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I am a junior in high school and I am interested in pursuing interior design. I live in Santa Monica, so I am down the street from Los Angeles. I am curious as to what the most prestigious colleges are for interior design in the U.S. but I am most interested in the Los Angeles City area. Thanks!

I have been researching this too. I am about to graduate with a degree in something more general, so my options are a little bit limited compared to yours. However, I have found the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Woodbury University, and Santa Monica College. These programs all look like they are worth finding out more information. Right now, I’m leaning toward choosing FIDM, but I’m still unsure.

Please, let me know which program you end up choosing and why. It will really help me in my own search. You can email me.

I am getting a new place so need have some ideas. Does anyone know some good website for interior design?

Nate Berkus is awesome. Try searching his name or looking for his work on Oprah.com

He has so many great ideas. Also, look for O at Home magazine. Great ideas that aren’t expensive!

I am going to be starting college this fall, and im some what interested in interior design. How successful of a career would i have with the states of things right now. Is that a prominate field to go into right now?

Interior design is a career that seems like a good idea at the time but when you start seeing the creativity of all of the other people, unless you are confident with your talent, second guessing is the next feeling that you will experience.

I went to a fine arts college and saw very few people go into certain fields that use to be booming. Interior design was one of them because the academic advisor kept the students focused on home and garden design. When one of the students graduated, I felt sorry for her but she did look past what her counselor was saying a got a job in a major department store decorating windows.

If you see how far interior design can go or if you can incorporate something else with it to make yourself more marketable than the average student then it would be great for you.

My fiance is a Sales Executive for a fortune 100 corporation but her true passion is interior design. I would like to help her pursue her passion while still keeping up with her day job, at least until she can afford to design full time. Do you have any suggestions for us?

Take classes at a college with a respected interior design program like FIDM. Move to a large city and look for an internship. Read and watch everything she can get her hands on related to interior design. Check design related blogs like design sponge and apartment therapy. Buy Interior Design by John. F. Pile which is typically a required textbook for all intro to design classes. Or she could apply for Design Star Season 4.

For example: Custom Interior Fabricators, textile fabricators..

Also, what keywords would those in the interior design industry use to find these companies online.

These links may help you get an idea. As a designer, I would not think to look up either of your examples. A fabric showroom would use textile fabricators or textile mills. Most often we rely on referrals for service professionals.

http://www.designeresources.com/

http://www.interiordesign.net/article/CA374961.html

Accademia Italiana in Florence, can anyone tell me which is better? Also are there any better schools in Europe for a Masters Degree in Interior Design?

In my opinion the FDA is a good choice. Additionally the teaching is in english. This is not usual in Italy. If you are an international student this is perfect.
Also the italian and florentine culture can influence you positivly, especially for the incredible interior architecture in Florence.

i know you need creativity and a sense of style but do you need art?

and what is the difference between interior design and interior decorating?

one more question would an online interior course be good or is it better to go to an art school?

thanks so much, and i appreciate you taking your time to read this
i will def. pick a best answer!

Ok..i will anser this first.
the difference between an interior designer and and interior decorator….. A designer has gone to college for ID and has passed the NCIDQ exam. both of those qullifications must be met in order to legally call yourself an interior designer (in most states) A decorator is some who well decorates, normally no formal education in the interior design field, but talented none the less. Lol..really this is like a HUGE debate right now in the design industry and there is actually tons of legislation going on abouot it.

OK art. While not all designers are great artists, it does help. Being able to create sketches of a room or plan or idea and convey it to someone else is an important facet of the job. Weather is a loose sketch on a napkin or a fully rendered scale drawing of a HUGE hotel lobby that you are picthing to a major client. Any design program is going to require art…but have no fear, you will also learn the latest and greatest computer programs for things like that as well.

If you are wanting to do interior design, for sure go to a design school! You will take some fine art classes, and some more spacific art classes related to ID, like perspective drawing. One thing is for sure, If you go to a good design school it is not a walk in the park, its a TON of work…but it is sooo much fun.
If you have any more questions i will be happy to help you out…this stuff is my life and my passion!!

This fall i will attend an undergraduate university to study interior design, i am excited but nerves at the same time. Is there anyone who is already in the profession who could get me some advice. What convinced you to becoming an interior designer? Can you also describe a normal day at your job. thanks in advance.

I felt this way about fashion design. I love the hands on creative aspect, but went to school terrified it wouldn’t fit for me. I was afraid I wouldn’t excel in the construction, creativity, or other aspects of this. I took my first year and I LOVED IT. The people in my classes were fun, my teachers were great, and overall I enjoyed it. It won’t hurt to take some classes. If you really feel you enjoy it, but decide not to major, you won’t have lost anything, but gained friends, knowledge in the area, and some fun classes. This is how you know it’s right for you:
Do you look forward to your classes and activites and assignments?
Do your grades reflect your desire? You may make awful grades overall, but at least it can be a hobby for you or you may make fantastic grades, but the drive just isn’t there for you (Don’t worry about your creative aspect, you’ll be graded on meeting requirements rather then your own ideas)
Does this feel fun and fulfilling for you?
I only dropped out because I want to do something to make a difference, I made great grades and loved the classes, but I really want to do something more…I still plan on going back and getting my degree because it can always be a fall back career and it’s something I really enjoy

I’ve been in more chain restaurants than I care to admit and they all seem to have the same interior design cues. A bunch of garage sale fodder is invariably nailed to the walls; old board games b-movie posters from the 50′s…sometimes they’ll go as far as to find memorabilia related to the area. There is a Ruby Tuesday’s in my area that has items from the local university and high schools on the walls. Is there a name for that kind of design?

Eclectic Groupings or Wall Hangings. Probably falls into the Shabby Chic or Nostagic Memorabilia Classification. Display and Gallery Walls have been around for centuries.

Cracker Barrel is another one of those place where this style is prevelant.

I have been in business for almost one year. I have a small store where I sell home accessories and I also have interior design business. Both are not doing well. I’m out of money however really want to make this business work. Any suggestion?

A friend of mine had an idea that worked for her. She offered a free one room "re-design" party. The basic concept was that she would re-design one room in your house using only stuff you have around your house. She would take out all the furniture and start from scratch. She would go all over your house picking out items that would look great in the re-design. And then she would put the room back together using stuff you already owned.

She made it into a party by having me send out invitations to friends of mine (sort of like the candle, pampered chef, etc parties). They came sometime in the morning (between 8 and 9 AM) for just a few minutes to see the "before" of the room (my living room) being redesigned. Then they would go on their way (or they could come the night before if it suited them better). My friend set a certain time for her to be done and my friends came back at any time between 5 and 6 to see my redesigned living room and have some refreshments. It was open house style – they didn’t have to stay very long it they couldn’t. It generated some business for her – I know my MIL and at least a couple of my friends hired her for their homes after seeing how she redesigned my living room.

For my friend, at least, it was a great way for her to get her name out there to lots of different people with very little expense (I think the most expense was creating the invitations). I mailed the invites and handled the refreshments. She did all the work – had her hubby help with the heavy lifting stuff.

She also teamed up with the local newspaper to do a local version of "trading spaces" where she did the interior design of both places.