Create Style With Our Interior Decorating Program

The goals and values of Ashworth College; time management; creating a realistic weekly and monthly study schedule; the nature and purpose of assessments; how to study effectively to prepare for and take an online examination; developing the skill sets necessary for success in the twenty-first century.

Evaluating your business idea; setting yourself apart from the competition; market testing; investment funding and donation funding; qualities of an entrepreneur; crowdfunding and angel investors.

Characteristics of an interior decorator; furniture showrooms and home studios; allied professionals; working with clients; client files and purchase orders.

Measuring tools; wall terminology; the measuring and scale-drawing process; widths, depths, and heights; considering electricity and heating; drawing the floor plan.

Using an architect’s scale; placing furniture; using furniture templates; creating a presentation plan; measuring a floor plan and explaining its contents to clients.

Businesses and markets available to the trade; vendor pricing methods; gaining access to resources; creating a resource library.

Roles and responsibilities of decorators and designers; relationships of allied professionals; history of the decorating profession; understanding the design process and scope of services.

Decorating and design theories from both a physical and psychological perspective; universal design; special populations; evidence-based design; environmental responsibility.

Structural versus decorative design; understanding space, line, shape, mass, texture, light, color, and pattern; applying scale, proportion, balance, rhythm, emphasis, and harmony; attributes of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman styles.

Color properties, dimensions, theories, and schemes; psychological and physiological effects; influence of color on design principles and elements; color in finishes, fabrics, and furnishings; using the standard color wheel.

Construction processes and components; structural classifications and terms; major building codes and federal regulations; sustainable construction alternatives.

Lighting goals, regulations, and LEED opportunities; light quantity versus quality; natural and artificial light sources; lighting fixtures and luminaries; selecting lighting fixtures for function, aesthetics, and economics; identifying visual communication plans and symbols related to lighting, electrical, and communication systems.

Spatial relationships and furniture scale; furnishing sizes and clearance requirements; negative space requirements; determining square footage.

Requirements of residential and commercial public and private zones; guidelines pertaining to design principles, traffic flow, and site orientation; sustainable solutions for space planning; organization systems related to alignment and manipulation; functional and economic benefits of residential and commercial floor plans.

Design characteristics of non-resilient, wood, and resilient flooring; carpet and rug design characteristics based on content and construction; sustainable flooring alternatives; handmade rug styles; characteristics of carpet padding; estimating carpet quantities; using floor coverings to solve a design problem.

Ceiling construction; design characteristics of ceiling materials, wall materials, paint, and finishes; wall, baseboard, and ceiling molding; estimating wallcovering quantities.

Furniture and accessories available in today’s market; identifying quality craftsmanship in furniture construction; types of wood appropriate for furniture construction; construction techniques of upholstered furniture.

Natural and manufactured fibers; principal uses and characteristics of fibers; fabric construction and testing methods; dyeing and finishing methods; common fabrics used in residential interiors; solving decorating problems using textiles.

Window treatment styles, hardware, and design requirements; various types of home accessories and art mediums; selecting and placing art and accessories.

Job opportunities in interior decorating; requirements for starting a decorating business; basic components of a letter of agreement; ethical standards for interior decorators; specialty areas and emerging opportunities in residential interior decorating.