Interior Design: The Hidden Truth
January 6, 2011What Risks Follow Poor Design Decisions If The Person Hired For The Job Is NOT Qualified!
Their offices are laboratories where master plans are devised. Their minds are incubators of the most creative ideas imaginable. And their expert execution and delivery are the catalysts for the ultimate in any interior environment. So with all this ingenuity – which is sought out and demanded by the largest and most important companies in the world – why does the true value and importance of the role of interior designers go largely unrecognized by the public and, even more surprisingly, by legislators who are supposed to have their constituents’ best interests at heart?
The act of choosing either a professional interior designer or decorator has more to do with health, welfare and safety rather than choosing paints and fabric – Your very first decision regarding your project at hand, could be the most important. When, for example, a commercial design project is turned upside down due to the lack of expertise and education of the one hired to carry it out, there will be a high price to pay – not just in dollars, but with respect to the hiring company’s reputation. The ramifications ensuing from design mistakes that cause an individual physical harm, for example, may include the injured party unleashing a battery of legal action upon those who may be responsible. And who will the courts order to pick up the hefty check for such a disaster? If your state doesn’t recognize interior designers, it will be you! Picture this: Something as simple as the incorrect tile being placed in a commercial foyer could become a legal nightmare for the proprietor should a customer slip and tumble after a rainstorm or snowfall. When you are being sued for broken bones over something as seemingly innocent as a simple tile, you will wish you had hired an interior designer, and not a decorator, because the latter was not qualified, not licensed, and not insured – and chances are very high that you, and not they, will not be found legally responsible.
This potential legal mess can be a disaster, with everyone pointing fingers and placing blame on anyone but themselves. Precious time and dollars will be wasted backtracking and unweaving the web of who hired whom and why. If not the proprietor, then the builder, the tile manufacturer, or the tile supplier can and may ultimately take the fall – but again, if your state doesn’t recognize interior designers, the one who is really responsible will unfortunately not be the one forced to come clean.
For years, Linda Thomas, ASID, IIDA, president of the Coalition for Interior Design Registration (CIDR) and past president of the Michigan chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has been fighting this legislative battle in Michigan – not only for those of us interior designers who are certified by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ), but also for the health, welfare and safety for all end users: the consumers. Thomas says, “In this day and age, anyone can call himself or herself an ‘interior designer.’ If you sold shoes last week, you can become an interior designer this week with no education or training. This is not only very sad, but puts the public at great risk.”
So please, empower the interior design profession by working with your state legislators to require interior designers to be licensed. The State of Illinois requires interior designers to be licensed, but our Great Lakes neighbor, Michigan, refuses to place any importance on such a career or profession. No matter what state you reside in, if you’re considering either a commercial or residential renovation or new build, understand that there is more to making an interior aesthetically pleasing – it must be safe for all to enjoy.
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