcare design, universal design, exhibition design, furniture design, and spatial branding.
Interior design is a creative profession that is relatively new, constantly evolving, and often confusing to the public. It is not always an artistic pursuit and can rely on research from many fields to provide a well-trained understanding of how people are often influenced by their environments.
Color in interior design
Color is a powerful design tool in decoration, as well as in interior design, which is the art of composing and coordinating colors together to create a stylish scheme on the interior architecture of the space.
It can be important to interior designers to acquire a deep experience with colors, understand
their psychological effects, and understand the
meaning of each color in different locations and situations in order to create suitable combinations for each place.
Color is something that an interior design needs to understand. Color can affect the way that humans think, feel, or look at space. Color can have a major effect on human behavior through all ages. An interior designer must understand that different colors can easily overstimulate people depending on the environment. Color can also have effects on a room. For example, if someone is claustrophobic then painting a room in darker colors could make the room feel smaller therefore the person could feel trapped.
Combining colors together could result in creating a state of mind as seen by the observer, and could eventually result in positive or negative effects on them. Colors can make the room feel either more calm, cheerful, comfortable, stressful, or dramatic. Color combinations can make a tiny room seem larger or smaller. So it is for the Interior designer to choose appropriate colors for a place towards achieving how clients would want to look at, and feel in, that space.
In 2024,
red-colored home accessories were popularized on social media and in several design magazines for claiming to enhance interior design. This was coined the
Unexpected Red Theory.
Lighting
Lighting is very important when designing a space. Lighting in a room can affect the way that a room is shown. By adding natural and artificial lighting a designer can enhance the features in space and make it more pleasing. When an interior designer places lighting in a home it is important to know what lighting to put where and how to use lighting to highlight important places in the room. Lighting can enhance the aesthetic appeal of a place, setting the mood for the room. For example, when putting lighting into an office you want tp make sure there is overhead lighting, task/ desk lighting and natural lighting. Making sure there is enough lighting in a workspace is important so the person using the place does not strain their eyesight.
Specialties
Residential
Residential design is the design of the interior of private residences. As this type of design is specific for individual situations, the needs and wants of the individual are paramount in this area of interior design. The interior designer may work on the project from the initial planning stage or may work on the remodeling of an existing structure. It is often a process that takes months to fine-tune and create a space with the vision of the client.
[Piotrowski, C, 2004, Becoming an Interior Designer, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, USA]
Commercial
Commercial design encompasses a wide range of subspecialties.
* Retail: includes malls and shopping centers, department stores, specialty stores, visual merchandising, and showrooms.
* Visual and spatial branding: The use of space as a medium to express a corporate brand.
* Corporate: office design for any kind of business such as banks.
* Healthcare: the design of hospitals, assisted living facilities, medical offices, dentist offices, psychiatric facilities, laboratories, medical specialist facilities.
* Hospitality and recreation: includes hotels, motels, resorts, cruise ships, cafes, bars, casinos, nightclubs, theaters, music and concert halls, opera houses, sports venues, restaurants, gyms, health clubs and spas, etc.
* Institutional: government offices, financial institutions (banks and credit unions), schools and universities, religious facilities, etc.
* Industrial facilities: manufacturing and training facilities as well as import and export facilities.
* Exhibition: includes museums, gallery, exhibition hall, specially the design for showroom and exhibition gallery.
* Traffic building: includes bus station, subway station, airports, pier, etc.
* Sports: includes gyms, stadiums, swimming rooms, basketball halls, etc.
* Teaching in a private institute that offer classes of interior design.
* Self-employment.
* Employment in private sector firms.
Other
Other areas of specialization include amusement and theme park design, museum and exhibition design,
exhibit design
Exhibit design (or exhibition design) is the process of developing an exhibit—from a concept through to a physical, three-dimensional exhibition. It is a continually evolving field, drawing on innovative, creative, and practical solutions to the ...
, event design (including ceremonies, weddings, baby and bridal showers, parties, conventions, and concerts), interior and prop styling, craft styling, food styling, product styling,
tablescape design, theatre and performance design, stage and set design,
scenic design
Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including Play (theatre), plays and Musical theatre, musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, wher ...
, and
production design
In film industry, film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and ...
for film and television. Beyond those, interior designers, particularly those with graduate education, can specialize in healthcare design,
gerontological design, educational facility design, and other areas that require specialized knowledge. Some university programs offer graduate studies in theses and other areas. For example, both
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
and the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
offer interior design graduate programs in environment and behavior studies.
Profession
Education
There are various paths that one can take to become a professional interior designer. All of these paths involve some form of training. Working with a successful professional designer is an informal method of training and has previously been the most common method of education. In many states, however, this path alone cannot lead to licensing as a professional interior designer. Training through an institution such as a college, art or design school or university is a more formal route to professional practice.
In many countries, several university degree courses are now available, including those on interior architecture, taking three or four years to complete.
A formal education program, particularly one accredited by or developed with a professional organization of interior designers, can provide training that meets a minimum standard of excellence and therefore gives a student an education of a high standard. There are also university graduate and Ph.D. programs available for those seeking further training in a specific design specialization (i.e. gerontological or healthcare design) or those wishing to teach interior design at the university level.
Working conditions
There are a wide range of working conditions and employment opportunities within interior design. Large and tiny corporations often hire interior designers as employees on regular working hours. Designers for smaller firms and online renovation platforms usually work on a contract or per-job basis. Self-employed designers, who made up 32% of interior designers in 2020, usually work the most hours. Interior designers often work under stress to meet deadlines, stay on budget, and meet clients' needs and wishes.
In some cases, licensed professionals review the work and sign it before submitting the design for approval by clients or construction permitting. The need for licensed review and signature varies by locality, relevant legislation, and scope of work. Their work can involve significant travel to visit different locations. However, with technology development, the process of contacting clients and communicating design alternatives has become easier and requires less travel.
Styles
Art Deco

The
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style began in Europe in the early years of the 20th century, with the waning of
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
. The term "Art Deco" was taken from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a world's fair held in Paris in 1925.
[Tinniswood, Adrian. The Art Deco House: Avant-Garde House of the 1920s and 1930s. Watsonguptill publishing company. New York. 2002] Art Deco rejected many traditional classical influences in favour of more streamlined geometric forms and metallic color. The Art Deco style influenced all areas of design, especially interior design, because it was the first style of interior decoration to spotlight new technologies and materials.
[Striner, Richard. "Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis". WInterthur portfolio, Vol 25. No. 1 spring, 1990. PP. 26–34.]
Art Deco style is mainly based on geometric shapes, streamlining, and clean lines.
[Beusterien, John. Rodriguez, EduardoLuis. Narciso G. The Architectural Avant-Garde: From Art Deco to Modern Regionalism. The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol. 22, Cuba Theme Issue (1996), PP. 254–277][Stanley, Meisler. ’Art Deco: High Style. Smithsonian’, Nov 2004, Vol. 35 Issue 8, PP 57–60] The style offered a sharp, cool look of mechanized living utterly at odds with anything that came before.
[Bayer, Patricia, Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s, Thames & Hudson, London 1990]
Art Deco rejected traditional materials of decoration and interior design, opting instead to use more unusual materials such as
chrome,
glass
Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
,
stainless steel
Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
, shiny fabrics,
mirror
A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...
s,
aluminium
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
,
lacquer
Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity.
Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...
,
inlaid wood,
sharkskin
Sharkskin, or grisaille (from French ''gris'', meaning grey) describes a specific woven or warp-knitted fabric with a distinctive sheen. Sharkskin is a twill weave fabric created using acetate, rayon, worsted wool, lycra, and other plastic fi ...
, and zebra skin.
The use of harder, metallic materials was chosen to celebrate the machine age. These materials reflected the dawning modern age that was ushered in after the end of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The innovative combinations of these materials created contrasts that were very popular at the time – for example the mixing together of highly polished wood and black lacquer with satin and furs. The barber shop in the Austin Reed store in London was designed by P. J. Westwood. It was soon regarded as the trendiest barber shop in Britain due to its use of metallic materials.
The color themes of Art Deco consisted of metallic color, neutral color, bright color, and black and white. In interior design, cool metallic colors including silver, gold, metallic blue, charcoal grey, and platinum tended to predominate.
Serge Chermayeff, a Russian-born British designer made extensive use of cool metallic colors and luxurious surfaces in his room schemes. His 1930 showroom design for a British dressmaking firm had a silver-grey background and black mirrored-glass wall panels.
Black and white was also a very popular color scheme during the 1920s and 1930s. Black and white checkerboard tiles, floors and wallpapers were very trendy at the time. As the style developed, bright vibrant colors became popular as well.
Art Deco furnishings and lighting fixtures had a glossy, luxurious appearance with the use of inlaid wood and reflective finishes. The furniture pieces often had curved edges, geometric shapes, and clean lines.
Art Deco lighting fixtures tended to make use of stacked geometric patterns.
Modern art
Modern design grew out of the decorative arts, mostly from the
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
, in the early 20th century.
One of the first to introduce this
modernist
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
style was
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, who had not become hugely popularized until completing the house called
Fallingwater
Fallingwater is a Historic house museum, house museum in Stewart Township, Pennsylvania, Stewart Township in the Laurel Highlands of Greater Pittsburgh, southwestern Pennsylvania, United States. Designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, i ...
in the 1930s.
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
reached its peak during the 1950s and '60s, which is why designers and decorators today may refer to modern design as being "
mid-century".
Modern art does not refer to the era or age of design and is not the same as contemporary design, a term used by interior designers for a shifting group of recent styles and trends.
Arab materials
"Majlis painting", also called
nagash painting, is the decoration of the
majlis
(, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...
, or front parlor of traditional Arabic homes, in the
Asir
Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia. It has an area of , and an estimated population of 2,024,285 (in 2022). Asir is bounded by the Mecca Province to the north and west, al-Bahah Province to the ...
province of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
and adjoining parts of
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. These wall paintings, an
arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...
form of
mural
A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' ...
or
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
, show various geometric designs in bright colors: "Called 'nagash' in Arabic, the wall paintings were a mark of pride for a woman in her house."
The geometric designs and heavy lines seem to be adapted from the area's textile and weaving patterns. "In contrast with the sobriety of architecture and decoration in the rest of Arabia, exuberant color and ornamentation characterize those of Asir. The painting extends into the house over the walls and doors, up the staircases, and onto the furniture itself. When a house is being painted, women from the community help each other finish the job. The building then displays their shared taste and knowledge. Mothers pass these on to their daughters. This artwork is based on a
geometry
Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
of straight lines and suggests the patterns common to textile
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
, with solid bands of different colors. Certain motifs reappear, such as the triangular
mihrab
''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall".
...
or 'niche' and the
palmette
The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
. In the past, paint was produced from mineral and vegetable
pigment
A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
s.
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...
s and
alfalfa
Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...
yielded green. Blue came from the
indigo
InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
plant. Red came from
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...
s and a certain mud.
Paintbrush
A paintbrush is a brush used to apply paint or ink. A paintbrush is usually made by clamping bristles to a handle with a ferrule. They are available in various sizes, shapes, and materials. Thicker ones are used for filling in, and thinner ones ...
es were created from the tough hair found in a goat's tail. Today, however, women use modern manufactured paint to create new looks, which have become an indicator of social and economic change."
Women in the Asir province often complete the decoration and painting of the house interior. "You could tell a family's wealth by the paintings,"
Um Abdullah says: "If they didn't have much money, the wife could only paint the motholath, the basic straight, simple lines, in patterns of three to six repetitions in red, green, yellow and brown." When women did not want to paint the walls themselves, they could
barter
In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange (economics), exchange in which participants in a financial transaction, transaction directly exchange good (economics), goods or service (economics), services for other goods ...
with other women who would do the work. Several Saudi women have become famous as majlis painters, such as
Fatima Abou Gahas.
The interior walls of the home are brightly painted by the women, who work in defined patterns with lines, triangles, squares, diagonals and tree-like patterns. "Some of the large triangles represent mountains. Zigzag lines stand for water and also for lightning. Small triangles, especially when the widest area is at the top, are found in pre-Islamic representations of female figures. That the small triangles found in the wall paintings in 'Asir are called banat may be a cultural remnant of a long-forgotten past."
"
Courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...
s and upper pillared
porticoes are principal features of the best Nadjdi architecture, in addition to the fine incised plaster wood (
jiss) and painted window shutters, which decorate the reception rooms. Good examples of plasterwork can often be seen in the gaping ruins of torn-down buildings- the effect is light, delicate and airy. It is usually around the
majlis
(, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...
, around the coffee hearth and along the walls above where guests sat on rugs, against cushions. Doughty wondered if this "
parquet
Parquet (; French for "a small compartment") is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect in flooring.
Parquet patterns are often entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges—but may contain curves. T ...
ting of jis", this "
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
fretwork... all adorning and unenclosed" originated from
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. However, the Najd fretwork seems very different from that seen in the Eastern Province and
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
, which are linked to Indian traditions, and rather resembles the
motifs and patterns found in ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
. The rosette, the star, the triangle and the stepped pinnacle pattern of dadoes are all ancient patterns, and can be found all over the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
of antiquity.
Al-Qassim Province
The Qassim Province ( ' , Najdi Arabic: ), also known as the Qassim Region, is one of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. Located at the heart of the country near the geographic center of the Arabian Peninsula, it has a population of 1,336,179 and ...
seems to be the home of this art, and there it is normally worked in hard white
plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
(though what you see is usually begrimed by the smoke of the coffee hearth). In
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
, examples can be seen in unadorned
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
.
[Mostyn, Trevor. 1983. Saudi Arabia. London: Middle East Economic Digest. Pages 257–258.]
Sustainable Design
Sustainable Design is becoming more important today. This type of style includes eco-friendly, energy efficient, and sustainable design while keeping the space functional. Modern design prioritizes energy efficient design styles and eco-friendly design styles.
Media popularization
Interior design has become the subject of
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
shows. In the United Kingdom, popular interior design and decorating programs include ''
60 Minute Makeover'' (
ITV), ''
Changing Rooms'' (
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
), and ''Selling Houses'' (
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
). Famous interior designers whose work is featured in these programs include
Linda Barker and
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the
TLC Network aired a popular program called ''
Trading Spaces
''Trading Spaces'' is an hour-long American television reality program that originally aired from 2000 to 2008 on the cable channels TLC and Discovery Home. The format of the show was based on the BBC TV series '' Changing Rooms''. The first ...
'', a show based on the UK program ''Changing Rooms''. In addition, both
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...
and the
DIY Network
Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery in partnership with Chip and Joanna Gaines, the founders of lifestyle company Magnolia. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics ...
also televise many programs about interior design and decorating, featuring the works of a variety of interior designers, decorators, and home improvement experts in a myriad of projects.
Fictional interior decorators include the Sugarbaker sisters on ''
Designing Women
''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS between September 29, 1986 and May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomas ...
'' and
Grace Adler on ''
Will & Grace
''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a Gay men, gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra ...
''. There is also another show called ''Home MADE''. There are two teams and two houses and whoever has the designed and made the worst room, according to the judges, is eliminated. Another show on the
Style Network
Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. Launched on October 1, 1998 as Style Network, a spin-off of E!, the channel initially consisted of fashion, ...
, hosted by
Niecy Nash, is ''
Clean House
''Clean House'' is a home makeover and interior design television show, originally broadcast from 2003 until 2011 which aired 10 seasons of programs on the Style Network. Originally hosted by Niecy Nash and later by Tempestt Bledsoe, the show b ...
'' where they re-do messy homes into themed rooms that the clients would like. Other shows include ''
Design on a Dime'', ''
Designed to Sell'', and ''
The Decorating Adventures of Ambrose Price''. The show called ''
Design Star'' has become more popular through the five seasons that have already aired. The winners of this show end up getting their own TV shows, of which are ''
Color Splash'' hosted by
David Bromstad, ''Myles of Style'' hosted by
Kim Myles, ''Paint-Over!'' hosted by
Jennifer Bertrand, ''
The Antonio Treatment'' hosted by
Antonio Ballatore, and finally ''Secrets from a Stylist'' hosted by Emily Henderson.
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
* Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
* Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...
also has a variety of shows that explore the lives of interior designers. These include ''
Flipping Out
''Flipping Out'' is an American reality television series that debuted on Bravo on July 31, 2007, and ended on November 20, 2018. The show is centered on designer Jeff Lewis in Los Angeles, California, his executive assistant Jenni Pulos, his ...
'', which explores the life of
Jeff Lewis and his team of designers; ''
Million Dollar Decorators'' explores the lives of interior designers
Nathan Turner, Jeffrey Alan Marks, Mary McDonald, Kathryn Ireland, and
Martyn Lawrence Bullard.
Interior design has also become the subject of
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
shows. In the U.S., popular interior design & lifestyle shows include ''
Martha Stewart Living
''Martha Stewart Living'' is a magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), ...
'' and ''Living Large'' featuring Karen Mills. Famous interior designers whose work is featured on these programs include Bunny Williams,
Barbara Barry, and
Kathy Ireland, among others.
Many interior design magazines exist to offer advice regarding color palette, furniture, art, and other elements that fall under the umbrella of interior design. These magazine often focus on related subjects to draw a more specific audience. For instance, architecture as a primary aspect of ''
Dwell'', while ''
Veranda'' is well known as a luxury living magazine. ''
Lonny Magazine'' and the newly relaunched, ''
Domino Magazine'', cater to a young, hip, metropolitan audience, and emphasize accessibility and a do-it-yourself (
DIY) approach to interior design.
Gallery
File:GCT in Blizzard of 2015.jpg, Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
File:Hotel San Domenico-Taormina-Sicilia-Italy - Creative Commons by gnuckx (3667442268).jpg, Hotel San Domenico in Taormina
File:Apothecary room - Arppeanum - DSC05136.JPG, Apothecary room
File:Lenno Villa Balbianello wnetrze 3.jpg, Villa del Balbianello
File:Johan Zacharias Blackstadius, Interiör, salong med läsande flicka, 1850.jpg, Lounge (1850)
File:Bar in de Rotterdamzaal.jpg, Bar in Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
File:Balboa Bay Club 9 Photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, Balboa Bay Club
File:12-03-01-axel-springer-by-RalfR-28.jpg, , Berlin
File:NerviChiesaLuteranaI.jpg, Lutheran church
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
in Nervi
Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Portofino on the Riviera di Levante, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent ''comune'', it is now a ''quartiere'' of Genoa. Nervi is 4 miles ( ...
Notable interior decorators
Other early interior decorators:
*
Sibyl Colefax
*
Dorothy Draper
*
Pierre François Léonard Fontaine
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
*
Syrie Maugham
Gwendoline Maud Syrie Maugham ( Barnardo, formerly Wellcome; 10 July 1879 – 25 July 1955) was a leading British interior decorator of the 1920s and 1930s who popularised rooms decorated entirely in white.
Early life
Gwendoline Maud Syrie Ba ...
*
Margery Hoffman Smith
*
Elsie de Wolfe
*
Arthur Stannard Vernay
*
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
Many of the most famous designers and decorators during the 20th century had no formal training. Some examples include
Sister Parish,
Robert Denning and
Vincent Fourcade,
Kerry Joyce,
Kelly Wearstler
Kelly Wearstler (; born November 21, 1967) is an American designer. She founded her own design firm Kelly Wearstler Interior Design (or KWID) in the mid-1990s, serving mainly the hotel industry, and now designs across high-end residential, comme ...
,
Stéphane Boudin
Stéphane Boudin (28 October 1888 – 18 October 1967) was a French interior designer and a president of Maison Jansen, the influential Paris-based interior decorating firm.
Biography
His father was a passementerie manufacturer.
Boudin is be ...
,
Georges Geffroy,
Emilio Terry
Emilio Rene Terry y Sánchez (1890–1969), known as Emilio Terry was a French architect, artist, interior decorator and landscape designer of Cuban-Irish ancestry. Creating furniture, tapestries and objets d'art, he was influenced by the châtea ...
,
Carlos de Beistegui,
Nina Petronzio,
Lorenzo Mongiardino,
Mary Jean Thompson and
David Nightingale Hicks.
Notable interior designers in the world today include
Scott Salvator,
Troy Adams,
Jonathan Adler,
Michael S. Smith,
Martin Brudnizki,
Mary Douglas Drysdale,
Kelly Hoppen
Kelly Elaine Hoppen (born 28 July 1959) is a South African-born British interior designer, author, and proprietor of Kelly Hoppen Interiors.
From 2013 to 2015, she was a "Dragon" on BBC Two's '' Dragons' Den''.
Family
Kelly Hoppen was born ...
,
Kelly Wearstler
Kelly Wearstler (; born November 21, 1967) is an American designer. She founded her own design firm Kelly Wearstler Interior Design (or KWID) in the mid-1990s, serving mainly the hotel industry, and now designs across high-end residential, comme ...
,
Nina Campbell,
David Collins,
Nate Berkus,
Sandra Espinet,
Jo Hamilton and
Nicky Haslam.
See also
*
1960s decor
*
American Society of Interior Designers
*
Blueprint
A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...
*
British Institute of Interior Design
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...
*
Chartered Society of Designers
*
Environmental psychology
Environmental psychology is a branch of psychology that explores the relationship between humans and the external world. It examines the way in which the natural environment and our built environments shape us as individuals. Environmental psycho ...
*
Experiential interior design
*
Fuzzy architectural spatial analysis
Fuzzy architectural spatial analysis (FASA) (also fuzzy inference system (FIS) based architectural space analysis or fuzzy spatial analysis) is a spatial analysis method of analysing the spatial formation and architectural space intensity within a ...
*
Interior architecture
Interior architecture is the design of a building or shelter from inside out, or the design of a new interior for a type of home that can be fixed. It can refer to the initial design and plan used for a building's interior, to that interi ...
*
Interior design psychology
*
Interior design regulation in the United States
*
Japanese interior design
*
Primitive decorating
*
Wall decals
*
Window treatment
References
External links
Candace Wheeler: The Art and Enterprise of American Design, 1875–1900 a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which includes a great deal of content about early interior design
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interior Design
Architectural design
Decorative arts
Home economics