Introduction to Interior Design

Introduction to Interior Design

Learn to transform plain living spaces into beautiful and functional rooms. This course will teach you how to design every aspect of a room while taking into account color theory, industry trends, special arrangements, floor plans, design ideas, and interior design basics.

6 Weeks Access / 24 Course Hrs
  • Details
  • Syllabus
  • Requirements
  • Instructor
  • Reviews
$129.00

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$129.00
Self-Guided

Details

Are you a creative person with an eye for design? If so, this course will show you how to transform plain living spaces into beautiful and functional rooms.

Interior design takes training as well as talent, and these lessons will give you the know-how you need to design a room from floor to ceiling. You'll delve into color theory, industry trends, spatial arrangements, floor plans, traditional and modern interior design ideas, and other basics. In addition, you'll explore a range of careers in interior design and get insider tips for entering this exciting field.

Because interior design is constantly evolving, you'll also learn about some of the latest trends affecting the industry. You'll investigate "green" sustainable design, and you'll find out how to modify your designs for people with special needs.

As you master design skills step-by-step, you'll complete your first project: a fully developed room design complete with spatial layout, lighting, and finish selections. Your new knowledge and hands-on practice will give you the confidence you need to start creating beautiful residential interiors for yourself and others.

Syllabus

This first lesson will open your eyes to all the career possibilities available to you in the world of interior design, and particularly in the realm you'll be focusing on: residential design. You'll explore the wide range of opportunities and challenges you'll encounter as you design these spaces, whether you're creating a comfortable family room or outfitting a sleek urban penthouse. Then you'll take a look at the other side of design, the commercial sphere, where interior designers create everything from exclusive boutique hotels to Madison Avenue retail storefronts. This lesson also explains the differences between interior design and interior decoration so that you can choose the discipline that suits you best. By the end of this lesson, you'll be familiar with many types of careers you probably never knew existed. With this introduction, you'll be on your way to becoming part of the design community.

This lesson will introduce you to the specialized drawing tools interior designers use to help them create and present their designs. Then you'll explore some fundamental concepts—the elements of design—that will serve as the building blocks of all the compositions you create. Finally, you'll review the principles of design—guidelines for combining these elements into beautiful compositions. If you already feel confident in your abilities to design, this lesson will give you a checklist to make sure your designs work visually. If you're a bit nervous or insecure about creating your designs, these skills will provide a safety net to assure that your designs are harmonious and beautiful.

This lesson takes you on a journey throughout the past and present, and prepares you for your future designs as you explore a plethora of design styles. You'll begin in the Renaissance in Italy and move throughout Europe, from England to Germany, and learn about the progression of interior spaces into the modern age. You'll then discover the latest trends of today and see which styles are the most popular in cutting-edge homes. Finally, you'll go around the world and look at how the unique cultures around the world can help you create unique styles that you can incorporate into homes today.

This lesson will cover one of the most popular topics of interior design—color! You'll start off by briefly exploring the science behind color and why people see the way they do. Then you'll learn about a tool to help you start building harmonious color palettes. Next, you'll take a look at some of the surprising things that can happen when you put the wrong colors together. By knowing about these unexpected optical illusions, you'll be able to prevent mistakes in your own designs. Finally, you'll learn about the various cultural associations people have with color and discover how you can influence the mood of others through the colors you select for your designs.

As an interior designer, you can let your imagination run wild—but how can you make sure that the ideas in your head materialize in the space you're designing? That's where architectural drawings come in. They communicate the designer's vision to the clients, the contractors, the architect, and others. In this lesson, you'll get an overview of the kinds of drawings that interior designers use throughout the design process. You'll learn to identify and read various types of technical drawings, including floor plans, elevations, sections, and details. Then you'll explore drawings in three-dimensions while learning about axonometric, one-point, and two-point perspective presentation drawings.

Sharpen those pencils because this lesson is going to get down to the nitty-gritty of design. You'll use feet and inches as you look at the guidelines and standard measurements that are the industry-wide rules of thumb when planning spaces. Before you can think three-dimensionally, you've got to start with a simple piece of paper and an architect's scale and make sure that you can get all the necessities to fit within a space—where they're comfortable without being tight and spacious without feeling empty.

So, your space is all laid out. But your clients won't be living in a graph paper world! In this lesson, you'll explore the various types of materials that you can use to achieve beautiful interiors. You'll look into a wide range of finishes, which include natural materials (including stone and wood), synthetic materials (tile, laminate, and resilient flooring to name a few), and carpet. By the end of this lesson, you'll have the knowledge to start transforming your pencil-and-paper notions into a full-color, textural space!

As an interior designer, you'll spend a lot of time dealing with textiles. Fabrics, after all, cover the interior world—from bedding to window treatments to upholstery. In this lesson, you'll get an introduction to the various types of fibers available, as well as their various strengths and weaknesses, so that you can make the best selection for each application. After mastering the various types of textile goods, you'll take a closer look at where you'll be using these fabrics, starting with the various styles of bedding and pillows. You'll finish up the lesson with windows—or, more precisely, window treatments—and get some pointers on how to successfully design draperies that will beautifully frame the transition between your stunning interior design and nature's beauty of the outdoors.

Light is one of the most important elements, but also one of the trickiest ones to get right in an interior space. This lesson will explain the psychology behind good lighting design and help you create the right effect in your space while making it visually interesting without becoming overwhelming or flat and dull. You'll also become familiar with the various types of light fixtures available to use in your designs and learn how to select from the many types of artificial light sources available on the market today.

With the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, barriers were literally removed, allowing a previously excluded population access to spaces meant for everyone. In this lesson, you'll explore how to incorporate some of the requirements of this act into the home, creating spaces that allow retirees to age gracefully in their homes. And for users with more specific disabilities, you'll learn how to adapt their spaces to allow them to maintain their independence through your design choices.

Increasingly, people in the world are becoming aware that humanity has limited resources at its disposal. Many in the interior design industry are pioneering new ways of designing that look at the life cycle of a product and consider the environmental implications. In this lesson, you'll learn about green design, which is the art of creating beautiful spaces that are efficient in their use of energy and natural resources. You'll learn about various types of green certification so that you aren't mislead by false claims and explore specific things you'll want to consider when dealing with certain types of products.

In this lesson, the course culminates with practical advice on how to set up and run your own interior design business. You'll get some suggestions on how to set up your studio by determining the legal business structure, advice on how to look the part, and practical recommendations for outfitting your space. Then, you'll move on to the fine art of getting and serving clients, including suggestions on marketing yourself and setting your pricing structure so you can make money doing what you love. Finally, you'll receive some advice as you navigate the construction process with your contractors, clients, and vendors.

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.


Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor

Sarah Smallwood

Sarah Smallwood is a licensed interior designer and design strategist. She has a bachelor's degree in interior design and a minor in architecture and an MFA in Design Management. Sarah's passion lies in the area of hospitality design, and her work encompasses a wide range of projects ranging from small independent hotels to large international hospitality chains (such as Marriott International) to the Cosmopolitan casino on the Las Vegas strip. She has worked for leading design and architecture firms in Dallas, Seattle, and New York City, as well as retail clients including Nordstrom. In addition, she has designed interiors for corporations, senior housing projects, and urban condominium projects. She independently works with individuals and families to help them create uniquely personalized homes.

Reviews

This course sparked an even stronger desire in me to learn beyond what I learned here, which is the highest compliment I can extend. Sarah's lessons were so informative and never boring. She also gives you strong support and positive encouragement along the way in the discussion area. I recommend this course highly to anyone interested in interior decorating and design, either just for their own personal use or as a career. And I envy you lucky people who will be having Sarah as their instructor in the future! I'll miss her and this course!

This course was a little bit of work and a lot of fun. I truly enjoyed Sarah's style; her enthusiasm for her profession comes through in the material, assignments, quizzes & discussions. Although I have a lot of experience in interior design (many, many, remodeled homes), I have no formal training. The course fairly devotes time to both residential & commercial and I found myself learning new things and having existing skills reinforced. Great experience and many thanks!

I totally enjoyed taking this fun class. I will be able to use it in the future when I move into my new home. Sarah was an excellent teacher and I would strongly suggest to anyone to take this class because of her wealth of knowledge in design and her teaching skills.

This class increased my interior design knowledge in important areas of design, architectural language, color, lighting, materials, universal design and more. This is knowledge I can use immediately in my own home. Besides the excellent lesson content, the instructor's discussion area conversation was personable and information-packed too. Thank you so much!

Sarah, I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful course! You have done such a great job with the information and sharing your experiences. Also, thank you for sharing your resources. I have gained a lot of knowledge and have an idea of how and where to start looking for style, inspiration and furnishings. One of the deciding factors to take this particular course was your reviews from previous students. They were right about how lucky anyone would be to have you as an instructor and that they would miss you after the class was over. They are right! I really appreciate your detailed answers to the questions asked in this class. Your answers have been so helpful! I also have a new appreciation for other styles as the minimal luxe is now very appealing to me!

Sarah did a wonderful job teaching this class. I really appreciated the way she was very friendly in her answers to students' questions. Also, the thoughtful and detailed explanations to these questions were extremely helpful. Thanks for everything. One of the best classes I have taken through ed2go!

Self-Guided Course Code: T14286
Instructor-Moderated Course Code: ind