Let us not confuse apples with oranges.

Interior design is an art not a science.

Many states require Interior designers to hold a B.A. degree .

In addition, accreditation, certification, and licensing is required.

2010 the Median Pay was $46,280 per year or $22.25 per hour.

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/interior-designers.htm

Aja...and architecture is a combination of art and science. Thanks for putting that up there...the pay. Most designers and architects are VASTLY underpaid.

Now if I could just find one- sigh!

Aja...I see you have a law degree. FYI, the University of Texas Master of Architecture program is 3.5 years...the UT School of Law Juris Doctorate is 3 years.

Judet6...I'd LOVE to work with you, but we are in Chicago. If I were headed to Maine, to see my family, I'd stop by and see if I could help.

nformal: Yes-- I suspect a designer might very well walk into my place and turn away in horror. :) Yeah-- I could actually see that happening. A scary thought.

No-- I know that designers (the good ones) are excellent at what they do. I'd never hire one, of course (hence the horrific environment I live in!)-- but I can certainly understand why people would. I'm also older than god, so I've re-done a few houses and -- at this point-- also have a good line on great people (plumbers, tilers, electricians, etc)-- and that's huge, in my opinion. And, also-- in my deluded state-- I imagine I have a really good eye-- so you know, I'm golden . . . well, as long as I don't bring in any designers to survey the place. :)

You should see what I do for what I get paid....Critical care/ER Registered Nurse.....maybe I should be in design since I love it. :)

Now I'm so invested in this discussion I won't be able to get my mind off of it. Do us all a huge favor and post before and after pics if you can because I'm dying to know how this all turns out! Good luck!

It may be $46,280 per year but in no way it is $22.25 per hour ;)

But we get compensated by the joy it brings, so, it's not too bad:)

Thanks G3. If you want to see before's I have a post called OK why is it so hard cont. under my name. You can see there's lots of work to do!

Nice sarcasm, Diana...but I didn't say that they WOULD tear your space apart. I said they MIGHT.

Let's switch gears to fashion design. Those people who have a flair for runway design don't always equate to everyday fashion on the street...and vice versa. Everyone has that friend who thinks he/she is a fashion diva and then the rest of the table is thinking, "What the HELL is she/he wearing?"

There is nothing wrong with being confident in your choices, and a choice you make for yourself--as long as you are happy with it--is never wrong. But, being able to design for yourself doesn't necessarily equate to being able to design for someone else.

My points earlier was that design/architecture is a field where a lot of the general public thinks they can do it as good as a professional. One potential client I know hired an interior designer in his building because she was pretty (his language was more descriptive)...and her "designs" weren't good at all. They were outdated, but not "classic". In fact, he was so dissatisfied that he went with her for the wrong reasons that he ended up explaining that "basically I didn't really hire her as a designer...she's more of a project manager." I then explained to him that a really GOOD designer is also a project manager. That's what we get paid to do.

So...professional or otherwise...every designer is not necessarily a good one. As my father used to say, God rest his soul, "What do you call someone who graduated last in their law school class?" "What?" "A lawyer."

Jayme...I'm positive an ER/Critical Care Nurse gets paid more than $48K a year. I know way too many of them that work at Northwestern Memorial and Rush Medical. Haha.

(Diana...Jayme is one of those "non-design professionals" on here that I agree with quite often. So yes, you don't have to go to school to be a good designer. Most great artists never studied art in school.)

nformal: Sorry-- I missed your earlier question up there. I'm a photographer/printmaker (for 30 years +). I know how you feel, though, because everyone in the world has a camera, and they all truly believe they know how to take a photograph. haha. So -- yeah-- I get the similarities.

Oh-- and, yeah, I always use that same line about doctors. ( . . . What do you call someone who graduated last in med school . . . ) So true. And if you read my very first post, I did mention that there are good designers and bad -- like any other profession-- so, you know, tread carefully.

Informal...I do get paid more......But if most people realized what is literally in our hands...I believe many would agree, it also is underpaid...Thanks for the nice comment about often agreeing with
me! Appreciated!

nFORMAL design,

huh?

Diana,

So, as an amateur photographer from WAY back, I grew up with a film camera. Taking good pictures was the only way to survive if you couldn't develop yourself...too expensive to take a bunch of crappy pictures. Post processing meant physical cropping and burning and dodging...not Photoshop.

An old buddy of mine is a pro-am photographer...he sells stuff part-time. He post-processes the sh*t out of his images. However, I'd grab his camera and he'd always get pissed that the images were decent already. He was like, "Why can you just pick up my camera and the pictures are already good." I said, with heavy sarcasm, "Because I actually KNOW how to take pictures." There are principles to good photography just like there is to good design, and if someone doesn't know those...more than likely, their stuff is going to be mediocre at best.

So everybody...if you didn't catch that, Diana kind of agreed with me. :-) Sorry for using your discussion, Judet, to rage a war on the dismissal of designers!

Aja...it says you went to Stetson University of Law. You seemed to put the designer pay up there as if they make a good living for what they do...since it is an art...not a science. I wasn't sure where you were going with that, so I was showing how at one of the top universities in the country, the architecture program is longer than the law program.

Jayme, I've had people who said, "You architects always act like what you do is such a big deal...it's not like you are a doctor or something." My retort is this, "Yeah...if a surgeon makes a mistake, he may take a life. If an architect makes a really bad mistake, his building may fall down and take hundreds of lives." For awhile after the WTC towers fell, the architect/engineer could barely talk to anyone. Even though he designed his building to withstand the disaster of the time, it fell due to bigger planes with more fuel. He still blamed himself. I think about that guy almost daily.

Jayme Hobbs,

Yes, you are underpaid and overworked.

You are employed in an essential profession in our society.

You will always be in demand, bless you!

My parents taught me that I could become anything I wanted, but that I would be wise to develop skills necessary to society.

If I could make my avocation, my vocation , and could make a decent living, I
would be blessed with personal satisfaction.

Wow nFormal I had never thought about the architects and engineers for that site - hard not to be broken after that no matter how sound the engineering was.

Yes, Jayme...nurses are essential, but an architect to design that hospital you work in (since I USED to design hospitals), isn't really all that essential. Haha. Priceless. That sums up my earlier comments in a nutshell.

Jayme...I DO think you are essential and underpaid, so let's make sure that is clear!

nformal: haha. Yeah, I guess I did kind of agree with you. ;) I have to admit, though, even when someone hires me to do something-- even when I'm photographing-- in the back of my mind, I'm always thinking-- "Seriously? You couldn't do this yourself?? What in the hell is wrong with you?" I really do. As highly as I think of my own skills and vision (and, I do mean highly)-- I still think that. At the same time, I also know they probably couldn't (and they know they can't), but for the life of me-- I always have to wonder why they don't have that ability. Mathematicians probably think that way, too, about people who can't do math. I don't know.

nFORMAL design,

Accepted!!

I am currently doing research at University.
I do have my Ph.D.

nFORMAL design,

I would never place an architect on the same skill or educational level as an interior designer.

Music was my first choice...however, I did go into nursing....I have a sister who is an attorney...one who runs a business, I myself have some business background and am working on a new one. Unfortunately I was NOT taught I could do anything wanted... so I am still working on that!

Aja,

Still...interior designers work their butts off. We were designing a hospital and one of my favorite co-workers would design rooms and stay 36-48 hours at the office in order to have stuff done for meetings and charrettes. She never got the pay she deserved, the promotions she deserved or anything else for that matter. She left the firm and moved back home...what a shame.

To quote Robin Williams as John Keeting in Dead Poets Society, "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."

I would definitely equate great design as being akin to and having poetry. beauty, romance and love all rolled into it.

Please, let's not confuse an architect with an interior designer,

Architects plan and design buildings and other structures.
Bachelor’s degree$72,550

There are three main steps in becoming a licensed architect: earning a professional degree in architecture, gaining work experience through an internship, and passing the Architect Registration Exam.

[2010]

What we all do is important and has value. Sometimes pay is not synonymous with true value...and this also depends upon what we view as being worthy of value, as well as what society deems of value.

Great discussion. As pointed out above, a tad hard to follow given it's a dynamic fluid discussion over the internet and in this forum it's all linear without an indented or "replying to" format.

nFormal observed above (somewhere) that many posters here, while attempted to do design themselves, their ideabooks are filled with photos of spaces that the vast majority are obviously (and most have credtis) professional designed, be they interiors or kitchens by interior designers or whole houses by architects.

And the dissconnect between what these posters are"designing" and what in these ideabooks to me is obvious. One recent case in point is this one: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/floorplan-replacing-house-after-hurricane-sandy-dsvw-vd~324343 The spacial concepts that are in Jaynes123's idea books and what she has designed are polar opposites. And note I said "concepts", not a photo of some kitchen island. A little like me seeing photos of someone riding a unicycle and then thinking I can get right out and do that.

Aja...if you think most architects (even licensed) are paid $72K, you are insane. I know licensed architects working at big firms who would KILL for that pay. It's a shame how the value of a good designer or architect is unnoticed.

Also, as a statistics major before I went back to do architecture, you can skew those things to read how you want them. The architects who are famous or do houses in very wealthy areas of the country make that "average" go way up. The principle of a firm doing houses in Greenwich, CT or Boca Raton, FL makes a ton more than a guy doing design-build in Topeka, KS.

Yes Jayme...and that comes through education. I'm not going to get into a discussion of civil rights in order to demonstrate what "society" has deemed "valuable" or what they haven't deemed valuable in the past.

There was a study that said architects and news reporters had the most desired careers with the least amount of pay.

Citation please? JUST kidding, I am not debating the importance of architects...they are absolutely important and essential...And btw...looked at your page..your work looks fabulous!

nFORMAL design,

I only present the data and projections collected by the US Department of Labor.
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/architects.htm

Many firms pay tuition and fees toward continuing education requirements for their employees.

It is further reported that architects have a mean average hourly income of $34.88 per hour
and that many work more than 50 hours per week.

Job Outlook, 2010-20 24% (Faster than average)

Aja...I'm telling you, that your labor department statistics are skewed. First, in times of financial crisis many firms haven't given raises or bonuses for years. The last firm I worked at before starting my own, didn't give raises for two years.

$34.88 an hour for the typical architect is a pipe dream. Also, most architects are salaried and do not receive pay for any hours over 40 a week, but yes, most of them work 60 or more. Where is this population from? What category of architect...do they own their own firm?

I am telling you from being in the industry that your figures are not accurate on an average scale. Yes, when you take the highest and lowest, you might get an "average" of $34.88. That isn't typical in the least. That would mean that most architects get $90K a year based on $34.88 times 50 times 52. That is LAUGHABLE.

Are there any architects out there that work for regular firms that make $90K a year and think that is average?

Working with a designer should be easy. Designers should be there to work with you as a team! I would start be looking up some ASID designers near you and definately get some referrals. I wish you the best.

Thanks, Jayme...glad you like. We take a lot of pride in our work.

Per hour income is subject to the same calculations.

Look at it this way:
The architect must work over 50 hours to earn what workers in others professions receive in 40 hours or less.

The lowest 10 percent earned less than $42,860, and the top 10 percent earned more than $119,500.
The median income for all other workers [non architects] was $33,840, for the same time period while it was $72,550

nFORMAL design,

My original point, that I did not get an opportunity to put forth, was that many people who can afford
to purchase non essential services are loathe to pay what seems to be a fair rate, based on the qualifications.

There is a disconnect here and I wonder why?

Aja what do you consider a fair rate based on qualitfications and I'm assuming your talking about an Interior Designer? I don't mind paying for someone qualified but let me ask you what qualifies a designer? A website, a portfolio, recommendations? Because I've dealt with many desingers who have been so called qualified and didn't impress me in the least and still charged $100.00 and upwards per hour. Hardly what I call fair.

Honestly what gives designers the right to charge upwards of 100.00 on up per hour? Even trades people who work their butts off don't charge quite near that. Our rough carpenter who builds marvelous cabinetry, woodwork, trim and so forth doesn't charge anyway near that. A little outrageous to charge those prices to pick out furniture, paint and do a layout if you ask me.

missangel99,

I am not an "interior designer", rather a homeowner.

I agree, but want to clear a common misconception.

According to the US Department of Labor, 2010 Median Pay was $46,280 per year or
$22.25 per hour.

Frankly, it has been the attitude of several "interior designers" on Houzz who have soured me on using an
interior designer.

There are many skilled, thoughtful designers on Houzz, that I would want to hire, but they are not in my area,

And I do not want to risk hiring a "designer" such as the ones who have been insulting and personally attack me for my opinions.

I am not a designer and am not going to defend a fee of 100/hr BUT there is something many seem to be forgetting here when they compare their salary to that of a person who does not work for a corporation or organization... The hourly wage you make in your paycheck is not your full wage. Your company is paying at least double when you account for SS, insurances (and benefits if you are lucky enough to still have them). An independently employed person has to pay those out of their wage thus lowering it significantly. Do you think a contractor banks the entire hourly rate?

Architects, teachers, designers, carpenters, the profession doesn't matter. In every profession, there are always some people who are underpaid, even when they earn more than many of their colleagues. Also, in every profession, some people would be overpaid if they got minimum wage.

Hourly rate is important but so is how the hours are counted. Some people might say that they worked on only one project in an afternoon and therefore bill 4 hours to the client. Some one else may feel that they spent 4 hours working on a project, but were tired and rather unproductive so they'll only bill 1 1/2 or 2 hours because that's what they're comfortable charging for the amount of work produced.

Each designer has the right to charge whatever price they choose and the clients have the right to pick a designer using any criteria they choose. If someone can do in an hour what might take me all day to complete, $100 is not unreasonable.

curacaoblue,

Exactly the point I wanted to make.

In today's economy, do you believe $20 per hour to be unreasonable to pay for the skilled services of a college graduate to obtain the result you desire??

Jude, I'm entering late into this discussion and hopefully I can offer some wisdom. Your first order of business is to go to your closest design center and tell the in-take person you want to interview designers for your project. As you sit with each one, ask for their portfolio to first determine if you like their work. Next, have a long conversation about their work experience and allow them to ask you questions about your project and what you want to achieve. At that juncture you will have an opportunity to understand if this is a person you are comfortable with and will know if you want to move forward with them. You will also discuss fees and hourly rates, contract and all the workings of the way they do business. Take time to make notations, listen carefully to their questions and answers, think on it for several days, have a telephone conversation to ask whatever questions remained unanswered in your first interview, think on it once again, listen to your intuition and then make a decision. Do this with individual designers until you feel in your gut you have met the right person for you. Your relationship with your designer will be very personal and intimate as they will delve into areas about which you had not given thought. That right person will either make you excited about your project or they won't. You are in charge. It is your home and you are offering someone access to your innermost needs and you will be creating a partnership...someone with whom you can share a vision. Together, you will hone your vision to create a new environment that supports you and your family. This is not about money or adding to a portfolio. Rather, this is about you. A good designer will automatically lean into your likes and dislikes, will introduce you to new options, will help you find what you will really love (as that changes throughout our lifetime) and will absolutely help you find your way and will hold your hand all the way through to the bloody end. You will laugh, cry, argue, dissent, and whatever two people do in a relationship and you will in the end have a new friend whom you can trust implicitly. This is a tall order but that's what we do and that's why we are in the business. We have the ability to change lives for the better. We don't save lives but we certainly enjoy changing the environments so as to support the people who call their house... home. I wish you the best of luck. Just remember (and keep this foremost in your mind)....you are in charge. You call the shots. Period!

Hi Jude,

I own an interior design firm in the Boston area and what you're going through shouldn't be so hard and there's no reason to feel ashamed. Look at all my "BEFORE" portfolio photos. I never judge my clients, my job is to help them create something more beautiful and solve that puzzle for them. I personally wouldn't need you to provide an inspiration object in order to decipher what would appeal to you in design; I can arrive at that through a discussion during our consultation.

Please take a look at my online portfolio on my website and if you like my work call me to discuss your project over the phone and we'll see if we're a good fit for each other. I also have an excellent team of reliable and reasonably priced contractors. I don't mind shopping retail if that's your comfort level with spending as opposed to custom and Boston Design Center. And I have a very long list of happy clients you can call for references, many I've worked with for years on end.

http://www.LisaJensenInteriorDesign.com

PS) And what called my attention to you is the IKAT print fabric...been trying to get one of my clients to do for a few years & they won't. I love IKAT.

I've never hired a designer, but my sense is the ones that listen to you are the ones who are being paid a salary or a per/hour rate-- not being paid on commission based on what they sell you. If you look and sound like you really are there for their design expertise-- and nothing more-- the ones who are actually working as designers (and not also working on commission for some furniture or drapery maker), then you probably won't have a problem.

As stated, I've never hired a designer but I did have an experience with one in a tile shop. She insisted on steering me towards the $100/sq foot tile. When I told her repeatedly that I had no interest in spending that kind of money for tile, she peered over her glasses and asked, "Well, tell me. What is your price point ?" She asked in such a way that I was supposed to believe that everybody is in there spending $100/sq foot on tile, so what was my problem? I immediately answered her that $15/sq foot seemed on the high end to me, if that helped her at all. Even after I told her that, she kept pushing me towards outrageously expensive tile. And it's not as though that's all they sold in there.

Of course, I left that store, but I did discover later that those particular designers in that particular tile store work on commission, not on salary. So I think those that make you feel like you aren't good enough to be their clients-- my guess is, they're working on commission and really need to push particular items (typically very high end items). You need to find designers who are paid a salary, or a per/hour rate, and are there to help you-- not simply help you buy overpriced items.

At this point, I have pulled back on the decorating piece and working on organizing our limited
space and storage before I embark again. To be honest, I'm
not emotionally able right now to
go through another decorator sear ch, think the universe is telling me
that it is not the right time. Lisa, you're quite far from me. I live in
Metro West.

I used to visit the Boston design center all the time with an architect friend of mine when I lived in Boston for 10 years. I think that had a big influence on my love of design and objects of beauty and quality. I lived in Boston for 10 years. Other than the cold and snow its a great place to live work shop and of course go to college. ahhhhhhhhh and Roche Bobois... I love that store..I finally bought some very unique coffee and end tables from them. You know if you just go to a place like that...even if you dont end up buying a 20k sectional...you can still get free design advice. same as with Macys or other furniture stores. Take some pictures and bring it with you and sit down with one of the designers at the store...Ethen Allen.... offers this as well.... what ever your style... you can get free advice and many come to your home... Bo Concept.... they all all do this.

metro west? I lived in Newton for many years... natick.. chestnet hill. you dont need to waste your money on a stuck up designer ... get the free advice from nice people in the stores who carry items you want to buy. Hunter Douglas... free consult to your house...just call.... same with flooring... its all there for you. I personally think this decorating thing is a money making racket and few of them have ideas you cant think of yourself or with the help of the designers employed by the stores. You just have to ask and know the ropes. Some designers are probably well worth it but I too have been turned off to many with their pushy attitude and insults.

Take in the information and make your own decisions. why decorate your house with someone elses visions for you. You know what you like and want.. you just need to look and get educated and talk and ask questions. I dont want anyone no matter how good of a designer or how smart they are to decorate my house with what they like or think I will like... unless of couse its free..........lol.........I mean they provide all the furniture for free...............but if I am paying than I am the one picking out the stuff I like.

I always tell my clients a good designer works for you! Better that designer left for you don't need someone like that! We all aren't like that! I understand that we need something to pull from when designing but she/he ( the designer) should work with you and help you with that. If you post some photo's with all the responses you have received I am sure we can help you.