A guide to interior design

The way the interiors of our homes are designed can affect our happiness, our productivity and our health. This guide to interior design outlines the virtues of designing the interior of your home and debates the case for employing a professional versus doing it yourself.

The scope and possibilities of the discipline of interior design are extensive. Interior designers may specialise in kitchen or bathroom design, on interpreting trends and fashion, or focus on the architecture and fabric of a building’s interior. A designer’s skill when it comes to creating efficient and beautiful interiors is to work with clients to find out what they need from the space they live or work in, and to research, create and deliver an interior space that meets the project brief.

Interior design is a different discipline to interior architecture and to interior decoration, but there are some overlaps. It makes use of more analytical and user-research skills than interior decoration, but uses a decorator’s knowledge of colour, lighting and materials to finish a space. Architects will focus on the technical aspect of designing an interior but an interior designer’s creative skills will help them develop architectural elements that enable a client to better use the space.   

This Design Council guide is aimed at anyone interested in commissioning an interior designer and anyone who wants to pursue a career in interior design. Through examples and analysis it illustrates how interior design, at its best, can be good for business, your lifestyle and your health.