The world has been through 50-years of DIY culture, with the majority of people re-modelling, upgrading, and decorating their own homes in their spare time. However, that cycle is ending for a number of key reasons and this demise has given birth to some amazing and exciting opportunities for those people interested in Interior Design.

What to know

In the DIY period, people were happy to spend their spare time on home-improvements. Also, they enjoyed showing off their efforts to all their visitors. Today, there are too many distractions and alternatives. These are ones that have much more appeal to the modern generation of homeowners. They are ones who are happier spending their time in more entertaining activities with their friends. Interior design is now big business.

It helps to hire in an interior designer on any project

Furthermore, in most families, adults are bringing home larger disposable incomes than ever before. So today they prefer to employ an Interior Designer. This is rather than spend hours in trying to do it alone. The plethora of glossy magazines that are now available each month. They have thousands of pages with colourful photographs of beautiful homes. These are all with rooms designed by an expert in Interior Design. These magazines create the desire in people to have such a room in their own home.

That burgeoning desire for a beautiful home can only be fulfilled by an Interior Designer.

Hiring other trades

For years, tradesmen like painters, decorators, and carpenters would have nothing to do with people who worked in the Interior Design industry, and with a sneer, they would tell their customers not to waste their money on them. Today, it is a completely different story. This is because the tradesman now accepts that a home designed by an Interior Designer is far superior to anything they can provide. Furthermore, the tradesman often earns a far bigger profit when completing work for an Interior Designer. This is when compared to when they work directly for the customer.

The jobs undertaken

This is because the Interior Designer will quote for the complete job: from basic design to provision of all the materials and completing the actual conversion. It can even include the supply of carpets, curtains, rugs, furniture, pictures, and ornaments. The fee for the decorator who does the painting and papering is perhaps only a small part of the overall price, and will often include a 15% to 20% profit margin to the Interior Designer.

Tradesmen in the home-improvement industry now spend considerable time and effort in developing a good relationship with Interior Designers, because today they can provide an increasing part of their annual income. This is a two-way connection, because the Interior Designer often receives valuable enquiries for design work from their pool of tradesmen. In addition, when the tradesman completes their work to a high standard, the Interior Designer is likely to benefit in the future from referrals and additional work from their clients.

Overall

However, working on designs for homes is only touching the surface of the income stream of a good Interior Designer. There is a vast and highly profitable design market in the retail, commercial, and industrial sectors. This is where directors and managers are not slow in spending huge amounts of money in improving their environment. It is always easier to spend ‘other people’s money’. So the wise Interior Designer will make sure they enjoy a large slice of this business income stream. It is far larger and much more lucrative than the domestic sector where people are spending their own money.