Do You Have Good Enough Taste to be a Professional Interior Designer?

Interior Design has never been more popular than it is right now. Between everyone's obsession with the show Fixer Upper, and all the beautiful interiors on Instagram and Pinterest, there’s never been a better time to design for a living.

If you have a passion for interior design, then I hope you’re taking advantage of this world wide craze and you’re running a thriving design business of your own.

No? … Not yet? … Then why?

Maybe you’re afraid you won’t cut it as a designer.

I mean, do you even know how many stripes you can have in a room at the same time? What if your client asks you what the difference is between a couch and a sofa?

Well I can put your mind at ease, and not just because those were trick questions, (there aren't any rules for how many stripes you can use in a room).

I’m going to share with you the most important thing any interior designer needs to know to be a success in our industry.

I've worked as a professional interior designer for more than 25 years, and I've learned that there's one critical skill you must have to be a successful designer.

Few people are born with it. It's an invaluable skill that can be learned and perfected and used to supercharge your business.

It's not an amazing sense of color, or an aptitude for spatial relationships and it isn't a knack for finding the latest style trends.

Although these skills are important, they aren't what make a client sign on the dotted line.

Alone, none of these will build your business, and they surely won't make you rich, unless you combine them with that magic skill, CONFIDENCE.

I don't want to imply that a designer needs to be conceited to be successful. What I mean by confidence, is giving off an air of assurance that will leave your clients feeling that you know what you're talking about.

Your clients hire you because designing their own home can be scary. Furniture is expensive and most people are afraid of making a costly mistake.

They're also afraid of looking foolish. Most design clients know what they like and the way they want their home to look, but they understand that designing a beautiful room takes a unique talent. That's where you come in.

Of course, no one can know everything about design, but If you don't know the answer, be honest and tell them you’ll find out and then get back to them. Your client will respect your honesty.

Even if you're just starting out in design, you must know in your heart that you can help your client, and you'll do everything you can to create a beautiful space for them that fits their lives and budget.

So get out there and hold your head up high and design for a living.