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Interior decorator vs home designer

The differences between interior decorators and home designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an interior decorator and a home designer. Additionally, a home designer has an average salary of $66,541, 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 home designer are in-home, customer service, and design solutions.

Interior decorator vs home designer overview

Interior DecoratorHome Designer
Yearly salary$47,169$66,541
Hourly rate$22.68$31.99
Growth rate1%1%
Number of jobs11,19486,223
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

Interior decorator vs home designer salary

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

Interior DecoratorHome Designer
Average salary$47,169$66,541
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $68,000Between $38,000 And $114,000
Highest paying City-Alameda, CA
Highest paying state-Oregon
Best paying company-Best Buy
Best paying industry-Retail

Differences between interior decorator and home designer education

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

Interior DecoratorHome Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorInterior DesignInterior Design
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Interior decorator vs home designer demographics

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

Interior DecoratorHome Designer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 17.1% Female, 82.9%Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4%
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, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage23%23%

Differences between interior decorator and home 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.

Home designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage multiple residential kitchen and bath projects simultaneously from design inception to delivery in a fast pace energetic environment.
  • Prepare hand sketch elevations in perspective views.
  • Design kitchen and bath building and renovation projects for consumer and commercial customers, coordinating credit applications and processing payments.
  • Monitor orders utilizing POS system.
  • Manage multiple residential kitchen and bath projects simultaneously from design inception to delivery in a fast pace energetic environment.

Interior decorator vs home 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 home designer skills
  • In-Home, 35%
  • Customer Service, 31%
  • Design Solutions, 16%
  • Space Planning, 3%
  • Sales Associates, 3%
  • Retail Sales, 3%

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