Interior Decorating
Program Overview
Humber’s Interior Decorating diploma program combines essential creative and practical elements with insights into current design trends. You will learn to:
- cultivate your creative abilities by exploring and ideating clients’ needs and passions to transform their living/work space
- develop, articulate and document your designs to create unique spatial concepts for residential environments
- discover unique residential trends by creating and transforming spaces in various design sectors focusing on the residential environments with opportunities in kitchen/bath, DYI's, staging, real clients and specialty design challenges
- hone your artistic talent and develop your professional skills to launch your career
- implement a versatile combination of presentation skills to generate solutions through hand and computer drafting, craftsmanship, sketching, hand and digital rendering, and graphic skills and layouts
- use the principles and elements of design to formulate original concepts and apply them in 2D and 3D residential design solutions
You will learn from practising professional experts in our design studios. Studio classes provide hands-on experience and training using market-specific materials and trends. Guest speakers, trade shows, field trips and international adventure opportunities await you. Using the latest technology, you will explore the world of design and discover furniture, finishes, lighting, millwork, textiles, objects d’art and essential elements that evolve into unique and extraordinary living spaces.
Our program will complement your creative and technical expertise with essential business training in how to run your own enterprise and manage your own projects. Additionally, you will learn how to understand specifications and how to communicate design ideas effectively to real clients.
Round out your interior decorating education in interior detailing and construction documents along with learning about interdisciplinary platforms and stakeholders (architects, engineers, trades, clients and contractors, and more). Launch your career knowing how mechanical, electrical, plumbing services and building methods work together cohesively on an entire residential design project.
Semester 1 |
|---|
| DEC 108: Colour Theory and Application |
| DEC 109: Sketching Interiors |
| DEC 111: Drafting Interiors |
| DEC 112: Design Fundamentals Studio 1 |
| WRIT 120: Technical Reading and Writing Skills |
Semester 3 |
|---|
| DEC 204: Interior Decorating Studio 3 |
| DEC 212: Interior Styles |
| DEC 216: Computer Drafting 2 |
| DEC 219: Digital Communications 1 |
| Select 1 from the following courses |
| GNED : General Elective |
Semester 4 |
|---|
| DEC 250: Interior Decorating Studio 4 |
| DEC 251: Professional Business |
| DEC 252: Interior Systems |
| DEC 256: Digital Communications 2 |
| Select 1 from the following courses |
| GNED : General Elective |
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
- Analyze client's needs and goals to create a decorating solution.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the completed decorating project based on the specific requirements of the client.
- Communicate using a variety of formats (such as verbal, written, visual, and digital) to describe the decorating concept to the client and contractors.
- Assess and select materials and finishes to be used in the decorating project, to meet the needs of the client.
- Prepare technical documents as necessary for the implementation of the final decorating solution.
- Collaborate with a variety of design and decorating professionals and other industry specialists for the implementation of the decorating solution.
- Employ customer relationship management practices to maintain a positive reputation as an interior decorator that will encourage repeat business or referrals.
- Employ project management to manage the time, resources and costs required to implement the decorating solution to meet the needs of the client.
- Adhere to industry standard codes, regulations and by-laws when creating a decorating solution.
- Employ environmentally responsible and sustainable practices in the selection of materials and products used in the decorating solution.
Work-Integrated Learning
The program offers an optional to eligible students. The field experience requirement is a minimum of 240 hours, following Semester 2. Students who enrol in January have a slightly modified option to gain the mandatory hours.
The Humber Advantage
Our on campus facilities which include the AutoCAD labs, lounge and sample room allow students to remain within a studio environment that is tailored to their unique needs. In addition, the college library contains a large section of reference and video material and the campus bookstore sells tools, supplies and textbooks which support this course.
Watch the video to see Interior Decorating students create a Winter Wonderland for The Morning Show set.
Read about six of our students who worked on developing the look of the hotel suite in the new Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation.
Interior Decorating, Home Renovation and Electrical program students built a 108 sq.ft. student bunkie for auction to support student awards and scholarships.
Your Career
Interior decorators work with clients and provide consultation on programming and throughout the installation procurement phases. Decorators work with concepts, styles, colour schemes, space plan layouts, elevations, perspective sketches, lighting, furniture, millwork and architectural detailing, materials and finishes, kitchen and bathroom design, accessories, and much more.
Interior decorators can provide conceptual sketches and generate working/detail drawings using computer-aided design drafting tools (CADD); they can also provide other design services to their clients including product specifications, as well as cost estimates.
Graduates have gone on to become interior decorating magazine editors-in-chief, featured magazine interior decorators, TV personalities with their own show, guest TV decorators, newspaper feature article leaders, interior decorating business owners, event planners, managers of decorating retail stores, design consultants (both domestic and international) and buyers to name but a few.
Graduates also work with:
- detailing experts in millwork companies
- event planning firms
- high end furniture companies as design consultants and product launchers
- interior decorating and design firms
- kitchen and bath design centres
- lighting consultants
- media, including magazines, blogs, tweets, and other social media
- new home developers and model home décor
- print magazines and online media
- residential design firms
- retail and wholesale showrooms
- specialist designers in carpet, tile and upholstery
- staging experts for real estate
- television/set design
Homes with Holly
Watch the video introducing "Homes With Holly" on YouTube! Watch the video to see Holly Cowieson, a student in the Interior Decorating program share her new skills and expertise on Staging.
Humber Students Benefit from Five Centres of Innovation (COIs)
The Humber Centres of Innovation Network demonstrates our strong commitment to providing an experiential learning environment for students. Students and faculty work with industry partners on real-world challenges to prepare them to become the innovative and strategic problem-solvers of tomorrow. Come to Humber and experience interdisciplinary learning across five COIs.
About the COIsNews Feed
Bachelor of Industrial Design Students Participate in BRP International Design Competition
Wed, May 10, 2023
The Industrial Design program was invited to return and participate in the BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) International Design Competition!
Industrial Design Third Year Students Design for Modern Living in Umbra/Humber Studio Project
Fri, March 24, 2023
Driven by innovation, Toronto-based Umbra has become a global leader in product design, known for pushing boundaries in its approach to original design.
Annual By The Lake Book Club Scholarship Awarded to Emerging B.C. - Based Writer
Mon, February 27, 2023
Layla Reeves, a Vancouver Island writer and student in Humber's Creative Writing Graduate Certificate program, is the 2022 recipient of a $1,500 scholarship.
No news at this time.
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