Licensing

• Some states require that interior designers have a college degree in interior design and are licensed by the state to practice. Interior decorators do not need such a license, because they do not deal with structural or architectural matters.
  
  A professional decorator may, however, be a member of the Certified Interior Decorators International (CID) organization. The CID provides certification for professionally trained and practicing decorators. This certification and membership is not required, but wholesalers may not sell to a decorator who is not certified.
  
  

Education

• Because no state licensing is required, anyone with a talent for decorating and a clientele can claim the career title of interior decorator. An interior decorator need not have a college degree or formal training, but if she wishes to gain certification and membership in the CID, she will need to attend an accredited school and earn her degree.
  
  

Function

• An interior decorator may serve as a consultant to homeowners or businesses alike in matters of décor. She may be hired to redecorate an existing space, or perhaps to update it or reorganize it to suit another purpose.
  
  An interior decorator coordinates paint colors with fabric colors, chooses fabrics and furnishings suitable for the room's purpose and arranges it all to make the room accessible and comfortable. She selects window treatments, flooring treatments and accessories. She does all of this within a designated budget and all to the purpose of creating a functional and pleasant space.
  
  

Specialties

• A decorator needs to have a full understanding of the many different interior design styles and how those styles are achieved. A decorator may choose to specialize in one or two designs, however. For example, a decorator may specialize in Asian and modern styles, or Southwest and Santa Fe styles.
  
  He may also specialize in one aspect of decorating, such as window treatments, flooring, color schemes or furniture layout. A decorator who specializes in one or two specific areas may choose to work in a retail environment or as a consultant.
  
  

Practicing

• The interior decorator as a consultant may draw up plans, design a sample chart of colors, fabrics and furnishings, or work with the client to plan, purchase and install the particular decorative element that is her specialty.
  
  For more encompassing projects, the decorator may act as a kind of general contractor, coordinating the purchase and installation of all goods associated with the project.
  
  Though an interior decorator need not be concerned with the infrastructure of a building, she does need to understand how it relates to room layout. In practice, a decorator needs to take into account such things as window and door placement, locations of outlets and vents, and traffic patterns in order to create a usable, livable space for the client.