• Average salary: $37,500 annually
• Salaries can range from $15,000 for junior assistants to more than $200,000 for partners in big interior design firms

• Creativity
• Strong sense of color, texture, balance,
  & proportion
• Organizational skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Self-discipline
• Ability to prioritize
• Infinite attention to detail
• Good business & sales skills
• Good communication skills
• Able to work with variety of personality styles

• Two- or four-year degree from a college, university, or professional school program in design
• Two to four years of practical work experience in the field

But rooms don't start out with character. They begin with four blank walls and a lot of empty space in between. That space must be filled with color, light, furnishings, and other decorative touches. In many cases, occupants design their own rooms. But often, individuals and companies turn to a professional - an interior designer whose job it is to transform bare rooms into comfortable and aesthetically pleasing living and working spaces.

What Do Interior Designers Do?
Interior designers design space. They plan each room so that it is not only pleasing to the eye, but safe, functional, and appropriate to its purpose. For example, a movie theater with huge columns in front of the seats would block patrons from viewing the films, defeating its own purpose as a business. A seaside home without beachfront windows would negate the benefit of its location, and would be unlikely to find a buyer. A hospital without wheelchair access ramps would be difficult and even dangerous for its patients to navigate.

The best designers plan with the purpose of each location in mind. They seamlessly combine art with function - pleasing the senses while they satisfy the need for comfort and accessibility. Designers must consider the practicality of each space: the ease of movement in a room, the amount of light from natural and artificial sources, and the available seating space.

Once the fundamentals are attended to, designers can turn their attention to aesthetics. This may involve choosing furniture, fabrics, and decorations and placing them strategically to create a style that is both unique and pleasing to the eye. Styles can range from fun and friendly to classical or other period, modern, or even serene and moody. Designers approach each room from all senses: sight (color and lighting), touch (shape and texture), and sound (noise, echo). Not only must each element be pleasing, but the elements must work together as a whole to create a harmonious environment.

To create this sense of harmony, designers must have an in-depth understanding of color, sound, light, patterns, furniture, fabrics, paint, fixtures, and art. They must also be familiar with a variety of design styles, both modern and historical.

Creating a Design
Every successful design starts with a plan. After consulting with the client, the designer (or team of designers) envisions the layout of the space, then creates drawings and floor plans of the proposed design. More and more designers are creating these plans on computers, which allow quick and easy changes based on the client's recommendations. Once the client has approved the drawings and plans, the designer lays out the specifications for lighting, colors, materials, finishes, furnishings, and fixtures. The design must not only match the client's personal needs and budget, but it must also comply with building codes and government safety regulations.

After all plans are complete, the interior designer shops for fabrics, furniture, and other materials. If certain materials are not available in local stores, designers may create their own. At this stage, the designer also hires the contractors needed to build the design - carpenters, lighting specialists, etc. Most jobs are presented to several contractors in each specialty, who bid for the opportunity to do the work. The bidding process allows the client and designer to pay the most competitive rates.

While the room or rooms are taking shape, the interior designer supervises the process, working closely with the architects, decorators, and building contractors to ensure they are meeting all requirements and specifications. Finally, the designer will review the completed space(s), checking to see that it matches the original plan, and meets the client's expectations.

Are interior designers and interior decorators the same?
Definitely not. Decorators focus only on the surface touches of a room - the paint, floor coverings, sofas, and curtains. Interior designers, on the other hand, often start with four bare walls, a floor and a ceiling, and they must create the total mood and feel of a room. Designers often step in early in the process, working closely with architects and contractors while the building is still under construction.

Interior designers must not only think about how a room looks; they must also consider how it functions, and whether it is safe for its occupants. Designers must understand color and style, and they must have a thorough knowledge of safety requirements (like fire ratings and handicapped specifications), federal and state building codes, lighting quality, ergonomics (comfort), and sound.

Because of the strict standards involved, most states require that designers graduate from a two- or four-year college and work in the field for a few years, then pass an exam to receive a license. Interior decorators, on the other hand, are free to practice their craft without a license.

In the fifth century BC, Central Asian nomads decorated their tents with beautiful rugs and carpets. They were trying to beautify the spaces in which they lived, but their migratory lifestyle required that any designs be simple and moveable. The practice of interior design could not truly begin until humans changed from a nomadic, agrarian lifestyle and settled into established communities.

The Earliest Designers
Before interior design emerged as its own specialty, artists were also considered designers. Many painters also designed and decorated furniture. Sculptors were also goldsmiths who created decorative objects in metal. Architects not only built, but also designed interiors, and created their own rugs, furniture, pottery, and tapestries.

The Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians made some of the earliest attempts at interior design. They were among the first peoples to furnish their mud homes - with chairs, tables, and beds. They assembled these furnishings from simple brick platforms and adorned them with animal skins and textiles. Walls and floors were covered with throws made of woven rushes or palmetto. The Egyptians accented their rooms with murals, sculptures, and painted vases. In the more luxurious palaces, floors were painted to resemble gardens and pools.

The Greeks and Romans
The Greeks learned much of their design style from the Egyptians. Like the Egyptians, they accessorized their homes and palaces with vases, paintings, and mosaic floors. Their furniture, however, was a bit more elaborate. It was fashioned from wood and ornamented with inlaid ivory and silver. Wooden vessels were decorated with sheet-gold, which was hammered from the opposite side to stand out in relief.

The Roman design style was similar to that of the Greeks, but with a greater focus on mathematical proportion. Architecture and design worked together - for example, real columns were accented with painted columns on the walls. Roman furniture was made of stone, wood, or bronze ornamented with ivory, bronze, or silver. Other signature style pieces were mosaic floors, multi-cushioned couches, bronze lamps, Asian carpets woven with gold and silver thread, and tapestries.

Regular motifs began to appear in Roman designs: the acanthus leaf, the vine-leaf and grapes, and garlands of laurel were just a few common icons. The lion was also popular, and continued to be until the late 19th century. Door knockers and handles were often accented with a lion's mask or paws. The Romans also used mythological animals in their designs, most notably the griffin (a beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion), the chimera (a fire-breathing monster that was part lion, part goat, and part serpent), and the sphinx.

Medieval Europe
The grandeur of ancient Greece and Rome nearly evaporated in the constant warring of Medieval Europe. Possessions were something that could be lost in battle, so people began to favor more austere surroundings. Homes were dark and unadorned, with stone or timber walls and earth or stone-slab floors. A focal point of the main room was the fire, which in early Medieval times burned in the center of the room, but was later confined more safely to a fireplace against one wall.

Furniture was simple: a few plain stools or benches, wooden tables, and a large chest in which to store one's possessions. Wealthier individuals enjoyed a bit more home decoration than the poor. They hung fabrics on their walls, and accented their rooms with stone carvings and more elegant furniture. But still, they used muted colors and simple fabrics in keeping with the style of the time.

But by the 12th and 13th centuries, more elaborate designs had once again become popular. Men who had taken part in the Crusades returned from the Near East with brightly colored tapestries and finely-woven curtains, which they used to decorate the walls and windows of their homes. Homes came to life with painted ceilings, and gold and silver plates in every cupboard.

Out of the Eastern influence emerged the Gothic style of design. It was characterized by open interiors, lit by natural light from many windows. The strict rules of proportion that governed Roman design were replaced by a freer style, in which craftsmen could be creative, so long as their design fit the purpose of the structure.

The Renaissance
During the Renaissance, which lasted through the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans shrugged off the darkness and severity of the Middle Ages and once again embraced Greek and Roman culture. Business during this period flourished, and wealthy merchants spent their money on fine works of art and home furnishings. Classical architecture was embellished to create a new, modern style. Architects became skilled at designing space, and they filled each room with elaborate decorative touches, like inlaid woodwork, marble floors, silk wall hangings, and paintings. The most expensive homes displayed the works of the finest painters, sculptors, wood-carvers, and goldsmiths of the time. Furniture-makers had at their disposal the richest materials available: walnut, cypress, ebony, and oak, inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell.

Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical Design
At the beginning of the 16th century, Renaissance design and architecture gave way to the more ornate, theatrical Baroque style. The Baroque originated in Italy, but quickly spread throughout Europe. It was famous for its lavish use of colored marble, stained glass windows, and painted walls and ceilings. Curved walls and twisted columns gave each room a flowing, moving appearance. One of the greatest masterpieces of Baroque design was the palace of Versailles, built just outside Paris in the 17th century.

The more flowery, delicate Rococo style followed in the mid-18th century. Unlike the classical symmetry of the Baroque style, Rococo was known for its use of asymmetry, where one side of an artistic piece did not exactly mirror the other. A feature of this style was furniture inlaid with tortoise-shell, brass, ebony, copper, or mother-of-pearl. The wealthy began importing porcelain from Asia, and it became a signature of the Rococo period. It was not uncommon at the time to see a room filled with porcelain figures, clocks, vases, and even small tables. Other signatures of the Rococo movement were curved furniture legs and the use of flowers.

In the late 18th century, the sinuous curves and elegance of the Baroque period were slowly replaced by a more formal, symmetrical style. Called Louis XVI, or Neoclassical, the new style was influenced by the more proportionate, restrained designs of ancient Rome. The designs were accented with rich silk tapestries, gilt bronze, and satin and velvet upholsteries. Many of the decorative elements of the Neoclassical style were taken directly from Roman paintings, urns, and sculptures.

The 19th Century to Modern Times
In 19th century Europe, the Industrial Revolution introduced a new trend in manufacturing and design, in which the middle classes became the primary purchasers of home furnishings and decorations. Even the more modest homes now came equipped with curved stone staircases with wrought-iron banisters, marble fireplace mantles, and a new invention - wallpaper.

A new idea took shape in the early 1800s that has persisted into the 21st century. Design began to embrace the idea of eclecticism - mixing various styles to create an aesthetic diversity. For the first time, a Classical vase could share a space with Baroque wall paintings and antique Chinese silk throws could sit on a modern sofa.

The turn of the 20th century brought about a radical departure from the overblown, fussy designs of the previous two centuries. Rooms were designed with a simpler approach, using plain white or natural wood, simple doors and windows, and minimal accessories. At the same time, modern art began to take hold, and traditional modes of design were rocked by more sensational, controversial techniques such as the industrial-influenced Bauhaus style and the boxy, machine-like International style. Materials were influenced by industry. The designer's palette was broadened with a variety of man-made materials, including plastic, synthetic fibers, and acrylic paints.

Also during this period, the mechanization of tasks that had once been completed by hand, and the development of new technological tools, changed the way designers organized space. Now they had to fit into their designs heating and cooling units, stoves, washing machines, televisions, telephones, and computers. In the busy 20th and 21st centuries, space has been allocated for utilitarian, as well as aesthetic, purposes. In the modern movement, decoration merged with function. Colors, textures, and materials not only need to look good, but they also need to be easily maintained.

Today, designers have an unprecedented freedom to merge design styles: from the modern to the formal, the traditional to the exotic. Or, they can develop their own signature style. Designers also have a wealth of natural and man-made fabrics, colors, and textures at their disposal. Whatever they and their clients can dream up can now become a reality.

Residential Interior Design
Residential designers create comfortable living spaces in individual homes and apartments. In today's world, they must do more than pick out furniture and drapes. They must also address technological design issues such as wiring, cable, computer hardware, and home theater systems. Some designers further specialize by only working on specific rooms, for example kitchens or bathrooms.

Commercial Design
Commercial designers are primarily involved with space planning: designing spaces in offices and public buildings that are both attractive and functional.

Office Design
Office designers create workspaces, meeting rooms and other facility spaces for large and small companies. When designing a work environment, the designer must find a look that fits the company's image. Responsibilities also include elements like lighting, noise, temperature, and comfort, which can all influence employee productivity.

Entertainment Design
This exciting specialty brings together light, sound, and the latest technologies in the design of concert venues, theme parks, clubs, and movie theaters, as well as sets for movies, television, videos, and theater productions. Entertainment designers consider themselves storytellers, because they must create a unique mood and theme for every design.

Government/Institutional Design
Government buildings and military bases require very specific design approaches, as do churches and synagogues, schools and universities, jails, police stations, courts, subway terminals, libraries, and museums. Because these facilities cover a wide variety of uses, institutional designers must understand the requirements of commercial office design, residential design, and hospitality design. Designing facilities to be used by the public also requires that designers carefully follow codes and regulations, and use durable materials that can withstand repeated use.

Facilities Management
A facilities manager handles the day-to-day upkeep of a corporate workspace, entertainment venue, or other building. This specialist must keep informed on new equipment requirements, safety and health issues, employee comfort and other needs, lighting and acoustics. Everyday tasks may be as simple as changing a light bulb, or as complex as overseeing an office renovation.

Healthcare Design
This specialty focuses on creating comfortable and functional environments for hospitals, assisted living facilities, medical office buildings, and other healthcare facilities. Healthcare designers must create spaces that allow special mobility for patients in wheelchairs or walkers. They must also make the facilities inviting so that patients feel comfortable and secure while they are away from home.

Hospitality/Restaurant Design
Hospitality designers give restaurants their signature look, create an aura of casual elegance for resorts and golf clubs, and add hints of glamour and excitement to casinos and cruise ships. The designs for these public facilities must be inviting enough to attract customers, yet durable enough to withstand constant use.

Retail/Store Design
Designers in this specialty create a distinctive look for department stores, boutiques, malls and shopping centers. Their designs must not only be enticing, but must also match consumers' needs.

Interior designers, no matter what their specialty, may also follow one of two approaches:

Eco-Design
Increasingly, many companies and individuals are designing with a respect for the environment. Eco-design (also called "sustainable design") uses earth-friendly (usually recycled) and energy-efficient materials to have as little impact on the environment as possible.

Universal Design
Using guidelines originally set up to accommodate individuals with disabilities, universal designers create so-called 'barrier-free' spaces that improve accessibility, safety, and comfort for everyone who visits.

Where will you work?

• Your own office, as an independent contractor
• A large corporation
• A retail furniture store
• An architectural firm
• A university or art school

When I was a little boy, I could walk into rooms and suggest to people that they should move furniture here or there. My mom's friends could send me into a store to find a gift and I always found the right one. It was foretelling of a talent I didn't recognize.

In my junior year in high school, somebody who was going to the interior design department at the Pratt Institute (in New York) came to our art class and brought his portfolio. He told us about Pratt and the projects they were doing, and he brought an application for a summer scholarship Pratt was giving to students who had talent. I created the assignments that had to be done, and I won - I got the scholarship. I spent the summer going to a design class at Pratt.

The first assignment was to create a flower shop. I decided I really liked the work. Design came naturally to me. There are people who are very fortunate, to whom design and construction come naturally. To me, construction was more of an effort but design came naturally. If you recognize that talent in yourself, than you can gear your career toward what your strengths are.

I went to Pratt Institute and got my Bachelor of Science degree in interior design. While I was in school, I decided I would work during the summers. One summer I worked in an architect's office, one summer I worked in an interior design firm, and the other summer I worked in a landscape design firm. Those were invaluable experiences, because they allowed me to see what went on in the real world.

There was an architect-interior designer named Billy Baldwin, whose work I had seen in publications, and I remember thinking this is the kind of work I want to do. I fashioned a lot of my work after his. My last year of school, I got a letter from him saying that he had called the school to ask them to recommend somebody to work for him. So I was delighted, of course. I interviewed with him and he hired me on a freelance basis to work with him for about nine months. I was doing drawings for him and a little bit of design - he did most of his own design work.

I graduated from Pratt in 1968. My first real job was with a firm called Carson, Lundine and Shaw. They used to do all of the work for the Paley family (William S. Paley - one of the forefathers of American broadcasting). My office was doing a house for them, and working on the Paramount office building, which later became the Trump Park building. I hated that job, because except for the Paley house and a lobby that they asked me to design for the Paramount movie theater, I was researching file cabinets - and I'm the last person in the world who should be doing that. It was very tedious and detail-oriented work. There are designers whose strengths are in the big picture and those whose strengths are in the little details - I'm a big picture guy. But it was good experience.

Then I had to choose between two opportunities: either work for Billy Baldwin (the interior designer) as an interior designer or work at American Airlines in their architectural design department. I opted for the travel. It was one of the only decisions I regret. I loved the first year at American Airlines, but then it became very tedious and very corporate. After a while, I decided I didn't want to be there. I'm not a corporate person, I just want to design. The traveling wore off too.

Then I started doing some freelance work. A friend wanted a small apartment done - that kind of thing. I entered one of the most wonderful periods of my life, where I did everything. I illustrated shoe catalogs, I did drawings for interior design firms, I designed Christmas cards, I designed Christmas and holiday napkins. I did anything.

Then I got a job working for Ford & Earl Design. It was a Detroit-based firm with a New York office that existed strictly to work for RCA. They did all of the interiors for RCA offices and studios; they created all of their corporate standards. It was one of those instances of being at the right place at the right time. I designed some executive dining rooms for them, and they had me design uniforms for pages at RCA. And then Robert Sarnoff (Chairman of RCA) inherited a big townhouse from his father. My firm did a presentation that he didn't like. He gave me a chance to do the presentation and liked everything. The firm hired me full time to stay on and do Sarnoff's house.

While I was doing that, a friend of mine who'd gone to school with Princess Yasmin Aga Khan (daughter of actress Rita Hayworth) put me in touch with her. I designed a townhouse for her and she was very happy with it. Then I met fashion designer Ken Scott in New York, and he asked me if I would go to Mexico and design a house that he had just bought. He said he would pay me the same salary I was making in New York. I lived in Mexico for about a year working on his house. It was an amazing experience. I was young and I had all these people working under me.

.Then I finished the job and I came back to New York. I had the choice to either look for a job with another firm or go out on my own. I decided I liked working for myself. I started freelancing, and Yasmin Khan bought another townhouse and introduced me to some people. Before I knew it, I had seven people working for me. I incorporated in 1980. At one point, I had 16 people working for my company. I didn't like that because I was managing people rather than designing. Now I just have a partner who works with me, and we hire freelance people as we need them.

I like to walk into an existing space by myself, and I find that a space will talk to you if you allow it to. You look and you see what the circulation is going to be in the space, what is the view, what is the best wall for a media center or fireplace or tapestry, and then you sit down with a plan. If it's a house that's not constructed yet, you work with the plans and you have to mentally visualize the space, try all the different possible layouts, and then narrow it down to the best scheme. I try not to make my interiors a monument to me but to help people make their dreams come true. I try to discover what their vision is, and then expand their comfort zone so their vision becomes better.

The business part of being an interior designer can be a challenge. A designer's mentality works in a different way. I wish I'd listened more in my business classes in school. If I had to go back, maybe I would have learned more before going out on my own. The other challenge is finding sources - finding people you can trust, whose work you like, and who are responsible. Also finding clients, because without clients you can't have a business.

I like the fact that I can see something in my mind and then see it as a reality. I have designed restaurants, offices, I've done projects all over the world, which has been wonderful. I have worked for people who have great taste and who have bought important antiques. But I've also worked for people with simpler budgets in small apartments, and that can be just as rewarding.

When you're starting out as an interior designer, I think internships and summer jobs are very important. If you can get an internship through your school in a design firm - that can be very helpful. It also helps to open your mouth and let people know you're a designer. Ask if anybody needs a designer. And, as soon as you can, look into the different kinds of design. For example, you may love doing offices and hate doing residential work. There's also institutional design, hospital design, hospitality design, etc. They all have their good and bad points, and you have to find out where you fit best."

I Am the Owner of a Commercial Interior Design Firm in New Orleans
"My interest in interior design started in high school. I liked art and enjoyed doing it, but I didn't consider myself an artist. I thought about becoming an architect, but I thought the profession did not deal enough with the more intimate scope of interiors.

I went to Louisiana State University (LSU) and majored in interior design. I took courses in art, architecture, basic design, math, English, marketing, professional practice (the business aspect of interior design), and psychology. I received my bachelor's degree in interior design. I did not do any internships while in school, but I did work in my school's resource area for interior design. They had a materials library, which contained manufacturers' literature on furniture, finishes, fabrics, and paint. I helped catalog those materials and kept them straight.

After graduation, I was interested in the commercial aspects of interior design. I took a job with a commercial office furniture dealership in New Orleans. After that, I worked for an architectural firm specializing in healthcare. I worked mainly on hospitals and clinics. I was involved in space planning, including finish selection, furniture selection, and specifications. Space planning can mean starting off with an empty space, or reconfiguring what's already there.

Then, I relocated back to New Orleans, where I again worked for a contract furniture dealer. After that, I joined an interior design firm that worked primarily on commercial office space. The difference between a contract furniture dealer and an interior design firm is that, typically, contract furniture firms are more heavily geared to space planning as it deals with furniture. Whereas, with an interior design firm, you typically get more involved in the whole process. I prefer the broader scale of being in an interior design firm.

I founded Steinmetz & Associates in 1983. I have a partner in the firm, my husband Robert Steinmetz. He is the architect in the firm and I'm the interior designer. We do a lot of corporate interior planning and architecture. We also do tenant development work - that's where you work with building owners and managers to lay out space for their potential tenants.

When we design a space, first we do something called programming. That is a needs assessment to determine the facility's requirements. A needs assessment includes personnel, equipment, understanding the business of the company you're working with, and understanding the goals for the project. From there, we usually do some type of preliminary design schematics, which can include what we call a space plan (taking the requirements and laying them out in a space - either a blank space or an existing space).

Next we get involved with the design parameters - what the space is going to look like. The design has to match the company's goals. Then we begin the actual implementation of the design. Generally, we work with architects, furniture vendors, and other contractors. At the end of the project, we do a final walk-through to make sure everything was done according to our documents. After that is something called a post-occupancy evaluation. We go back in after our client has moved in to see how well the design works.

To design a space, you have to understand the technical aspects (lighting, acoustics, etc.) so you can work with audio/visual consultants, lighting consultants, etc. Sometimes, if the project is not large enough to hire one of these consultants, you have to do it yourself. You learn the basics of these skills in school. Design schools have studios where they do projects. You might have to design a conference room with audio/visuals and deal with acoustics, for example.

I think the projects I enjoy working on the most are the ones in which we have total involvement with the client and provide all the services, from initial planning and programming, to furnishings to implementation. We have won several design awards, and most of those were for projects where we were involved in the entire process.

Many of our clients are law firms. We've also worked a lot in the communications and cable industry. Commercial design is completely different from home design. When working with corporations, it's integral that you know their business plan and can deal with their corporate structure in terms of implementation. Frequently, approval must come from a board or a group of individuals. With residential projects, the psychology of understanding people may be the same, but you're typically dealing with only a husband and wife. It involves less of a structure and more of a personal interface.

Clients tend to try to explain what they're trying to accomplish, rather than coming to the table with specifics. For example, they wouldn't say, 'I want this chair,' but they may say, 'I want a cutting-edge image,' or they might say, 'I want a conservative, not high-tech image.' The nature of what they say determines what materials we use. For example, with a high-tech design, we would use materials that are somewhat flashy, somewhat technological. Whereas if they say low-key conservative, we would think of more warm things like wood, marble, and softer lighting. We think about what the client wants in terms of materials, finishes, and the whole ambiance, to see how the design will work for them.

I get my ideas from a variety of sources. I probably get 12 periodicals a month. There's also research available on the Internet. There are manufacturers' Web sites, and there are Web sites for professional organizations. Once I have an image in my head of where I'm going, there is a lot of research out there that enables me to see how to put the idea into effect.

What I enjoy most about the field is dealing with people. Even though I work in the corporate setting, there are the personal aspects of learning how people work and learning how to design their spaces, as well as problem solving. And I like the fact that I can actually see tangible results at the end of a project. Something is built - something has happened as a result of all my work. That is very gratifying, I think.

Sometimes it's frustrating not being able to obtain all the information I need to get the job done. Today there are so many players involved in the design process (lighting consultants, audio/visual consultants, data consultants), and each has a piece that needs to come together to get the job done. It involves a lot of coordination.

A lot of people think interior design is strictly about color and finish - they don't understand the need for space planning and a lot of the technical issues involved. Many students drop out of school after the first few years, because they didn't realize what they were getting into. I think doing a little research is very important. If you're interested in becoming an interior designer, I think the best thing to do is to visit some firms. Call them up and talk to them. Also, look at the Web sites of various design firms. They will usually include descriptions of projects the firm is working on.

Frequently, colleges and professional organizations have career days. Universities also have career placement departments, or you can call their interior design departments and ask if they will let you talk to someone there."

I Am the Owner of a Commercial Design Company in Akron, Ohio
"When I first became interested in the field of interior design, I was working to support myself and my husband while he attended college. I was working at the Dean's office in the College of Fine and Professional Arts at Kent State University, when the new interior design program crossed my desk. I thought it sounded like a neat program. The program at Kent State was interdisciplinary - it combined interior design, art, architecture, technology, and graphic design, which seemed like an interesting blend of classes. So I took the entrance exam to see if they would let me into the program.

I enrolled in Kent State's four-year Bachelor of Arts program in interior design. In addition to all of my general studies, there were mandatory interior design classes, as well as classes in textiles, the history of housing and furnishings, lighting, etc. I also took basic architecture courses like architectural history, architectural theory, and environmental design to learn how to communicate and work with architects. My classes taught me the basics of architectural design, graphic design, mechanical drawing, and architectural drafting.

The program required us to take one internship, but I took two. One was with a commercial design firm and the other was with a residential design studio. I thought that if there weren't any jobs in commercial design, I wanted to have something on my résumé that said I had done at least one residential job. In the end, I selected commercial design over residential design because it fit more with my personality type. I was more interested in problem solving than with the artistic end of things. I wanted to create solutions in order to improve people's environments.

I started working right out of school. My very first job was doing hotel, motel and restaurant design at a small design firm. I was considered a designer, but we worked more as a team back then because it was a small firm. Everyone worked together on projects due to their size and scope.

Next, I worked in a furniture store that sold midrange furniture (in between high-end and low-end). I was in charge of the design of the store (for example, product placement and creating room vignettes). I also did design work for store customers. But I knew this was not an area in which I wanted to spend my life.

From the furniture store, I moved to a small residential design studio. I was hired to replace another designer who was leaving. But she wound up coming back, and the studio didn't have enough business to support the three or four designers who were working there at the time. I left the position, because I realized the job wasn't going to go anywhere. Residential work wasn't what I was interested in doing. At that point, I started getting more selective about where I went looking for jobs and where I sent résumés. I didn't send a résumé to any company that did not do commercial design or offer room for advancement.

From there, I started working in an office furniture dealership. I started as a temporary designer and worked my way up. Within six weeks, I had become the permanent assistant to the design department manager. That dealership is where I started getting my first real experience doing commercial work. I left that company, along with the head of the design department, and we started our own commercial design firm, in which I was a partner. Because I had a young child, I set up a studio in my home and started to work on my own accounts with clients from the partnership.

The vast majority of the work I do now is office and corporate headquarters. I also work on the design of smaller healthcare facilities, like doctor's office suites and nursing homes.

Programming is the biggest part of my projects. Through the programming phase, I find out what each client's situation is, what they're facing now, what their needs are, and what I can do to meet those needs. I have to field measure the job or get drawings from the client, and then start putting some ideas down as to how to allocate the space for various uses, and how to solve the problems that are confronting the client.

Then we sit down and put together some concepts. I take a really good look at the inner workings of a company: what the separations of the work are within the space and how those people are going to interact with each other in the best way to have very high levels of productivity. Ultimately, everything I do looks at how we are affecting the bottom line, because that's what business is all about. I also look at lighting, ergonomics, and acoustics. If you don't deal with all of these things wisely, then you will have employees out all of the time on sick leave from eyestrain, backaches, or carpal tunnel syndrome. Or, the client will be faced with the problem of low employee morale.

My work involves both designing new construction and reorganizing existing spaces. I try to stay flexible and provide whatever services a client needs. If the client wants me to hire contractors to complete a project, I'm happy to do that. We can also go through a bidding process where different people bid on the project to determine who is available in the time frame we need to get the project done. I can just produce the project specifications and hand them to the client to deal with the contractors of their choice, or I can see the project through to the end. Flexibility to meet the needs of the client is key to my business.

For inspiration, sometimes I'm fortunate enough to get a building or space that has some interesting architecture or unique character to it. Then I play off of that for a design concept. But other times, I get buildings with as much personality as a brick wall. So I have to create a complete concept, including those interesting or unique architectural details. Unfortunately, not all of my clients have the budget for expensive detailing. So I work to gain the client's confidence by understanding what the needs are and then trying to stretch the budget as far as possible, incorporating as much detail and style as possible in the process.

I like any project where I can walk in after the job is done and see that I have improved the client's environment. It's kind of fun to go into a project and listen to the employees say that it's quieter and more comfortable in their space now; it's so much easier to work there than it was. Then I know I've achieved something of value for my client. My philosophy as a problem solver is that any space can be finished in hundreds of color schemes and finish selections, none of which are either right or wrong. But if I have not met the challenges the client has put before me, then my project is a failure.

I think I like the fact that interior design is never the same thing twice. There's so much variety and there are so many areas in which you can practice design. If you get into one area and decide you don't like it, you can get into something else. I don't think many other fields offer that many choices.

Personality issues can be frustrating; for example, dealing with a client who just doesn't understand what I'm trying to do, or who will make a change (for example, moving a structural element) without including me in the decision, because they don't realize how many things it affects.

Sadly, one of the most frustrating things is that people continue to think that interior designers and interior decorators are the same. Interior decorating is a small part of what an interior designer does; the profession is so much more than just providing the finishing touches.

I'm a past national president of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). I advise students to join a student chapter of ASID if there is one at their school, because they can use it to network with the same professionals that they're going to be sending their résumés to in a very short time. Odds are, if a student volunteers to serve on a local chapter committee with a professional, and the professional gets to know that student, when the student's résumé comes in the mail, there will be some recognition. It's also a good chance for students to interview the designers and find out what kind of work they do. The connections they make ahead of time can be so important when they begin their job search upon graduation. Also, when vendors come to their school to talk about their products, they should get to know those people, because the vendors go to all of the design firms and they probably know who is hiring, and what types of work those design firms do."

Interior design requires a good bit of juggling, and each of the balls may be from a completely different discipline - for example, designers often handle a budget issue one minute, then switch gears and enter a discussion on fabrics and upholstery the next minute. To do this requires organizational skills, problem-solving skills, self-discipline, the ability to prioritize, and infinite attention to detail. Because many projects come with tight budgets, cost-cutting and bargain hunting skills are also required.

Even though many designers focus on their artistic talents, success in the field also requires good business and sales skills. About 90 percent of an interior designer's job involves networking, selling, and marketing themselves to potential clients.

Designers must also communicate well, and be able to work with a variety of personality styles. Clients will not always agree - some may be opinionated and argumentative. A good designer can put aside personal needs and tastes to accommodate the desires of the client.

Many companies now require that interior designers create their designs digitally, so computer hardware and software skills are becoming essential. One of the most widely-used programs is CAD, a computer-assisted drafting program. Computers help designers create 3D layouts and scaled dimensional space plans. Knowledge of computer-assisted drafting can earn designers better positions with higher pay.

Rather than sit at a desk in an office all day, interior designers get to work in a variety of environments: homes, restaurants, schools, and retail stores.

The work itself is often rewarding. At the end of the project, the designer has the satisfaction of seeing the vision come to life.

Because many projects have tight deadlines, designers often wind up putting in long hours, including nights and weekends, especially during their first few years in the profession.

Getting into the field can be difficult because there are many skilled candidates vying for each open position. Entry-level designers must not only possess talent and drive; they must be willing to put up with grunt work and low pay until they become established.

Even though interior design is not considered a physical profession, a strong back and legs are essential because designers must regularly climb ladders and lug armloads of heavy fabric and design sample books to client meetings.

While enrolled in either a two-year or four-year program, students learn a wide variety of skills, including the principles of design, art history, spatial development and space planning, technical drawing, basic architecture, building materials and installation, codes and safety regulations, oral and written communications, project management and presentation techniques. With the increasing use of computers for design projects, many designers are also expected to know how to use design software.

These professional-level programs are accredited by the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER):

• Algonquin College, Ottawa Canada
• Auburn University
• California College of Arts and Crafts
• Cornell University
• The Harrington Institute of Interior Design, Chicago
• International Academy of Design & Technology
• Kansas State University
• Louisiana State University
• Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia
• Michigan State University
• The New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University, Boston
• Pratt Institute (New York)
• Purdue University
• Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (Colorado)
• Syracuse University
• University of Arizona College of Architecture & Environmental Design
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Florida
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Washington State University

The following two-year programs prepare students for a position as a design assistant:

• Art Institute Miami International University of Art & Design
• Berkeley College, New Jersey
• Brooks College, Long Beach, California
• Houston Community College

For a list of schools with accredited programs in interior design, visit the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research Web site.

Salaries can range from $15,000 for junior assistants to more than $200,000 for partners in big interior design firms, or top independent designers. Designers employed by engineering and architectural firms are paid some of the highest salaries in the field.

Many interior designers work on their own as independent contractors. They set a fee for their services based on their experience and the complexity of the project. Freelance designers tend to make more than those employed by a company.

Freelance designers may base their rate on a flat fee that covers an entire project, or they may charge an hourly rate or even a percentage of the entire project cost. Some designers also make money from the sale of the materials they use. They purchase furniture, fabrics, and other goods at cost, then charge the client for them at a slightly higher rate.

Before landing a full-time salaried position or setting out on your own as a contractor, you'll need a portfolio. A portfolio is a book filled with samples of your best work. It is your first and best opportunity to show prospective employers and/or clients your talents and abilities. Your portfolio can be a traditional notebook filled with photos and drawings of your work, or it can be a digital display of images set up in a PowerPoint presentation, on a CD, or on a Web site.

You'll also need to determine the area of design in which you want to concentrate. Would you prefer to design residences, or would you rather work on restaurants and hotels? Would you like to focus primarily on one type of room, for example the kitchen or bathroom? Or, do you have a knack for historical styles or Feng Shui (the Chinese art of organizing space to give it harmony and balance)? Developing a specialty can set you apart from the rest of the pack and increase your odds of landing that first job.

It's usually a good idea to start your career as an entry-level designer at an established company, where you can receive free on-the-job training. While you're still in college, you can take a summer job or internship to gain experience and make contacts. Then, once you have graduated, you can start in on the ground floor as a junior designer or assistant. After you've been employed at a company for a few years, you can move up through the ranks to become a senior designer, project manager, or even a partner of the firm. Or, you can decide to move to a larger company or start your own freelance business.

• American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)
• Industrial Designers Society of America
• Interior Design Educators Council
• The Interior Design Society
• Interior Designers of Canada
• International Interior Design Association (IIDA)

Listed below are some trade periodicals