Meet HGTV, The Fairy Godmother of Interior Design

            We have all heard of HGTV if not watched an episode here and there, but do we ever stop and think if what you we are watching is actually real? I can’t sit here and say one negative thing after the other about the shows on HGTV because I’m pretty sure it was that exact channel that sparked my interest in interior design when I was younger. When I was younger and much more naïve I would watch these shows and think how fun and “easy” interior design was, and how “quick” you could re decorate someone’s entire home. The point that I am trying to get at is that many people who are naïve and oblivious to what the profession of Interior Design is do think that it is a “quick” and “easy” profession and that anyone can do it.

            I really do feel that as entertaining as the shows on HGTV might be sometimes they put off the wrong message about interior designers. On most of the shows on HGTV the designer will come in and instantly produce a beautiful rendering of the space to be redesigned as if by magic. The designer will already have the design crew picked out and the furniture ready to be shipped in a matter of hours. In the real world this is by no means possible, and is the exact reason why I think many people expect an interior designer to just instantly produce a design concept for them and have it done within a matter of days.

            HGTV does not show the weeks of hard work that an interior designer has to put in to the project just to gather a few simple components for their client. We as designers are not fairy godmothers and cannot magically turn a pumpkin of a home into a beautiful horse drawn carriage with the wave of our tape measure. As much as I do wish this was true and possible it isn’t. People need to start understanding that all they see on TV is not true and there is a lot more hard work and labor that goes into their beautiful homes and surroundings.  

Designing on a Moral

We all as designers have dreams of what we want to design in the future, whether it be designing for the rich and famous or commercial interiors for the mentally disabled. While both of those are great dreams and ideas of your future career path I got to thinking what wouldn’t I design. There isn’t much I would turn down when it comes to what I was given to design especially in this economy. I would be happy to take what ever was given to me. There must be something out there that I just couldn’t design. The reason I wouldn’t be able to design it would have to be for reasons that went against my morals and beliefs. Some people look at morals as your religion, your political stand point, or maybe even your ethics. I base my morals mostly off of my religion and treating others how I would like to be treated. So when this idea of what I wouldn’t design came up as did the idea of designing an abortion clinic.

            Do I think I could ever muster up the courage to design something as gruesome as an abortion clinic? If my boss told me I had to design this clinic or I would be let go, do I think I could still do it? I think I would really have to look at my life at that moment and decide whether this job and the company I am with is really worth staying with. Is this company and job are really worth me going completely against what I stand for just to make a pay check? Honestly I don’t know. I want to think that I would say no to the job and quit, but we all know that in this economy doing so would be a death sentence. I need to realize now before stepping into the “real corporate world” of design that some jobs I have to work on might not be all unicorns and sprinkles, and that if I want to survive in this profession I better just bite the bullet and do what I was trained to do, DESIGN.

Man vs. Woman or Architects vs. Interior Designers

            When I researched the term “Interior Designer” in a thesaurus a few words came up as synonyms and related terms. Some listed were: craft, trade, furnishing, lighting, and the two most important, architecture and interior decoration. Although we are all aware that these terms generally go hand in hand together, I found it curious that they can be considered synonyms of each other yet there differences are highly argued and highlighted although one could not survive without the other.

            The reasons why we like to segregate each of these occupations can take all day to discuss but I think the main reason why we argue that these three are so different is due to the type of duties each occupation is to fulfill but also the difference in gender in each field. In the article I just read “A View from the Margin” by Lucinda Kaukas Havenhand she discusses a lot of the issues interior designers and decorators face. One of the major subjects that grabbed my interest was the feminist stereotype of designers and decorators versus the masculinity of the male architect. I feel that her point of saying woman were always considered lesser than men since the beginning of the profession couldn’t of been more spot on.

            I feel that male architects think they are so much more important than interior designers due to the fact that they deal with the main overall structure and don’t fully understand what we as designers do. Maybe they don’t understand what we do or maybe they are just intimidated by what a “Woman” is capable of doing to the interior of “His” building that might take away from the glory of the structure “He” built. Maybe that’s the reason and maybe its not, we can all wonder.

            I believe that an interior designer and an architect can do miracles together within the production of their projects but working together and allowing a since of equality between the two seems to only be a dream.  My dream is for everyone to realize that yes there are three different categories within the field of design; Architects, Interior Design, and Interior Decoration. And yes each occupation has different duties and focus on different areas within the structures design.  But each needs one another to complete a project beautifully and safely.

Destiny or Debt?

First day of class and the teacher already has me thinking…is Interior Design for me? I’m in this for the long run, I’m paying all this money for the degree, and I already have a diploma in Residential design…..I sure dang hope it is!!!! I do love the idea of space and the idea of making space my own or whoever is going to inhabit that space. So I guess that means Interior Design is right for me, right? I do love making people happy when I give them ideas for their home or when I helped my mom fix up my old room when I left for college, making it something other than a “princess” room that she could feel comfortable having her “adult” guests stay in. I personally liked the princess room, but apparently it wasn’t fit for the older crowd. I always enjoyed fixing interior spaces up and making them clean and spotless, and always making sure that every little thing was in its rightful place and that it felt right where it stood. So I guess talking through all of this and realizing how close these thoughts of interior design relate to my home, my childhood, and even my mother. I almost want to say that this profession was meant for me. If fixing up a space and making it entirely something different, beautiful, safe and clean can make me happy then I can only imagine what it would do for those I design for. Making people happy and pleasing people with my achievements has always been very important to me and it seems to me to be important to the profession of an Interior Designer. So again I’m guessing that this does mean this profession is the right thing for me. Wow this blogging thing sure helps you realize a lot. Thank GOD I’m sure my mom will be a lot happier with the money spent. Speaking of money spent, I think those who talk poorly about Interior Design as a profession needs to realize how much time we spend learning this field and that we are paying for that time spent learning because we want to be good at Interior Design.  Interior Design is so important in every aspect of life. If doing it is what makes me happy and makes those whom I design for happy than those nay-sayers can just be another critic that I am happy to ignore.