INTERIOR DECORATOR

Creative/Design

Career Outlook

Your New Career

Opportunities for trained Interior Decorators are everywhere...in department and furniture stores, design firms, hotel and restaurant chains, and more. Home builders with new homes to sell all offer opportunities for interior decorators to work their magic and make excellent salaries. Imagine using your own creativity and sense of style to earn great money in a career you truly enjoy.

Interior Decorators can also enjoy the independence and flexibility of operating their own businesses. They take on the jobs they want and plan their own schedules. They set their own fees and keep the profits to invest in their business or spend as they see fit. You too can enjoy career independence when you choose this exciting career!

The U.S. Department of Labor projects that job opportunities for Interior Decorators will grow more than 19% through 2018.*

Your New Skills

Learn the skills you need to begin a career in interior design by completing the Interior Decorator training program at home.

You'll learn every important part of being an Interior Decorator.

  • You'll learn to analyze your clients' preferences, needs, goals, and budgets to develop a decorating proposal.
  • You'll learn to design with furniture, arranging rooms according to function and use.
  • You will understand how to plan a color scheme and the importance of lighting.
  • You'll discover how to select the appropriate floor and window treatments for your projects.
  • You'll also learn the skills and methods of successful selling.

Your New Diploma

Earn your Interior Decorator Career Diploma at home in as little as six months by studying just an hour a day for your new career. Expert instructors and support staff – dedicated to helping you complete your coursework – will be just a phone call or an email away.

 * Growth figures represent a ten-year period ending 2018. Source: "National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix," a publication of The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 Program Overview

Become an Interior Decorator with at home training from the Continuing Education Center.

Develop your natural talent for interior design with the Continuing Education Center Interior Decorator Program and work for homebuilders, retailers, hotels, corporate clients, or even start your own business. It's convenient and affordable.

You'll learn to:

  • Determine your client's needs and priorities.
  • Use the elements and principles of design
    and color.
  • Choose the best treatments for floors,
    walls, and windows.
  • Start and operate your own business
    as an Interior Decorator.

Become Certified!
Graduates of the Interior Decorator Program will receive a free six-month Professional Membership in Certified Interior Decorators International, Inc. (C.I.D.) upon successful completion of the certification exam. Membership in C.I.D. allows graduates to be recognized as trained professionals with C.I.D. designation and credentials.

Contact the Continuing Education Center Today.
Find out more about the Continuing Education Center's Interior Decorator Program that includes:

  • All the books, lessons, equipment, and learning aids you need
  • Unlimited, toll-free instructional support
  • Access to student services by website, phone, and mail

Program Outline

Instruction Sets
Your at-home learning program includes seven Instruction Sets designed to take you step-by-step through the techniques and skills you’ll employ in your new career in Interior Decorating.Your first Instruction Set will be sent to you as your enrollment has been accepted. Other Instruction Sets will follow as you complete your exams, so that you will always have training materials to work with.

You will need access to a Microsoft® Windows®-based computer (running Windows Vista or later) and the Internet in order to complete your program with the Continuing Education Center.

Here is an overview of what you'll learn and the order in which you'll receive your lessons:

Instruction Set 1

Learning Strategies
The advantages of learning at home, types of study materials, types of examinations, accessing and using the features of our website, determining what kind of learner you are, establishing a study schedule, using study tips, preparing for and taking examinations.

Decorating Today
The history of interior decorating; meeting and interviewing clients; characteristics of a successful interior decorator; employment opportunities.

Instruction Set 2

Meeting Your Client's Needs
Determining your client's needs, preferences, goals, and budget priorities; developing a decorating plan, including measurements and room graphs to scale.

The Elements and Principles of Design
Identifying the elements of design: line, form, color and value, texture, pattern, light, and space. The principles of design: balance, proportion, and scale; emphasis and unity.

Instruction Set 3

The Principles of Color
The properties of color; how to use color in interior decorating; planning a color scheme; using the color wheel.

Identifying Furniture Styles and Periods
Exploring different furniture styles - Traditional, Provincial, Contemporary, Modern - from the 17th to the 20th century; identifying styles and integrating each into your rooms.

Decorating with Furniture
Arranging rooms according to function and use; creating the best traffic patterns; positioning furniture on a floor plan; recognizing quality workmanship and construction in furniture.

Learning Aids:
• Furniture Template
• Triangle
• T-Square
• Color Wheel

Instruction Set 4

Floors
Importance of floors in room decor; carpeting; rugs; wood floors; durable floors; how to select the appropriate floor treatment; measuring, scaling, and using a floor plan.

Walls
How to treat walls in decorating; wall coverings, including wallpaper, paint, mirrors, paneling, and tile; drawing scaled elevations.

Windows
Different types of windows; planning and choosing window treatments - curtains, draperies, shades, and blinds; window treatments for special situations; measuring for window treatments; drawing windows on elevations.

Decorating from Building Plans
Identifying decorating problems when reading blueprints; types of housing plans; evaluating house plan layouts; discussing specific decorating problems and solutions, room by room.

Instruction Set 5

Fabrics
Using natural and synthetic fabrics: silk, wool, cotton, linen, special fibers; identifying weaves; selecting the right fabric texture.

Lighting and Accessories
The three types of lighting; lighting and the color scheme; making use of lamps and lighting fixtures in decorating; using wall and table accessories; tips for arranging accessory groupings.

Special Purpose Rooms
Planning home offices, home fitness centers, and home theaters; selecting furniture based on anthropometric and ergonomic principles; coordinating floors, walls, upholstery, equipment, and lighting for these three types of special purpose rooms.

Instruction Set 6

The Skills and Methods of Selling
Qualifying a client; how to "approach" a customer; how to present merchandise; developing a follow-up system; how to prospect for clients.

Starting Your Own Business
Residential and contract decorating; developing a design program; working with clients, subcontractors, tradespeople, custom fabricators, and suppliers; advertising, charging clients, and getting paid; keeping financial records.

Instruction Set 7

Graded Project: Decorating a Living Room

Final Examination

Supplements: (Available online)
• Work Experience Option
• Work Experience Option Forms

Upon Graduation You'll Receive:
Paid six-month Certified Interior Decorator (C.I.D.) professional membership upon successful completion of certification exam.

Note: Your C.I.D. Membership information will be sent when all program requirements and obligations have been met.

 

Online Library and Librarian
Students in the Continuing Education Center have access to an online library for use during their studies. Students can use this library to do the required research in the courses they complete or can use it for general reference and links to valuable resources. The library contains helpful research assistance, articles, databases, books, and Web links. A librarian is available to answer questions on general research-related topics via email and to assist students in research activities during their studies with the Continuing Education Center.

We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary

C.I.D. is a registered trademark in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

Tuition

$494.00

Your tuition includes all books, learning aids, unlimited instructional and student support services.

Click Here Now to enroll in this program or call 620.276.9647