Interior Design Schools Keep Pace with Residential Trends

As homes become less isolated, interior design schools help architects and residential interior design professionals keep up with the demands of homeowners and city planners.

by Joe Taylor Jr.
joe.taylor@www.interior-design-schools-search.com
Interior Design Schools Search Columnist

Even after earning a degree from an interior design school, it’s important to stay in touch with the latest trends through continuing-education programs. For example, many professionals are returning to school to learn about the new demands that homeowners, developers, and town planners are placing on residential interior design professionals. These changes reflect more than just a passing fancy—they represent a change in the way that many Americans want their homes to interact with their communities.

Over the past 10 years, many suburban developers created “McMansions” on cul-de-sacs. Residential interior designers faced the challenge of warming up large spaces and making homeowners feel more comfortable in big homes. Now, politicians and architects are swinging the pendulum to the opposite direction. With the support of recent interior design school graduates, these town planners are emphasizing communities anchored by porch swings and communal parks instead of private pools and great halls.

Booming Cities Require Creative Residential Interior Design

In Charlotte, North Carolina, where the rapid expansion of the city’s banking industry is creating demand for city dwellings, residential interior design professionals are busy overhauling former industrial spaces into cozy residences. Students in the region’s interior design schools are studying the effects of these new urbanist conversions. The modern feel of the residential interior design in these projects attracts tenants from larger cities like New York who want to bring a slice of the city to their new homes.

Meanwhile, interior design schools are helping students and professionals envision the future of homes in the suburbs. New trends in residential interior design in places such as suburban Minneapolis favor inviting entrances that lead to traditional parlors. As cul-de-sacs disappear in favor of pedestrian-friendly street grids, residential interior design professionals are adjusting their approaches to creating spaces that transition more gradually from public to private.

Sources

Charlotte Observer
New York Times

About the Author

Joe Taylor Jr. coaches musicians, entrepreneurs, and other adults who want to shift their careers. He holds a Bachelor of Science in communications from Ithaca College.

Posted on April 5, 2007 at 11:33 AM

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