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Interior decorator vs designer

The differences between interior decorators and designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an interior decorator, becoming a designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $47,169 average annual salary of an interior decorator.

The top three skills for an interior decorator include customer service, in-home and space planning. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.

Interior decorator vs designer overview

Interior DecoratorDesigner
Yearly salary$47,169$66,347
Hourly rate$22.68$31.90
Growth rate1%3%
Number of jobs11,19452,433
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4238
Years of experience412

Interior decorator vs designer salary

Interior decorators and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Interior DecoratorDesigner
Average salary$47,169$66,347
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $68,000Between $45,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City-Seattle, WA
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between interior decorator and designer education

There are a few differences between an interior decorator and a designer in terms of educational background:

Interior DecoratorDesigner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorInterior DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeCornell UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Interior decorator vs designer demographics

Here are the differences between interior decorators' and designers' demographics:

Interior DecoratorDesigner
Average age4238
Gender ratioMale, 17.1% Female, 82.9%Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage23%13%

Differences between interior decorator and designer duties and responsibilities

Interior decorator example responsibilities.

  • Manage Pinterest, Facebook, and Houzz profiles by responding to questions and updating photos.
  • Conduct in-home design and custom window treatment consultations and sales.
  • Demonstrate skillful communication and negotiation skills.
  • Design, modele and render graphically intensive exteriors and interior environments and animations utilizing the latest in visualization technology.
  • Design, modele and render graphically intensive exteriors and interior environments and animations utilizing the latest in visualization technology.

Designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead & design all creative content stemming from apparel design to web identity.
  • Manage various PCB designs utilizing state of the art DFM techniques and comply with company standards.
  • Utilize CSS, DHTML, HTML, and JavaScript for cross browser, cross platform compatibility and consistency.
  • Develop different kinds of functions globally, locally for the development of forms using JavaScript, CSS.
  • Transform customer specifications into usable SolidWorks 3D models and assemblies from which all manufacturing are derived.
  • Process ECR's and ECO's using Windchill.
  • Show more

Interior decorator vs designer skills

Common interior decorator skills
  • Customer Service, 23%
  • In-Home, 11%
  • Space Planning, 8%
  • Custom Furniture, 8%
  • Trade Shows, 5%
  • Design Projects, 4%
Common designer skills
  • Sketch, 10%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • CSS, 5%
  • HTML, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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