What Interior Design School Is Like
As I start my 2nd year of school for interior design, I thought now would be a good time to reflect and share my thoughts on my first year!
The start of the first project of this year!
Wow, sorry guys! Its been two weeks since my last post. I know I committed to creating at least 2 posts a week, but I vastly underestimated the amount our schedule would change with school starting and no childcare to help with baby Benji. Hubby is committed to watching the little guy on Tuesday and Wednesday when I have my 3 hour classes, but has to make up that time missed from work either during the weekend or some other time during the week. Needless to say finding time to cram in homework and blogging (or even a shower) has been rough these past two weeks.
However, two bright spots! Our new living room rug arrived so we are pretty much done with our living room refresh/redecorating, and both sets of grandparents have scheduled their next trips out to visit baby Benji! This will be the first time my husband’s parents are meeting Benji so we are beyond excited. We have only had 3 sets of visitors since he was born, but it is wonderful to see the people you love look at this little guy with such love and amazement.
Ok, personal stuff for the week out of the way, on to the main event.
When I first announced I would be going back to school to pursue a masters in interior design, most of my friends were excited but also a little confused. Granted I am one of those people that’s easy to know on the surface, but keeps a lot of interests and pursuits to myself. The most common response was “Wow congrats! I didn’t even know you were interested in that!”. Ok, so already instilling a lot of confidence here.
Once I explained that I spend 90% of my free time looking through magazines, catalogs, portfolios, design blogs, etc, it made a lot more sense to everyone. And at this point I had tackled the design of our kitchen and bathroom renovation and was hungry to hone my skills and make a career out of this! Enter applying to a local interior design masters program and fast forwarding from there. The main questions I get asked are “what is it like, and what do you study?”. So i’ll try to answer that as best I can. Note that every program is different in their course of study and requirements so I can only speak from my personal experience in my program.
What is it like:
My program is relatively small, and all my classes have been less than 12 people. The courses are a mix of technical, lecture based, and seminar learning. The technical classes are focused on laying a foundation for drafting, sketching, and presentation. One of the first classes everyone in the program has to take is an intro to hand drafting class. Drafting is very different than sketching because everything is done with tools (straight edges, french curves, furniture templates, etc) and it is drawn to scale. Once you’ve completed the hand drafting course you can then move on to learn Auto CAD (drafting on the computer) and 3D programs like Revit.
The lecture based classes I have taken so far include the history of furniture which helps you how to identify and look for details in all types of furniture, textiles which looks at both fiber and fabric properties, and sustainable design. Future classes will include color theory and lighting.
Then the seminar classes take what you’ve learned from the technical and lecture classes and have you apply it to solve design problems and case studies. I’ve finally completed all the pre-reqs and am in my first seminar class this term! We get a new space and “client” with a set of needs each week and have to create a flooplan (top down view) with elevations (view looking straight towards a wall) for them. The only tough part is it’s hand drafting so it’ll be at least 10 hours of work outside of class each week. Which brings me to the next part.
My first attempt at drafting in pen last year. I forgot to draw the fronts on the chairs in plan view :)
How much work is it:
I’m going to give the answer no one wants to hear which is - it depends. My program is part time since it is tailored towards people switching careers. This means I have between 2 and 3 classes each semester and it will take me at least 3 years (instead of the traditional 2) to complete the masters degree. I’m sure if you’re in a full time program it’ll be a lot more time each week, but you would be able to finish the whole program much faster. Each class meets once a week for 3 hours, and then if it’s a class that requires drafting I expect to spend another 5-10 hours outside of class drawing. My classes that do not require drafting/drawing usually only require 2 hours outside of class a week. So adding it all up if I am taking 3 classes (two lecture based, and 1 drafting or seminar) then I am spending over 20 hours a week on school, or about equal to a part time job.
Do you have to draw/are you even good at drawing:
Ha this is one of my favorite questions, because the answer is a capital NO. Yep, that’s right I cannot draw very well. Of course there are some people that are naturally gifted artists , but I am not that girl by any means. You DO have to draft in school and eventually learn to draw in perspective. But as mentioned earlier this is mostly done with tools so it is totally different than whipping up a freehand sketch. Like anything drawing is a learned skill. You just have to keep practicing and you will get better. If you plan to go work for a firm you do need to know how to draft really well and probably how to sketch a bit. The good news is that most places draft or model on the computer nowadays which is much faster and easier. At least I think it is from learning both so far!
Part of my final project from introductory AutoCAD.
What is your goal after completing the program:
I’d ideally like to work for a architecture or interior design firm for a few years, then venture out and start my own business. There are two types of design: Residential and Commercial. For now I am focused on residential design, but later in the program once we start exploring commercial design I could very well change my mind. Like, how cool would it be to design the interior of a spa or do the design for a retail store?! There’s so many options out there. For example, we had a guest speaker one class who designed the interiors for yachts!
Another goal of mine after completing the program is to pass the NCIDQ exam. This exam is kind of the gold standard for interior designers and adds a lot of confidence when you’re out looking for jobs. It is not required to practice what most people consider interior design, but I think it’ll really help set me apart as an “interior designer” vs “interior decorator”. Difference here being that I would be able to design a space from nothing (structural, finishes, furniture, decor, etc) vs decorating within a pre-existing space. Of course I love decorating and I know that’ll be a big part of what I do, but I’m also interested in learning commercial codes and getting a bit more into the architectural side of things as well.
A basic nursery elevation view for a sustainable design project.
Do you like it:
I LOVE it. I did a lot of research on what it would be like before I started, so I knew what I was getting into. However, it is still way more technical than I ever imagined. Who knew there’s a recommended measurement for how far your seating should be from your coffee table??? It’s also not just picking pretty pillows and vases, but more about solving an ever changing set of problems to create something personalized, functional, and beautiful. I get bored easily so I love the challenge trying to create something different and special for each project! After this semester I’ll be a little under halfway done with the program. My next step is finding an internship to get some practical experience once COVID clears up a little bit.
Hope this was helpful or at least interesting! Any other questions feel free to shoot me a note in the comments!