Learn Interior Design

• Create spaces that look good and are functional
• Explore options for decoration and furnishings
• Apply practical and artistic skills for better results within a budget
• Homes, work spaces, -any interiors. 

Course Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

Lesson 1.  Scope and Nature of Interior Design

• Introductory Considerations
• Interior Designers & Skills Required
• History of Interior Design
• Popular Styles
• Trends
• Decorating with Colour
• Decorating with Texture
• Wabi-sabi
• Decorating with Pattern
• Decorating with Artwork
• Decoration with Features
• Principles
• Other Influential Design Components
  
  

Lesson 2.  Choosing Components

• Introduction
• Paints
• Hard Materials. metal etc - glass, masonry, polymers, stone, tiles, plasterboard
• Floor Treatments
• Finishes
• Soft Materials and Accessories
• Choosing Furnishings
• Window Coverings
• Design Brief
• Preparing Colour Samples and Materials Boards
• Preserving Nature in Interior Design
• Indoor/Outdoor Rooms and Spaces
• Using and Placing Indoor Plants
  
  

Lesson 3.  Choosing Services

• Introduction
• Types of Services -electricity, gas, water, telecommunications
• Heating and Cooling
• Managing Heat Transfer
• Heating Options
• Hot Water Systems
• Lighting
• Ambient Lighting
• Task Lighting
• Accent Lighting
• Electrical Outlets & Light Switches
• Telephone and Internet
• Water Supply
• Other Services
• Smart Building Solutions
• Robots for Cleaning
• Collaboration in Creative Processes
• On site Safety
  
  

Lesson 4. Redesigning an Old Building

• Ethics and Legalities
• Ethics of Building Preservation
• What is Regulated
• Planning Consent
• Heritage and Conservation Areas
• Evaluating the Site
• Creativity
• Determining a Client Goals
• Changes? - Restoration, Renovation or Design
• Redecoration
• Reorganisation/Altering Space
• Drawing Floor Plans
  
  

Lesson 5. Designing a New Building

• Role of a Designer
• Colour and Aesthetics
• Physical Features
• Practical Features
• Luxury Features and Quality
• Resources
• Structures -considering size, level, straightness, type of materials
• Sound and sound proofing
• Acoustic Panels
• Properties of Different Materials - Thermal, Electrical, Environmental, Economic, etc
• Technology in Design
• Sensors and Robotics in New Home Design
• Design Simulation
• CAD Design Process
  
  

Lesson 6. Altering Spaces

• Working with a Brief
• Spatial Awareness
• Photos, Sketches, Accurate Measurements
• Levelling
• Using Computer Software
• Spatial Planning
• Use of Space - storage, work, social, private
• Design Considerations - axis lines, focal points
• Creating Flow
• Creating Specific Areas
• Using Views
• Functionality, Proportion, Scale
• The Kitchen Triangle Design
• Altering Existing Spaces -Extensions, Conversions
• Recreating Original Styles
• Workplace Interiors.
  
  

Lesson 7. Organising the Interior

• Introduction
• Design Decisions for Organising Space - Harmony, unity, balance, scale, proportion, rhythm, contrast, details
• Reorganisation
• Temporary or Permanent Change
• Creating Ambience
• Reorganising Furnishings
• Maximising Use of Space -Decluttering, distancing, space saving furniture, using smaller items, using walls, visual effects
• Storage Example - Butlers pantry
• Creating Open Plan Spaces
  
  

Lesson 8. Designing for Health & Wellbeing

• Introduction
• Interior Materials for Better Health - paints, natural paint
• Managing Bacteria, Rots, other Biological Hazards
• Adhesives, Fabrics
• Feng Shui
• Biophilic Design
• Green Design
• Ergonomics
• The Psychology of Interior Design
  
  

Lesson 9. Budgeting

• Budgeting Priorities, Timing, Feasibility
• Managing a Project
• Implementing an Operational Plan
• Controlling a Project
• Creating a GANTT Chart
• Critical Path Analysis
• Invoicing
• Bad Debts
  
  

Lesson 10. Special Project

Four parts to this project 

• Choose a room to design
• Research design considerations
• Prepare a design
• Report on your design

• Describe different styles of interior design and their relationship to aesthetic and functional criteria, relative to varied historical and cultural contexts. 
  
  
• Discuss options and criteria used to choose the components used in an interior design including furnishings, wall and floor treatments, colour choices and decoration.  
  
  
• Determine services to be incorporated into an interior and where to install them. 
  
  
• Determine options for interior improvements in an old interior and compare the possibilities.
  
  
• Determine options for interior development of a new interior and compare the possibilities.
  
  
• Explain how spatial awareness and spatial planning skills can be used to alter spaces.
  
  
• Explain how an interior might be improved by reorganisation of the components that already exist.
  
  
• Explain how an interior can be designed to more conducive to the wellbeing of the occupants.  
  
  
• Prepare a budget for an Interior Design 
  
  
• Create a design for two rooms.

Do You Have the Potential and Commitment to become a Good Interior Designer?

Interior design appeals to many different types of individuals. There is no “typical” interior designer. It may be someone interested in –

• Art
• Architecture
• Construction
• Textiles and fabrics
• Upholstery
• Fashion in furnishing
• Design
• Drawing or CAD (computer aided design)

What skills are required to be an interior designer?

• Good design skills
• A good knowledge of interior design
• A knowledge of building and construction
• High attention to detail
• Thoroughness
• Good customer service skills
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal
• A good imagination, to come up with new ideas and ways of doing things
• The ability to work under your own initiative 
• Able to work to tight deadlines and under pressure
• Good team player
• An understanding of design software packages is also useful.