Interior design startup guide: part 1

Should You Pursue Interior Design?

Interior designers are responsible for making any type of building or space beautiful, functional, and safe. They are also known to be creative and have excellent communication and business skills. This guide will explain all of the ins and outs of being an interior designer so you can confidently answer the question "should I be an interior designer?".

Why choose interior design as a career?

According to the BLS, the interior design field is growing just as fast as the average for all other occupations. and the earning potential for interior design business owners is quite lucrative. 64% of interior design business owners surveyed by Houzz in 2022 report earning more than $100,000 in annual revenue in the previous year. Like any other occupation, you should be well informed about things such as salary, hours, and job demand before choosing interior design as a career.

Dive into the resources below to learn what it's like to work in the interior design industry.

Should you be an interior designer? Consider your personality traits.

There are certain personality traits you should have as an interior designer because it is such a collaborative career field. Interior designers work with different types of clients and a variety of business professionals to complete a project successfully. Some projects will have a lot of different moving parts so being confident, a good communicator, and organized are all personality traits that could help you succeed. 

The following guides will help you learn more about the what it takes to not only be successful in interior design, but also to feel fulfilled in your career.

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INTERVIEW WITH REAL DESIGN PROS

Should you become an interior designer?

Houzz Pro interviewed real interior designers to learn important considerations to keep in mind when deciding if interior design could be the career of your dreams.

Still on the fence about whether you should be an interior designer?

There are elements of the interior design profession that overlap with similar professions, but interior design is unique in its own way. We asked Jolene Irons (Interior Designer at Cedar & Fig in Renton, WA) how she chose interior design as a profession since she was also interested in staging. She said “With staging, I didn’t get to have as much fun with different personalities and different styles and I felt like I would enjoy design more. I like getting to think outside the box. Interior Design requires a different type of problem-solving.”

To compare interior design to some similar, but different career paths, explore the guides below.

KEEP LEARNING

Ready to choose interior design as a career?

While there is no rush to make a decision on if interior design is the right career for you, it is important to educate yourself about what goes into becoming an interior designer.


Formal education is not an absolute must in this field but, most interior design firms require designers to hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Or you might be interested in entrepreneurship, which can require a totally different path to reach success.

Read our next Startup Guide: How to Become an Interior Designer to learn more about education options and certifications that may be required to become a designer.

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