Interior Decorator vs. Registered Design Practitioner

What I find hard to believe is the opposition I see within the interior design community on what a practice act will do to those who do NOT work in code-regulated spaces.  Back in 2011 there was strong opposition from groups such as National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), the Institute for Justice, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, Illinois Association of Realtors, the Home Builders Association of Illinois, and that completely crazy woman Patti Morrow with the Interior Design Protection Council.  All of these groups were crying that a practice act will essentially “put them out of business” and that the interior design “CARTEL” will eliminate competition.  Let’s look at all of this more closely.
First of all, I want to say that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with interior decoration.  There are thousands of individuals in the state of Illinois that do work in the realm of interior decoration, and are good at it, and make a great living doing this.  I want them to continue doing the work they do without any interference, and a practice act will not affect them one bit!!!  The majority of designers who fall into this category are usually providing services to residential clients who are remodeling or building a new home and need the guidance and support of a designer to help them achieve their goal of having a well-designed home.  Other individuals who also fall into this category are those who work for retailers who are providing services to sell items in the retail arena for the residential market.  This includes furniture, cabinetry, kitchen and bathroom fixtures and retail accessories to make one’s home look better.  Yet others designers in this realm work with realtors to stage homes in order to make them look amazing so a realtor can effectively sell their client’s home.

All of these things mentioned above all examples of things that would have absolutely NO impact with a practice act.  These items are not part of a practice act as it does not fall into the realm of code-regulated spaces/commercial spaces.  

Therefore, competition is NOT being taken away from those individuals who do interior design that falls into the interior decoration realm.  If anyone says that they are providing services to projects in commercial spaces over 5000 square feet without the supervision of a licensed architect being involved or spaces that require an architectural stamp, then they are essentially breaking the current laws.  The existing laws are very clear, and I am not making this up.

The other aspect of this has to do with adding competition to the market place as it related to code-regulated spaces.  Right now only architects and engineers are allowed to provide services in code-regulated spaces and use their stamp to be able to permit drawing submissions to the municipality.  By allowing Registered Design Practitioners to have stamping/sealing privileges, you are essentially opening up the competition in this realm, which is really the fear for architects and nothing more.  For those people who are trying to brainwash the public and designers who do are in the decoration realm, we are ADDING competition not taking away competition.

A practice act will allow those who are willing to take on the responsibility for their own work in code-regulated spaces.  Those who meet the qualifications of getting their education from a college or university, gaining valuable experience from a working with a Registered Design Practitioner or Licensed Architect, and passing the NCIDQ exam will be regulated under the Illinois Design Practitioner Act. PERIOD!!!  Time to raise the bar for those who want this responsibility.

The next time you see some crazy woman in pink boxing gloves come to a city near you to tell you the “CARTEL” are planning to put your interior design practice out of business, simply laugh at her and tell her that she doesn’t know what she is talking about.  All designers in the state of Illinois will be safe to continue to practice as they wish.
Next month, I will discuss the topic of who a practice act actually helps and protects; Registered Design Practitioners that actually want to practice without interference from other professions.