Recently, a high school student from Georgia contacted me. She was interested in becoming an interior designer, and she wanted to know how I got into the field.
People ask me this question with alarming regularity, so I thought I’d go ahead and post part of the interview. (If this is too “all bossy, all the time,” please skip this blog post and know that I’ll post another one soon!)
How did you get started in interior design?
I’ve always been interested in design and decorating, but I didn’t know how to go about making it into a career. I ended up getting a master’s degree in art history and working in museums for many years, but then I took some courses at the Corcoran College of Art & Design and realized that yes, I did want to be an interior designer.
I felt I was too old to go back to school full-time. (I know, I know, “it’s never too late,” but I’d already completed one graduate program and was pregnant with twins…so, yes, it kind of WAS too late.) I put the word out among my friends that I was thinking of changing careers, and all of a sudden I started getting calls looking for help with paint colors, which I happily did for free. That began my on-the-job training.
My big break came when my husband and I had some friends over for dinner, and they loved how I’d renovated our teeny tiny kitchen. So they hired me to work w/ their architect on renovating their entire house. I did charge them, but not much, since I was learning as I went along.
When I was in high school — or maybe I was even younger; I don’t remember — I wrote to an interior designer friend of my godmother’s asking whether I could work for her for free that summer. An unpaid internship, essentially. I used my best stationery (this was before email, people!) and she responded on her own beautiful monogrammed notecards. But she was very discouraging. She wrote about how expensive it was to live in NY, and that interior design is a crowded field, with “too many chiefs and not enough indians” (isn’t it crazy that I remember that?!). I was crushed, and I shelved the whole idea of becoming an interior designer. DUMB. The moral of this story is that oldie but goodie, IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED… you know the rest. I allowed this one incident to derail me more than it should have.
How many hours a day do you work?
Because I own my own business, I work all the time. Evenings, weekends, whenever I have a deadline. Even when I don’t have a deadline, there’s plenty to do! My employees work 9ish-6ish. I try to be very respectful of their private time and don’t often ask them to work late or on weekends. They work so hard when they’re in bossyland; they need to recharge after hours.
What do you like most about your job?
I LOVE my job, which is why I don’t mind working so much. The creative part is why I went into this field –- putting colors and textures together, figuring out what furniture is best for a particular room, creating cohesive spaces that inspire my clients –- but it turns out that I don’t mind the entrepreneurial aspect, either. Running your own business is hard work, and it’s not for everyone. If you want to do creative work 100% of the time, there’s nothing wrong with joining someone else’s firm. I think many people who go into this field think they HAVE to start their own company at some point. Not true.
What do you dislike most about your job?
I hate accounting and tracking orders, but that’s why I hire awesome people to help me :)
What kinds of problems do you face in your business?
Every small business has to deal with the “feast or famine” nature of work. You’re either trying to find excellent clients, or you’re so overwhelmed with work that you can’t catch your breath.
What kinds of decisions do you have to make?
In terms of decision-making, we again can divide my job into two parts: the Designer part and the CEO part. In the design realm, I get to decide what design plan will best work for my clients. In the simplest terms, this involves making lots of selections: fabric for window treatments, bedding, and pillows; rugs; wallcovering (paint, wallpaper, etc.); furniture, lights, accessories, etc.
In the CEO realm, I have to make tough decisions about the business itself. What projects are we going to take on, how do we sign clients that are a good fit for bossy color, what marketing efforts will serve the business best, who are the best people to be working at bossy color. It’s not easy, but it’s very satisfying.
What would you say to someone who wants to be an interior designer?
Look at what I did and do it all differently! First, go to school. Second, work in someone’s firm. I do NOT think it’s a good idea to start your own business right off the bat the way I did. Work with other people first. Learn from experts. Learn how other firms operate. Get a clear vision of what you’d like your business to look like before — and if — you take the leap.
I heard Charlotte Moss give a lecture several years ago, and she said the most fascinating thing. She said (and I’m paraphrasing), “If you want to be an interior designer and you have some talent, that’s fine. But if you DON’T have any talent, work harder.” I think it would be difficult to be a successful designer if you don’t have a good eye, but a good eye will never outweigh hard work.
How much money do interior designers make?
We’ll, we’re not working for free, that’s for sure! As with any profession, you start out not making a lot of money –- and if you run your own business, you may not make ANY money for a few years. But if you work hard, work SMART, have a good plan and good people working with you, you’ll do well. Getting paid to do what you love is the ultimate success.
Quoted most recently in The Washington Post and on Washingtonian.com, Annie Elliott is an expert in curated interiors, brilliant color palettes, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible. All pictures are bossy color’s work by the fabulous Michael K. Wilkinson.
