Are you always receiving compliments on your interior design taste? Do you love designing homes or decorating rooms and arranging furniture? If your answer to these questions is ‘Yes’, then maybe a career in interior design is right for you.

Before making a life-altering career choice or looking for an interior design school in Lagos, there are some things you should know about the interior design world.

There are certain challenges that interior designers face everyday—some of these may not appeal to you, while others may excite you and open doors to a career that you never knew was possible.

Here are 7 Things Every Nigerian Interior Design Wannabe Must Consider:

1) The Difference Between Decorators and Designers Is Huge:

There is a big difference between interior decorators and interior designers. That big difference is – Education (Interior Design Schools).

Quite literally, anyone can become an interior decorator.

Someone who loves playing with colors, fabrics and textiles can easily become a decorator by simply printing off a business card and promoting themselves to clients.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but educational background is also important.

On the other hand, an interior designer must have an accredited education. A Diploma or a Bachelors degree is a requisite for working in the interior design field.

Do you want to further your education in an interior design school in Lagos or try to jump immediately into the decorating world? Continue reading to see if interior design could be the right fit for you.

2) Do you Have Design Talent?

It may seem obvious, but in order to become an interior designer in Lagos or any part of the world, you really need to have an innate flair for color, spatial arrangements, architecture and textiles.

Just because you love your home, receive compliments on your decor, and people think that you have done a great job decorating it, does not make you an ideal interior designer, but it is certainly a great first step.

The first step to a successful career is to follow your passion. After all, doing something you love will never feel like work.

3) Interior Design Isn’t all Fabric and Fun

While fabrics, furniture and color may play a very large role in interior design; there are plenty of other tasks that are required of interior designers—tasks that may seem less fun and more like work.

Interior designers need to be educated in the history of design, structural integrity of buildings and, spatial concepts, ethics, computer aided drawing (CAD) etc…

It seems that interior designers are expected to be ‘Jacks or Jills’ of all trades, doesn’t it? This broad range of skills are required because designers not only work with homeowners, they work with builders, architects, government policy officials, and business owners.  To become a successful interior designer, one needs to be very educated and well rounded and work with all disciplines.

4) Interior Design Compensation

Show me the money! After all, shouldn’t someone with such a vast education get paid well?  It depends. Salary of interior designer in Lagos   will make an average of two to four million per year.

Of course, this depends on a lot of factors such as, education, prior work experience, size of the firm/company and location.  A designer that is employed by a furniture company will most likely make less than a designer that is employed by a high-end architectural firm.

Essentially, you can dictate your rate of pay by gaining as much exposure and experience as possible. Someone with education in the fields of architecture, building codes/laws and structural design will more likely become financially successful.

5) You need to be a People Person

Ask any interior designer to share their experiences, and they will surely share some horror stories of past clients. People are finicky, especially when it comes to their homes.

While some clients have clear goals in mind, others may think they know what they want only to discover that they hate the final product and are dissatisfied with your work.  A successful interior designer is a people pleasure and sometimes a mind reader.

A successful designer will be able to steer their clients towards a favorable outcome, while making the client feel they are in full control of the design choices. Interior designers juggle a fine balancing act on a daily basis between the right design decision and a client’s desires. It is not a cakewalk, to say the least.

6) Develop a Portfolio

A picture says one thousand words. This is definitely true when it comes to an interior designer portfolio. You can talk all day long about color choices, fabrics and textiles, but unless you have an outstanding portfolio that showcases your designs and past projects, your successes will be few and far between.

How can you get a portfolio started? If you are just coming out of an Interior design school in Lagos Nigeria and are fresh to the job market, it may be necessary to offer your services for free or at cost. This may be the best way to get a portfolio started, and also a great way to get to know local merchandisers and suppliers, developing a rapport for future projects.

Everybody starts off at the bottom, but with effort, experience and proper marketing, you can become a successful force in the interior design field.

7) Competition is High in Interior Design

Interior design is a competitive business. The key to success is getting yourself noticed. As mentioned above, an amazing designer portfolio will certainly help you get noticed and land jobs.

Another key to success in this field is acquiring an extensive education in an interior design school in LAGOS. The more you know, the better off you are. Also, it is a good idea to stay abreast of design trends through the reading of design publications, communicating with fellow designers, and following a mentor. When competition is high, you need to work hard in order to get noticed and rise to the top.

Conclusion:

Are you ready to become a top-notch interior designer in Nigeria? Check out our Interior Design Certificate Courses in Lagos