Today, I wanted to share some interior design tips for beginner designers and offer practical advice to help you with the challenges that come with launching an interior design career or working with your first clients. I talk to a lot of designers from around the world, and I hear a lot of complaints!

Starting out in the world of interior design can feel overwhelming, and it’s completely normal to come across multiple hurdles as you navigate this crazy design world.

The most significant challenge for all new designers is finding a job and getting the much needed experience to become a practising interior designer, but breaking into the industry can be tough! That is because many design schools teach the theoretical side of interior design but don’t provide practical experience which leads to a “chicken-and-egg” problem: offices expect practical experience, but you can’t gain that experience without a job. This issue creates a cycle that many aspiring interior designers find difficult to break.

The solution, in my opinion, is to focus on getting clients rather than chasing jobs. Early in my career, I would get multiple calls a day with offers from people willing to work for free to gain experience. It’s what made me start mentoring! I wanted to help everyone realise that finding clients and projects was a more viable path to gaining valuable experience and starting a successful design career than it was trying to do free work for someone who might not be a very good teacher in the first place. So my interior design tips for beginner designers is to try and get clients instead of design jobs!

Breaking myths about the industry is another major challenge. Interior design is diverse, encompassing various roles such as styling, decorating, architecture, and furnishings. Television often portrays all interior designers as the same, but in reality, their specialties and services can differ so much. For example, when I first started out, I was pioneering E-Design or virtual /online interior design, but these days I focus more on full service. Through the first five years of running my business, I offered pretty much every possible interior design service possible and that’s when I realised that clients really don’t know what interior designers do!

I often say to my mentees that educating clients and even friends about what interior design entails is part of our job and an essential part of being a professional in the field. For example, designers are professionals who conceptualise and plan spaces rather than trade workers who physically install elements like wallpaper or furniture. There’s also the myth that interior designers impose their ideas on clients without input, but in practice, successful design involves collaboration, communication, and adhering to client briefs and budgets, something that you won’t see much of on HGTV, and that’s not a dig at HGTV, I’m a huge fan, it just doesn’t make for interesting telly!

So my interior design tips for beginner designers is to read this blog post, Interior Designer, Interior Stylist, Interior Decorator, Interior Architect. What’s The Difference?  and get clarity on what it is that you want to offer as an interior designer and then practise explaining that to as many people as you can, multiple times per day, until it feels natural.

Managing client expectations is a huge hurdle for new designers! Many new designers struggle to communicate boundaries, set processes, and enforce contracts. Clients may not fully understand what is included in a design service, which can lead to misunderstandings if boundaries aren’t clearly established. But what most designers don’t realise is that, as the professional, it’s the designer’s responsibility to lead the process, prevent scope creep, and ensure all agreements are documented. Without this leadership, projects often spiral out of control, resulting in frustration for both parties and lots of unnecessary finger pointing

This confidence comes with time and experience, but it’s really important to start setting boundaries early on to avoid being pushed around by clients, builders, architects or any other member of the team. The best interior design tips for beginner designers I can give for managing client expectations is to master your communication with your client and sort out problems quickly and professionally. If you’d like an email template on how to do that with prompts, have a look at this post: Dealing With Interior Design Client Problems.

Keeping up with technology, trends, and laws is another significant challenge for new designers. The interior design field is constantly changing and evolving rapidly, with constant updates to the programs we already use like AutoCAD and SketchUp, but there are constant shifts in industry standards and emerging technologies like AI, trends and home technology that is quickly advancing. Every designer needs to decide which skills to invest in or else we’re in danger of becoming outdated and irrelevant, much faster than in other industries.

The best interior design tips for beginner designers I can give is to look into AI! Artificial intelligence is having a huge impact on our profession, so if you haven’t seen this video and post yet, I’d start here: AI For Interior Design.  We also have a course on AI for Interior Designers and Architects in our mentorship!

Knowing where to focus your attention can be hard without any guidance from a more experienced designer or mentor, but finding the right community is critical. Many new designers turn to online forums and Facebook groups for advice but may end up receiving guidance from unqualified sources like home decorators and renovators who have lots of inappropriate opinions. Some have good advice too, but not within the context of professional interior design so the advice might put a new designer at risk of ruining their reputation because of negligent advice.

Building a professional network with trusted mentors and peers is invaluable, particularly at the start of a career when mistakes can have lasting impacts. My interior design tips for beginner designers is to find a community or a mentor, because you won’t be able to succeed on your own as there is just too much to know! I invite you to have a look at our amazing, supportive, professional interior design community here:  Online Interior Design Mentorship

The key challenges for new designers include finding a job, breaking industry myths, educating clients about the role of a designer, managing expectations, building confidence, staying current with technology and trends, and joining the right professional community. For those seeking support, mentorship programs, like the ones we provide will provide valuable guidance and help navigate these obstacles. Remember, that you don’t need to feel alone as a designer. No matter whether you’re a self-taught, brand new or seasoned designer, we all need support. That’s what our mentorships are about. Supporting each other and designing together.