The Truth about Working in the Interior Design Industry

You may be considering joining the interior design industry. Maybe, like me, you always knew interior design was your calling (or at least one of your callings). The interior design industry is pretty vast. Meaning, there are many pockets within the interior design industry you could find a profession in.

You could be a flooring expert, a custom fabricator, a furniture sales rep, or a closet designer, those are just a few possibilities. My point is, there are so many people included in this industry besides just interior designers and decorators. 

With all these different trades coming together, there is bound to be some friction. And I think for the most part this could be true for any industry, right?

Well, an experience I had got me thinking. I recently went to a women’s networking event in downtown Toronto. We were all going around and sharing who we are and what we do. There was a woman there who shared her experience being a kitchen and bath designer (which is actually my first profession in the field). And she proclaimed…

“the interior design industry is SO toxic, I had to leave, it was awful!”

I was taken aback. The next thing you know I am sharing my story and saying; “Well, I’ve been running my interior design firm for 6 years..” Hahaha, it was quite interesting to see the contrast in our enthusiasm for the industry…but it did get me thinking…

Is the interior design industry toxic?

Hmmm, I started to reflect and realized with over 6 years knee-deep into the industry, I’ve seen some things. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the plain hideous side of the interior design industry. I mean, I have many many many horror stories of my experiences within the interior design industry and I will tell you one in this post (keep reading). I would tell you a good story, but, let’s face it…people want to hear the drama! It’s just how we’re wired. So I’ll give the people what they want.

Let’s discuss working with contractors…

I can’t tell you how many times my clients have told me  “my contractor says he hates designers!”. And I just kind of chuckle and say “well, I’m different, I’m sure they’ll like working with me.”

I even ask the contractor, “hey, what do you have against working with designers?”. And I always get an answer like….

“OMG you designers are so picky and don’t realize what is realistic and what is not! One time I was working with a designer and they wanted me to redo the whole floor because fjsefwgwlekfrnf wnfg and then they jwfjnwaklfnwnf told me to put afdakfnwnfwejf…………sfdngnskfsf  f@k!”

They always end up telling me some emotionally charged story about a really crappy designer. But, I mean, I didn’t hear the other side of the story. And I’m sure the designer would probably have some less-than-pleasant things to say about the contractor. It’s one of those he-said-she-said situations that I rather avoid getting into. 

What does being an Interior Designer involve?

As a designer, my job involves mostly juggling a million things and managing a bunch of people. Design is only about 15% of it. I don’t think people really realized what an interior designer who runs their own firm really does.

Whenever I tell people about my profession they go “Oh wow! That sounds like sooooo much fun! Can you tell me what paint colour I should choose for XYZ?!…..”. It’s almost as if they discredit how much work it actually is. Some people really think I just buy pretty pillows all day. I mean, that would be nice but that’s not the reality of the job.

You see, the truth is, is that the interior design industry is not all that glamorous.

Don’t get me wrong, I do have fun doing my job. BUT like with any career, there are a lot of things that I have to do that are no fun.

Besides design, being a designer involves; managing the trades (which is a bit like pulling teeth) rectifying deficiencies (which is worse than pulling teeth), and pleasing the client(s). That’s the no-frills truth. Oh, and there is a lot of paperwork and numbers involved, after all – it is a business! Get yourself an accountant, seriously.

I am not going to get into my complaints about managing the tradesmen and rectifying deficiencies. But trust me, these are the pain points for every designer. Mostly, because we lose control of this part of the transformation. We hand our vision over to tradesmen to execute. Which means trusting someone else to work at the same level of integrity as we do. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t always work out the way we’d hoped.

I can wow my clients with my design, my responsiveness and my overall designer-magic. However, I cannot actually do the renovation myself. I mean, trust me I would if I could. But I’m not so good at chopping an onion so I wouldn’t trust myself with a saw.

An experience I had working in the interior design industry…

Instead of complaining about the not-so-cool parts of my job, let me tell you a story (one of many). That is quite entertaining and a little disturbing. 

So, a few years back I got a call. And I get many phone calls considering my number is posted online. At least once a day I get a spam call telling me I won a trip to Zimbabwe, how exhilarating. Anyway, so I get a call and it’s a really pleasant and enthusiastic contractor, let’s call him Thomas. Thomas the contractor tells me he is looking for a local designer to work with to help him with his projects by guiding his clients’ design choices. I’m like “cool, my consultation charge is X, if you’re happy to pay I’m happy to help.” He pays me, and I’m off on my way to meet with his clients. I impress the clients, and they end up hiring me to transform their home office and family room.

Here’s how the home office turned out, I am in love with the desk! The desk was created by https://oakandtenon.com/

So anyway, back to the story…

So, things were going well between Thomas the contractor, the clients and I. Side note, I’ve never met Thomas the contractor before. But in this day n age plenty of people have online-only relationships. So, I didn’t think much of it.

The process continues and we are working alongside each other to bring the vision to life. I designed this super sleek fireplace that the clients and I were super excited to see come to life. The construction process was going well, and the clients were happy. And I thought “great, I FINALLY found a good, reliable, contractor.” ☺️

Boy, was I wrong.

The client tells me that the construction is starting to wrap up, and I’m thinking awesome!! Cannot wait to see the transformation.

So I text Thomas the contractor “Hey Thomas! Can you please send me a photo of the finished fireplace, I’m soooo excited to see it.”

I put my phone on my kitchen table and start to eat some cereal. I believe it was rice krispies with a spoon full of sugar and oat milk.

From the corner of my eye, I see a notification from WhatsApp. I see a little icon of something that looked like a picture of an arm…

I start to chew slower, like hmm…that does not look like a fireplace……

So, I grab my phone and see that it was indeed NOT a picture of the fireplace…

Does anyone remember that show about the train named Thomas, ‘Thomas & Friends’…

Let’s just say that Thomas the contractor sent me a photo of his chimney…if you catch my drift.

Yeah, the lesson learned was: be careful who you do business with.

But, here is an actual photo of the fireplace, how lovely is it?!!

So, thinking back to the woman’s statement that “the interior design industry is SO toxic”, do I think it’s true?

I mean, it can surely be her truth. 

So, what is the truth about working in the interior design industry?

In my option, the ‘ugly truth’ about the interior design industry is that it’s not so glamorous, it’s very competitive and it can be extremely tiresome. 

Wait, I guess that does sound a bit toxic. You know, it’s kinda like your ex you can’t leave alone, is it toxic or is it just passionate?

Like all things in life, it depends on your perspective. 

The ‘pretty truth’ is that it’s extremely rewarding. It’s so rewarding to get to the end result that you pretty much forget all the pains of getting there (I heard that giving birth is the same). But seriously, it’s super rewarding to work with super amazing clients. I love transforming their house into a home that is functional and aesthetically pleasing. That’s why I do what I do. 

So if you’re a super amazing client, contact me and let’s work together. If not, thanks for reading!