Washington Home & Garden Blogs

If Maryland legislators pass the Interior Designers Licensing bill, interior decorators will no longer be
permitted to answer questions like "Where should I put my microwave?" In fact, hundreds of interior
decorators could find themselves without work.

Interior decorators in Maryland could find themselves without work if an Interior Designers Licensing bill (HB 1168) is approved by the State Legislature. A hearing in the House of Delegates Economics Committee is slated to take place March 17.

Current legislation does not require interior decorators to be licensed in order to do business in Maryland. The new legislation, sponsored by Del. Roger Manno (D - Montgomery Co.), will require all interior designers and interior decorators to obtain a license, pay a licensing fee every two years and pass an qualification test administered by the National Council of Interior Design.

"If this bill passes, in order to continue practicing interior design, you will have to be NCIDQ-certified," writes Laurie Burke at her interior design blog, Kitchen Design Notes. "That means you may have to close down your business and go back to school, or go to work under another licensed designer (if you can even find one willing to hire you) at little or no pay in order to qualify to sit for the NCIDQ exam."

The new legislation would also create a State Board of Interior Designers, made up of seven governor-appointed members: five licensed interior designers, one licensed architect who provides interior design services and a consumer member.

Understandably, many interior decorators are up in arms about this. Given the current state of our economy, closing a legal loophole like this stands to do more harm than good. Reports compiled by the Interior Design Protection Council show that consumers are fully capable of doing their homework when it comes to choosing an interior designer or decorator.

Decorators believe that interior designers are trying to control their competitors by upping the requirements to practice interior design in Maryland. Designers believe interior decorators have the potential to create unsafe space because they don't take into consideration human interaction.

The Washington Post would have you believe the "government-abetted aggression by interior designers against mere decorators" is all a bunch of hooey, or, cartelization mascerading as professionalization.

So what's the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator, anyway? On the surface, both create beautiful spaces. They match paints with fabrics and wallpapers, select and arrange furniture and, essentially, decorate. An interior designer's job extends beyond those surface qualities, however.

"While both an interior designer and interior decorator provide input on aesthetics, the interior designer typically goes beyond that to provide further input on the functionality, efficiency, and safety of a space," according to the Interior Design School Review.

But do you really need a license to offer advice on custard- versus cheesecake-colored walls?

In Texas, a similar war is being waged. Hundreds of interior designers and students marched at the Capitol in Austin last month, asking state legislators to add a definition to books that would limit what interior decorators can do.

Photo: Kitchen Design Notes