How to boost your interior design skills in 2025
Interior design is one of the most creative, exciting, and glamorous professions. However, do not be fooled; you must be willing to put continuous effort and hard work into your craft.
Interior design is a challenging job, and if you sincerely want to make it, you must pour your heart and soul into your profession. In this article, we will explore some of the common traits of successful interior designers and discuss tips to ensure career stability and staying on point in a rapidly changing global design environment.
Whether you are a seasoned interior designer or a fresh newbie starting out, have a look at this list to make sure you got what it takes to keep on point!
1. Creativity and attention to detail
Creativity is one of the most important skills for an interior designer. You need to be up to date with the latest trends and popular styles, understand how different spaces can be used, but also be able to come up with exciting and innovative ideas. It’s essential that you can take on board your client’s requirements but also get creative and come up with a design that exceeds their expectations.
You also need to have a good eye for detail and understand colours, textures, and how to add finishing touches that can bring the space together. You should have a good general knowledge of popular interior styles such as:
- Modern
- Contemporary
- Minimalist
- Industrial
- Mid-century Modern
- Scandinavian
- Traditional
Learn more about interior design styles, personalities and what your design style is.
Follow relevant industry publications and blogs, and get to know some of the common products and materials that you’ll be working with. Get to know different furniture styles and materials, understand types of paint and finishes, know when to use wallpaper and where to find quality wallpaper to make a feature wall, or how to put together a gallery wall.
You need to be full of ideas, have the knowledge to put your plans together and present them effectively to your clients.
2. Learn how to communicate well
As an interior designer, you’ll need to know how to effectively communicate with clients and adjust your style to their personalities. You’ll also have to communicate your ideas to vendors and contractors, so you’ll need good communication skills. Good communication skills are critical in all aspects of the profession. Learning to convey your vision to different people effectively is crucial. You’ll need to know how to adapt your working style to fit a variety of personalities.
3. Stay current
Keeping up with the latest trends in interior design is essential for keeping your career fresh. You’ll need to have a broad knowledge of colours and styles. This will help you to meet the needs of a variety of clients. Moreover, you’ll have to have a good understanding of different types of personalities and styles. In this way, you’ll be able to adapt your work style to suit different personalities.
4. Be curious
The process of designing a home is often unpredictable. Despite the best intentions, the right inspiration can lead to unexpected results. For example, a designer might have previously been a restaurant manager, but now is an interior designer. In addition to curiosity, this designer can also bring inspiration from other fields. Having a diverse skill set will give you a competitive edge.
5. Design and technology
To share your ideas and design plans with clients you’ll need to be able to draw them up. You can produce quick hand-drawn sketches for the initial stages to quickly demonstrate your ideas. But you’ll also need to be able to use computer-aided design (CAD) software to produce visual representations of what you want to do with a space.
This will allow your clients to get a clear idea of exactly what you are going to be doing so they can give you feedback before you get started. Some of the most popular software options for CAD are:
They are all fairly similar to use, so if you can gain some experience using one then you’ll be able to use similar software if you need to.
Technology is rapidly evolving, and designers have multiple opportunities to use tech and improve their skills at work. From creating 3D renderings to adopting ‘building information modelling’, interior designers need to integrate technology into their work.
Besides, they must know how to make collaborative and cohesive designs using the latest tech. If you are looking to improve your skills or learn new software to make your interior design job easier, sign up for a free trial on a design program or app.
6. Know the history of Design
As an interior designer, your clients will expect you to know everything about style and its various forms. Clients will test your knowledge, whether art decor or sleek modern architecture, especially if they know what they want.
What if your client wants you to emulate a traditional design in a modern way? Knowing the history of specific art styles and designs can come in handy. After all, you will understand a subject thoroughly only if you know its foundation.
7. Setup a code of ethics and agreements
For some people, this is too harsh, and they come to their own agreement. That is your business.
But spending more than 15 years in the world of business has taught me that someone may seem like the most reasonable and thoughtful person in the world until you accidentally break their favourite coffee mug, then all bets are off. With that said, this is a portfolio we put together for each job.
Have a copy of the laws and codes pertaining to the work in that area. If there are any permits required, include a copy.
Provide an agreement on the expectations, price, insurance, and any other consideration. This agreement will be left with the business.
Conclusion
We hope this guide to being a successful interior designer or decorator has been useful. Are you afraid there are some skills you do not have at present? The good news is, it is never too late to learn! If you are seeking an interior design career, make sure you have your bachelor’s or master’s degree and have signed up for design programs. Or if you want to figure out if this is for you or if you are just entering the interior design field, whether with your own home or working with another homeowner, sign up for the Diploma in Interior Design at Upskillist to make sure you are skilled to make the best decision!
