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by Lance Filbert
lance.filbert@interiordecoratingschools.net Interior Design Columnist

If you ever had to make a list of an interior designer's jobs, the first item would have to be getting rid of clutter. A good room can be busy, but clutter can be the enemy of a good interior design. Are there bits of absolute junk that you - or your clients - just won't get rid of? Don't fret. Incorporate them into your overall interior design program.

When I rule the universe, two of the first interior decorating classes given to all students at interior design schools would be called Death to Clutter-101 and Designing with Junk-101. Of course, at the top interior design schools, they might call it junque instead of junk - just to be fancy. Whatever you call it, junk, trash, litter, and useless items will be the bane of your career in interior design.

You are Guilty Too

Look around your own space. Even if you've been to the best interior design school in the country, there are probably items in your own personal landscape that should have landed in Sallie's Second Hand Shoppe or on the city dump ages ago. It just goes to prove that one person's treasures may be another person's garbage.

When you enter interior design as a career, you'll just have to get used to working with those prized possessions no matter what you think of them. It's one of the ways you will earn your interior design salary. When you present a client with a carefully drawn study for an interior design and they say, "But where is my collection of teddy bears?" you'll have to be ready with a work-around. You can't tell the customer that the ugly little creatures are out being fumigated for moths and crawly things. Making those teddy bears look good and fit into the overall design is just going to be part of your interior design job description.

About the Author

Lance Filbert is known for his witty and innovative design ideas. He has an extensive arts background and has an arts degree from the City University of New York. He lives in San Francisco with his partner, Bertram, and their cairn terriers, Toto and Toklas.

Posted on July 13, 2005 at 03:06 PM