Interior Designer vs Interior Decorator
What is the difference between interior design and interior decorating?
Interior design addresses the function, flow, finishes, furnishings, and overall experience of a space, while interior decorating focuses more narrowly on the look of a room. Designers often help with space planning, selections, and coordination; decorators typically help with styling, accessories, and visual polish.
An interior designer can help plan how a space functions and feels, while an interior decorator typically focuses on surface-level finishing touches such as furnishings, accessories, and styling. An “interior decorator” is a much smaller subset of “interior designer” and is more focused on the selection of soft goods, furnishings and window treatments.
Interior design generally involves formal training and deeper project planning, while decorating is usually more focused on selecting and arranging visible decor elements.
Should I Hire an Interior Decorator or Interior Designer?
That is the big question and we want to help you understand the difference between the two.
Hire an interior designer when your project involves layout decisions, fixed finishes, multiple rooms, renovation coordination, or a more complete design plan. A decorator may be enough if you only need help selecting furnishings, art, accessories, window treatments, or final styling details.
Residential interior design is a creative art form and science with understanding people’s behavior to create functional spaces within a home, outdoor space or building.
An interior designer goes to school and receives a degree in design. This certification is needed to have the title of interior designer by their name.
So depending on your project or space, if all you need is furnishings, art or accessories for your room, either an interior designer or a decorator can help you out. Anything more, an interior designer will be needed, and our interior design services page can help you compare available options.
I'm starting to understand the difference now...
At the end of the day, an interior designer can decorate, but an interior decorator does not design.
Still confused who you should hire? Let one of our Denver based interior designers at Inside Stories help you understand the scope of your project and if you can hire a decorator or if a designer is needed. You can reach out to us when you are ready to talk through the details. Feel free to reach out to us directly at (303) 783-9327 or email us at projects@insidestories.com