Interior Design Ideas and News: Licensing Designers

Please allow me to get on my soapbox for a minute...
 
There is a clothing store in Chicago whose slogan is, "An educated consumer is our best customer."  After running a retail store for 8 years, what that means to me is it's easier to service someone who is confident, knows what they want, and understands the value of what they're considering for purchase.
 
Let me give you an analogy and ask two questions: 
 
1) What is the price of your favorite breakfast cereal?
2) What is the price of a good type of carpet?
 
You probably know the answer about question #1 to the penny , and might be just in the ballpark on #2.  Why?  Because you buy cereal every month, but not carpet!  It's that simple.
 
Many people are embarrassed by their lack of knowledge of home decorating.  I've never understood that.  I'm not embarrassed because I don't know how to change the oil in my car-- I take it to a reputable service shop.  Am I going to pay more than if I did it myself?  Of course.  But I'm not going to be standing in my driveway standing in a puddle of oil, not knowing where to attach all these funny looking extra parts I ended up with...
 
You get the idea. 
 
If you don't like that new cereal you bought, you'll probably throw it out and buy the old standby next week.  If you don't like the guy who changed your oil, you'll probably try someone else in 3 months or 3,000 miles.
 
Unfortunately, you're going to have to live with that paint job that just missed or berber carpet that holds smells and stains-- probably longer than you would like!  Your home is a big investment, so getting a little help is not such an extravagant waste of money.
 
That's why I was glad to see the following headline:
 
Interior Design Ideas from Lifestyles Consulting
" Interior Design World News
Interior Design Title Act Passes in New York (Interior Design)

'Interior Designers' will have to be licensed in the future.
Interior Designers are more like lawyers and doctors than one might think. In the waning hours of the New York Legislature's spring session bill A8587-A came to a vote."


I live in Kentucky and our state is just now putting together standard for interior design and home decorating. Some people in the business might feel threatened by this, but I welcome it: it protects you, the client, and separates the hobbyists from the professionals.

I will now step down from my soapbox ;-)....

Happy Decorating!

Mary Cynthia

http://www.decoratebydesign.com