How to Learn Decorating

Distance Learning

• Distance-learning specialty schools offer interior decorating programs that allow you to study from your own home and provide the education and tools for you to launch your own decorating business. These courses allow you to set a study schedule that fits your lifestyle. The coursework typically incorporates a variety of books, pamphlets, videos, online resources and decorating projects. Some schools also assign a professional mentor to help you with decorating-related study questions and concerns. These programs are often divided into units with an assigned, realistic decorating project at the end of each unit. Typically, you'll be required to mail each completed project to the school for evaluation. After it's graded, the project is sent back to you with helpful comments. The length of these programs can range from three to 18 months, depending on how quickly you complete the units. Many schools offer a certification in interior decorating upon satisfactory completion of their required coursework.

Online Resources

• Several online resources offer a wide variety of interior decorating information. Furniture stores and paint manufacturers often provide free online decorating advice, interactive room-planning programs, paint selection tips and other decorating-related guidance. Online blogs that are developed by professional decorators also offer solutions for typical decorating dilemmas, such as how to make a small room appear more spacious, color schemes for creating a serene master bedroom, and ways to make a large room cozier. You can learn a lot about interior decorating by subscribing to your favorite decorating blogs.

Printed Materials

• Your public library is a great resource for borrowing books to learn about interior decorating. Acquire your own decorating resources by purchasing hardback or electronic books to create a personal library filled with your favorite decorating books. Home decorating magazines in soft cover or electronic form also provide numerous learning opportunities through how-to pictorial decorating projects and real-life decorating problems and solutions. Home improvement stores often supply free color inspiration cards for you to study and use in your own home. These are great learning tools to help you visualize and become familiar with aesthetically pleasing color schemes for decorating interior spaces. Many newspapers also contain a weekly home section with tips and tricks to help you learn how to solve decorating dilemmas.

Professional Decorator

• Professional decorators can supply you with a wealth of decorating expertise. Hire a decorator to teach you specific aspects of decorating, such as color consultation, room layout or furniture arrangement. Some professional decorators also offer online webinars to share basic decorating principles and techniques. Decorators often charge a small fee for you to participate in these online webinars, although you can occasionally find them for free. You can also inquire about working for a professional decorator to learn the business from the ground up. This is a hands-on approach that can earn you money while you're learning the trade.