Ever pictured yourself designing interiors for luxury apartments in London, New York or Paris? Sipping Italian coffee while visiting Milan design shows and putting together mood boards for extraordinary penthouses? Life as an interior designer can be full of exciting moments. But how do you get there? Which interior design course to take and whether or not online or part time courses are the way to go? Originally from a small town in Poland, I managed to secure jobs in the most prestigious London interior design companies. After that I opened my own interior design business. I’ll show you how I did it. I’ll also tell you how to choose the right interior design course: no matter if you’re based in London, mainland UK or worldwide.
You can find all my interior design & sketching courses here:
For more information check out these posts as well:
Information on the Interior Design Career
Information on the Interior Designer Salary
Interior Design Courses – Overview
Nowadays choosing the right interior design course can be difficult. For example, how do you know which one will teach you the right skills?
Interior design is a very competitive business. As a result, only the best designers get the dream jobs and projects. If you don’t keep up, you’ll remain unnoticed amongst the mediocre design enthusiast.
Will attending the most expensive universities guaranty you the results? Not necessarily. It’s the right skills learned from the true professionals that inevitably show results.
Firstly, the right course should teach you these fundamentals:
- functional space planning,
- interior design process,
- understanding the scale,
- knowledge about finishes,
- creating mood board,
- finishes boards,
- technical drawing (by hand at first and then using CAD software),
- creating presentations in InDesign or a free alternative
These fundamentals or elements are the absolute essentials to start with.
Skills That Wow People
What actually makes an online interior design course exceptional are the elements that wow people:
- artistic hand sketching,
- stunning presentations (like luxury catalogs),
- client psychology,
- an advanced selling system that attracts clients even when you sleep
- building online presence,
- industry secrets etc.
Working for the top companies in London I experienced first hand what makes some designers earn twice as much as the others. It’s the set of unique skills that make them stand out as the creatives. I also noticed that you can’t really find this information anywhere online. So I decided to create free trainings about this industry:
The 6 Shocking Truths About Becoming an Interior Designer [Even If You Are a Complete Beginner]
Get Clients and Get Hired as an Interior Designer
Interior Design Course Online
10 years ago I wouldn’t have dreamt of finding any online interior design courses or advice from designers who I admired the most. They were simply too busy running their own successful businesses. They also didn’t necessarily want to reveal their secrets. Even though there were plenty of academic interior design courses, not a single one was run by a true professional.
The way we study is changing. Almost every aspect of our lives is becoming remote. Thanks to the internet we can now learn from the best professionals without even leaving our homes. These “teachers” might be located thousands of miles away but you can still learn from their experience. Moreover, you can copy their tactics to succeed.
I’ve learned so much after spending 5 years with top interior design companies in London. These were things that NO ONE taught me at University. I can understand the frustration, especially now that I know how many people want to be interior designers. Most don’t know where to start and all that was needed was a good training that shows the real insider knowledge.
Real World Interior Design Issues No One is Telling You About
There are so many issues that majority of interior design courses (both full time and part time) are not telling you.
No. 1
In most cases, clients don’t see what you see during an interior design presentation. They can’t necessarily visualise your designs. When you show them a page with inspirational images a high percentage of clients see something completely different. The worst part is that they won’t say as much. They’ll simply stop working with you, thinking that you’re not in sync. Presenting to clients is so much different than presenting to a teacher.
It took me years to perfect a presentation system that works for both; high profile VIP clients and everyday smaller projects. I even came up with a template and a step-by-step guide to nailing a presentation which I teach in my Beginner Interior Design Course. It saves so much time when you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
No. 2
Secondly, most of the middle to big interior design companies will pigeon hole you into one specific group of tasks. They’ll make you do the same thing all of the time. This will result in you not getting the chance to work on any other areas of design.
Two main pigeon holes pits are:
- purchasing / ordering FF&E (furniture, lighting and equipment)
- CAD / Revit Drawing
If you fall into the trap of ordering and filling out Excel spreadsheets you’ll never get round to creating concept design. Similarly with CAD drawing: if you’re great at CAD or Revit you’ll get stuck “CAD-ing up” someone else’s designs.
Luckily, it is possible to get out of this cycle. It took me some time to figure out how to sell myself as the “creative designer” and get to do the creative concept work.
Interior Design Course in London, UK
Above all, London has a reputation of being the city where all the best interior designers are based.
I remember talking to one of the marble suppliers from Italy. He said that out of all his biggest projects, no matter if they’re based in USA, Russia, Emirates or South Africa – the design always came from London.
There’s also a lot of interior design jobs here. That’s why it’s quite a good idea to take your interior design course in the UK, preferably in London or an online one but taught by a London designer.
Which Interior Design Styles Should I Learn?
It’s a common dilemma. That said, most clients will hire you because they prefer your style. So, think of your style as a product.
You no doubt already have a rough idea what your favourite style is. It’s important to choose the online interior design course that reflects this. Some people would disagree with me and say that a lot of skills can be transferred from one style to the other. Yes, I can see their point but it’s simply easier if your course choice is similar to your personal style.
For example, if you like minimal interior design style, you don’t necessarily need to learn the history of French antique chairs. Similarly, if you love New York rusty lofts and industrial style you don’t want to waste a semester learning about Victorian and Edwardian architectural features. However, if Victorian and Edwardian architecture is something you’re passionate about, choose a course in restoration.
Just because the curriculum at a university includes all the historical subjects, doesn’t mean you’ll benefit from it in your professional work. Choose your interior design course carefully, whether it’s online, part time or full time based in London, the UK or worldwide.
Trust me, it’s important to focus your energy on the things that will benefit you in your professional work.
Part Time or Full Time?
From my experience there isn’t a perfect educational setup when becoming an interior designer. I’ve worked with interior designers that went through all different educational paths. Some with full time masters degrees and some that finished part time online interior design courses. What matters the most? Above all they’ve put a lot of time and energy into learning interior design. After all, it’s not unheard of to have bosses who don’t have formal educations or degrees.
Take Kelly Hoppen for example (my former employer). She started her interior design business at 16 without a degree! Now, she’s one of the most famous British interior designers. Furthermore, two of my former directors didn’t have interior design degrees either.
Putting The Time and Effort In
Working for interior design companies gave me so much knowledge comparing to university. To sum up, first hand experience is priceless. I know this because I experienced every angle of interior design education, from:
- Earning my masters degree from University
- lecturing at the University of Art, Poznan
- Working for the top interior design companies
Now I run my own company, teach interior design and run a YouTube channel (remember to subscribe!)
There’s one thing I know for sure: it doesn’t matter how you get the interior design knowledge. It matters how much time and effort you put into it to succeed.
That’s why I created courses (Beginner level as well as Advanced)that combine all the most important skills in your interior design career. I’ve streamlined what regular courses offer. No unnecessary subjects that take up too much of your time. Instead, the skills and knowledge that show results.
To Answer Your Questions…
The interior design course should prepare you for your professional interior design career. It’ll teach you all the skills needed for working in the industry: space planning, technical drawing, specifying finishes, furniture and fixtures, designing details, sketching, preparing mood boards and finishes boards, Adobe, AutoCad software etc. Unfortunately, a lot of interior design courses (especially in the UK) are teaching an outdated curriculum, not taking into account the modern, real-life needs of the industry.
The best interior design course is the one that is up-to-date and not based on outdated design styles, even if it’s a part time one. A practical course with skills that interior design companies actually use today is the best. Because it prepares you for real life work. Moreover, when choosing a course, check who your teacher is and if they’re a true professional with a good online presence. They can teach you some valuable lessons, especially how to attract clients and running a business.
It depends on the type of the course. University degrees usually take longer, as there are more theoretical subjects to learn. They are not necessarily connected to the real skills needed in interior design career. In the UK it usually takes 3 years (undergraduate level) plus 1 year to get your MA degree (postgraduate level).
After gaining my masters degree, lecturing at the University of Art and working for the top London design companies I decided to fill the gap in interior design courses. So I created the one that focuses on the most important skills. This short course is a compact version focusing on practical skills.
