Interior Designers are Detail Masters

I was thinking about lampshades the other day, as one does, and went down a thought rabbit-hole about how seemingly simple a lampshade is - but in reality, there are a lot of components and considerations to getting it just right.

Lampshade Specifications:

• Material - outer

• Material - inner

• Material - trim

• Material - diffuser

• Trim type

• Harp style

• Harp height

• Harp color

• Spider Type

• Spider Color

• Shade style

• Shade height

• Shade top width

• Shade bottom width

The above specs are just for a lampshade - not even an entire lamp. And if numerous details need to be considered when purchasing a simple lampshade, what about all the other specs that an interior designer must consider for the several hundred items that go into a home. Thousands and thousands of details.

Interior designers must remember to select a harp color and style for example, but most of the time they also remember exactly what that specification is for that particular lamp and how it all works together in the space.

The Vast Knowledge of Interior Designers

Interior designers don’t just know their own domain, they usually have a good (if not great) working knowledge of the specialties of each trade - tile, plumbing, lighting, flooring, window coverings, wallpaper, construction, furniture construction, upholstery, electricity, etc.

Interior designers are highly skilled professionals, required to know and retain vast amounts of knowledge and specifications. They’re usually required to be the jack-of-all-trades in managing clients’ design projects, knowing the details and how everything comes together. I’m not sure that anyone else on a job site comes close to an interior designer in the breadth of knowledge they must know as well as keep at the ready in their mind.

Of the thousands and thousands of details that interior designers must consider, most of them aren’t used for every project. But just because one client doesn’t need a bespoke lampshade, doesn’t mean the designer doesn’t know how to select and specify one. And again, this is just a lampshade.

So what’s the point of this article? I’m not sure.

Maybe to remind you interior designers are magical. All those details!

Maybe to give you a little boost of confidence. Look at how much you know and have to keep in your brain!

A talking point when a person (client, vendor, family, contractor) thinks that all you do is fluff pillows and shop? Do you know that a single lampshade has at least 14 different components to consider and specify? Multiply that by the hundreds of items in a home and we interior designers have to consider and put together thousands and thousands of detailed specifications to create a room that looks effortless and beautiful?

Maybe to encourage you to stop hiding your magic and downplaying our time and expertise to clients? There are 14 different components to a lampshade that I considered to make sure yours was absolutely perfect, that is why there is an hour on your time billing invoice.

Maybe to remind you that all your time is valuable and should be billed - even if it does take you an hour to spec a lampshade.

So… what are your thoughts on lampshades?

About The Author

Hi! I’m Capella and I’m an interior designer who helps fellow designers build their businesses. Forget secrecy and competition, I believe designers should support and uplift each other. By helping and boosting one another, we can elevate the business of interior design together! Hang around a bit and I’ll share all the business “secrets” no one else wants to talk about.