The top skills that make a great interior designer

Interior designers do more than just pick out paint colors and furniture. To be a great interior designer, you need to be a visual artist and a business-savvy professional. The best designers are able to identify what's right for your space and then make it happen — no matter what it takes!

There's so much more that goes into designing a beautiful home than just choosing paint colors, sofas, and throw pillows.

There's so much more that goes into designing a beautiful home than just choosing paint colors, sofas, and throw pillows. You have to be able to see the big picture and know how everything is going to look when it's all put together.

You also need to understand people—like what they like and what makes them comfortable.

A great designer will be able to make you love your space again, whatever it might be.

As a great designer, you can help your clients see the potential in their homes. You can help them re-imagine the space they live in and make it more functional and beautiful.

Whether a client is renovating an entire house or seeking advice on how to redecorate their favorite room, you’ll be able to give them a real insight into what would work best for them and how to achieve it.

A great designer will be able to take even a dark small space and make it feel like home, giving them a sense of pride in their living situation and making sure everything has its place.

Creating a beautiful design is one thing; finding the perfect pieces is another.

Finding the right pieces for a room is an essential skill for any designer. The difference between a good design and a great design is often in what you choose to fill it with.

Our sales lead Lianne shares a great example, “I had a fellow designer at my previous job that created beautiful renders, like the most visually stunning 3D renders ever. The problem was when it came to installation day, there were things that were always a little off. For example, she would use a side chair for a desk space, that was a little too low, so it felt awkward.. or sconces that weren't feasible in the client's home. It's one thing to create a beautiful render that inspires the client, but it has to be functional for it to work in their home.”

Finding beautiful pieces takes time, experience, and research—but once you have honed these skills, you can find some of the most stunning finds in the world!

Designers can spot the right piece for a space a mile away.

The ability to spot the right piece for a space a mile away. It's what separates great designers from good ones, and it's one of the most important skills of all. You have to be able to see the potential in a piece—whether it be an old dresser or an industrial pipe frame—and envision how it will fit into your client's space. If your design is going to be successful, you must also be able to see how this piece will look with the rest of their room before you start pulling out your tools and supplies.

Sometimes only a custom piece will do.

When you have a big space to fill, sometimes only a custom piece will do. Custom pieces are more expensive than off-the-shelf items, but they can be worth it if they fit the space perfectly and suit your style.

Custom furniture is designed just for your room and its needs—if you want something specific in terms of shape or size, custom pieces can let you get that exactly right.

Great interior designers are business savvy.

Interior designers also have to be business savvy. They need to understand the business side of things, including how to market their services and price them appropriately, how to manage their time so that they can meet deadlines and still have a life outside of work, and how to manage clients. As an interior designer, you’ll probably be working with people who are not only paying for your expertise but also trusting you with their most important spaces (their homes) so it’s important that you know what questions your client should ask before hiring someone like yourself — both so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not interior design is right for them and so that when it comes time for them to choose between multiple designers in your area (which happens), they will choose yours because there was no question about whether or not you could deliver on what was promised.

Using tools like Materlog that help you keep your order tracking extremely organized and automatically updated will help you. Project and time management tools should also be on your radar. In short: Good business sense is essential if you want anyone else besides yourself to use their money wisely!

The best designers are always thinking about new trends and how to apply them to their work.

The best designers are always thinking about new trends and how to apply them to their work. Great interior designers need to be aware of what's happening in the industry, always keeping an eye out for what's new. For example, if you have a client who wants a more modern look than your typical Victorian-style house, but still wants lots of wood furniture pieces, you can use metal accents rather than traditional wood ones for a modern tinge without going overboard on the style!

This skill is also important when working with clients because it allows them to trust that their ideas will be realized in a way that fits within their budgetary constraints while still giving them exactly what they need from an aesthetic standpoint.