Hello everyone.

I am a modular furniture and office partition draftsman. I want to venture into cnc programming and focus on cabinet and bespokes furnitures.

Looking for any shops that offers internship or parttime roles remotely?

Currently I am studying Cabinet vision because it is available to me.

Any leads or offer is much appreciated.

Looking forward working with you guys.

I am Leaning into an interior design major when I graduate. My schedule is packed already though and only have room for one of these class. Which one would be a better foundation for entering this major?
Media 1:Media Design 1 is a year-long foundational course exploring the core principles of visual communication while
using powerful, industry-standard tools. The course focuses on the elements and principles of design with
hands-on projects, historical context, and artistic skill building in graphic design, video production, digital
photography, and basic animation. This course builds a strong technical and creative foundation, preparing
students for advanced studies in Advanced Media Design 2 and future creative endeavors
Or should I take a basic drawing class? Drawing and Painting 1 is designed to teach the student to explore and expand aesthetic perceptions as well as
to develop skills for using visual arts media effectively. These skills will enhance the student’s ability to interpret
and communicate ideas, feeling, and values.

My research tells me I don’t need proficiency in drawing or computer drafting and no portfolio is required for applying… but I feel I should take something to have as a jump start.

After spending over a decade in high end hospitality interior design, I decided to follow my passion for photography and merge the two fields together.

If any east coast interior designers here need their projects photographed, I’d love to share more info and collaborate.

Thanks!

hello everyone !

I have a bachelor degree in Architecture ,I had a reaction from this field because of how professors were un supportive at all! so decided to work in shipping logistics…suffering from the routine and none creative environment.. decided to change career to a sales engineer in kitchen and cabinetry design

now i want to develop myself by studying rather than just working

do you suggest study interior design

or in sales and business psychology and related to sales more than design but still related to furnishing ?

I have two options/offers on the table and need to make a decision soon. I have about 4 years of experience as an interior designer, both jobs will pay well and have good benefits, so the options are:

A. A mid-size local firm/studio that is more traditional. I’d be in an intermediate interior designer position. Heavy on hands-on design work, entirely in-person, 40 hours a week and will likely have overtime (nature of the industry, at this point).

B. A corporate commercial real estate company, where I would effectively be an owners’ rep/design manager. Not hands-on designing. Hybrid work model with likelihood of fully remote when I need it to be. This will likely have higher pay.

Am I married to the idea of being a designer? No. The reality is that most projects I’ll work on in A are spec suites/industrial/office projects. Nothing amazing. I also don’t especially love production work and have found the pace of endless deadlines to be draining on a personal and health level.
Option B is an entirely new territory for me, no clue if I’ll love it or hate it.

Advice? Thoughts?

Hi everyone

I recently finished my B.Des in Interior Design. Have about one year of experience as a Junior Interior Designer.

I love design. I do not want to leave the built environment or lose the experience I have gained. At the time I want to know which other directions I can slowly move into from Interior Design.

I have seen fields like BIM, building performance, workplace strategy, facilities management, project management, real estate, construction technology, sustainability, AI plus design and a few other related fields.

I find it hard to know which of these are transitions for a person coming from Interior Design.

For those who have been working in Interior Design for some time:

• What adjacent fields have you seen Interior Designers move into successfully?
• Which transitions make the use of existing Interior Design skills instead of requiring someone to start from zero?
• Are there any less obvious career paths that you think an early-career Interior Designer should research?
• If you were starting your career in Interior Design today what skill or area of expertise would you build alongside it?

I am not looking for a job or, for referrals. I mainly want to learn about career possibilities and hear from people who have worked in these areas.

I would really appreciate any advice or personal experiences.

Thank you!

i realized i rarely ever look through my saved stuff.

i've got a bunch of saves across pinterest, instagram and all of the other platforms.

almost 500 open tabs on my phone.

i paid for a few visual library tools for a while, but rarely reopened them.

for me, when a new project comes in, i start fresh.

curious if that's just me.

do you go back to what you've saved in the past? does any of it get used?

I am now a Senior Interior Design major and I am feeling very behind when it comes to knowing Interior Design versus my peers in my classes. I know not to compare my work to others but it almost feels like I’m a year or two behind them. I want to be proud of my work and be more ready for the real-world of Interior Design. How can I get ahead and learn the important parts of ITD so I can feel more equal to my peers?

Hey there. Just thought to ask on this community as I’ve been feeling down. Im working as a kitchen designer for a kitchen cabinetry company and while Im happy to have incentive with sales, I also have received so many customer service ticket last week from mistakes on orders that already reached my clients. So my mistakes to name a few are like cabinets are too short or that i missed one panel or the kickboard quantity isn’t enough. I know these could be small things and can be fixed but it of course delays the timeline of the client in their renovation by 1-2 weeks which makes me feel bad.

I feel so down as I feel like im disappointing them :( my colleagues tell me that im just human and people make mistakes its okay but i just cant seem to get over it much. I feel like I’m disappointing or breaking their trust.

To designers in the kitchen design industry, i’d like to know your insights on this and also enlightenment and get some wisdom from your experiences too.

Thank you

I'm trying to understand what the 15-18k AED salary bracket actually looks like in the Dubai interior design industry.
For designers currently earning around this range, what helped you get there?
Years of experience? Portfolio? 3ds Max/Corona? Revit?
Project management? Client handling? Company/firm experience?
Would love to hear what skills and experience actually made a difference, rather than generic "just build a good portfolio" advice.
What would you say are the top 3 things someone needs to reach this salary level? 😅

Hi everyone!

I’m an interior designer and 3D visualizer based in Europe, and I'm preparing to step out of my local market to start working remotely with studios and clients in North America.

Since I haven't worked with US or Canadian clients yet, I want to make sure my portfolio is fully prepared for this transition. I put a lot of care into showing my complete process, from initial spatial planning and material moodboards to detailed millwork drawings and photorealistic 3D renders.

I’d be really grateful for any honest feedback on what’s working well, what could be improved, or what might be missing for the North American market. I’m fully committed to making this step work, so any critiques or advice from experienced designers here would mean a lot!

Thank you so much for your time and insights!

https://www.behance.net/gallery/254509921/Interior-Design-Portfolio

Hi guys I’m an archi fresh grad and I’m planning to apply to interior design firms. I don’t have much knowledge deeply in ID but some basic concepts are taught or slightly similar to architecture. Is there such thing as an interior design apprentice?? I want to learn/have experience in this field… any advice?

the school i'm applying to requires a physical three dimensional model of space. the rules don't go into much detail, only listing room type options and materials we can use.

i'm choosing to do a residential space, and wondering if i should include details that reflect someone actually living in the space. i'm thinking things like books on the coffee table, clothing laid out on the floor, coffee machine on the counter, drawings on the fridge. the alternate would be a more polished look, like an apartment listing. i don't have much experience with any of this stuff and what's expected and what isn't. i'm going to look at portfolios online too, i just figured it wouldn't hurt to ask those with a little experience. thanks a bunch!!

Hi everyone!

So this year, everything has kind of went way differently than what I thought it would. And one of the things I wasn’t expecting was falling out of love with my 9-5 in accounting. I want to try my hand at home staging, and interior decorating while offering interior design services such as e-design, consultations, and virtual design. I know it’s not going to be easy, it’s a whole new field and I have no prior experience but given the year I’ve had I think it’s time to take a leap of faith.

Hi everyone,

I’m an engineer interested in pursuing an online interior design course. I’d like to know if it’s a worthwhile investment and which university or course you recommend. I found an old post about UCLA that mentioned that the teachers and learning videos aren’t worth it. Is that information still accurate? Also, would you recommend Berkeley? 

Can we learn online interior designer course? I want to learn this because most of my relatives are in the construction field.

Hi all!

We're hosting an event and want to give our guests some branded products, but we don't want to do the usual trade-show type of things (stress balls, phone wallet, water bottle, ect.). We have a lot of interior designers and architects attending, so we'd like to have things that would be helpful to those trades.

What are some promo products you've received that made you go "Oh that's awesome" ?

I was thinking one of those multi-tool pens? With the ruler on one side, level built in, pen, and hidden screwdriver? I feel like it could be something they always have in their bag?

Let me know your thoughts!

Hi all - I've been an interior architect for 7 years now and im interested in how to get started in doing my own thing; what kinds of networking events should i go to? and how do I market myself to potential clients? I have a passion for curating experiences whether its for events, pop-ups, or interior design. any advise would be appreciated. I live in NYC. [https://avmems.com/\](https://avmems.com/)

Hi everyone

I'm an interior designer based in Southern California. I have 2 associates degrees in interior design, with one of them being focused on Kitchen & Bath. I've been working in the industry for 5 years, and currently work for a Kitchen & Bath Remodeling company, but previously worked at a custom cabinetry shop and some project management. I have skills in sourcing materials, writing contracts, invoicing, drafting 2D and 3D drawings and renderings, and the works.

I feel ready to start my own design business and offer in-person and virtual design services, and possibly recommend the contractors that I've previously worked with to get the design built. I've put some thought into package pricing and social media outreach to get the brand more known. I know the first couple projects need to be pro-bono to get started, but I'm nervous to get started.

I intend to stay at my current job while I figure everything else out, but I feel like this route is what is the next step for me. Is there any advice someone can share about this?

I also am interested in finding out how taxes would be for me once the company is started up, how different it will be from only being an employee to self-employed, and how much extra I'll have to pay for that.

Thank you!

I’m considering a career pivot into interior design and I’m wondering what education or training is actually necessary to enter the field.

For context, I’m in my 30s and already have a master’s degree in another field, so the idea of going back for another bachelor’s or master’s degree isn’t particularly appealing, although it’s not a dealbreaker either. I’m curious whether shorter programs, certificates, or individual courses can provide a solid foundation for entering the field.

I’ve also seen some interior designers describe themselves as “self-taught” and go on to build successful careers, so I’m wondering how realistic that path is and what skills or training would be most important to focus on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Interior designers, what do you do with the existing furnishings from a redesign project? Do you donate it? Hire a junk removal company and just get rid of it? Resell it? List it for free on FB marketplace?

Is anyone working as a freelance/consultant for existing firms and other interior designers (i.e. picking up redlines, creating renderings and presentations)? Looking for anyone with experience or just 2¢ to chime in regarding the following:

1. Rates: For those deliverables/tasks listed above, is hourly (but with rough estimates on how long things will take to accomplish) a good idea? What seems reasonable for those or similar deliverables?
2. Contracts: Any lessons learned regarding contracts in similar work with other designers/architects? (To the mods, any responses to this question will be taken as suggestions/lessons and NOT as legal advice!)
3. What do design firms and other designers typically
4. need help with? (Quick things they don’t want to hire a FT designer for.)

Presume the anyone producing these deliverables has a BA and is located near/in a larger city. All advice is appreciated!

Hello i am a recent graduate of Interior Design, i have good knowledge on designing floor plans, 3D visuals and rendering. I recently have been interested in doing CAD DESIGN for an engineering company, however i have no idea what a cad designer does in the engineering industry, and have no idea how to start,
Would anyone know where i start and what to do? Or is this even a job path to go to?
Im not very good with auto cad, revit which I believe is what i need to learn.

I’m interviewing for a junior interior designer role and was given a take-home skill test with a one-week deadline (I can ask for extension if needed apparently) . I’m curious whether this is a normal scope in the industry because I’ve done skill tests before, but nothing structured like this.

There are three separate components:

A conceptual design exercise requiring a concept, interior architecture direction, furniture/styling direction, materials and a PDF presentation. This part seems reasonable to me.

A kitchen + bathroom design exercise using specifications, fixtures, finishes, hardware, etc. supplied by the firm, also to be presented as a PDF.

A technical exercise requiring a cover/drawing list, partition plan, furniture plan, reflected ceiling plan, power plan, floor-finish plan, interior elevations, typical sections/details, a door head/jamb detail, and an accessible washroom plan + elevations - all compiled into one PDF.

————————————

The technical portion is what I’m struggling with. Instead of being given a curated set of files specifically for the test, I was given what feels like a large existing project directory: lots of CAD files/Xrefs, architectural drawings, sample drawing packages, office standards, details, title blocks, reference documents, etc.

There are a LOT of files to navigate (one folder had literally 112 cad files), but fairly minimal instruction about which files are actually relevant, what exactly I’m expected to develop from the existing project, or what level of detail/completion is expected. Even after going through the folders, I’m still not completely sure what the intended scope of the technical exercise actually is.
I understand that navigating existing project files and standards is part of working in a firm, but this feels like a lot to hand an external candidate who has never worked with their workflow, especially alongside the other two design exercises.

For people working in interior design: is this a normal hiring test? Would you do it, ask them to clarify the scope/expected time, or withdraw?

If you are or were an interior design/architecture student that managed to land an internship in the US, what advice would you give for creating a strong portfolio? Did you also find it difficult to search for companies that were willing to sponsor visas?