There was a time when interior designing was a matter of luxury and was preferred only by the A-listers, the rich and the famous. Today, millennials can afford the service because of their increasing disposable incomes and evolving standards of living.

As an increasing number of millennials are shifting to cities, living spaces are turning smaller consistently, driving the need for an efficient use of such spaces. This rising trend is creating a huge demand for interior designers and is eventually providing vast opportunities, helping interior designing emerge from the shadows of architecture and civil engineering and come into its own.

Not many people in India are familiar with the exact meaning of interior designing. They have a common perception that interior designers are probably interior decorators. Being an interior decorator is something anyone with a creative mind could be, but to become an interior designer, one needs an ample amount of skills, knowledge and business acumen.

After all, it is a creative process that deciphers the client’s needs, crafts a conceptual design, analyses it and produces a final design or plan. From the concept to the execution, an interior designer is supposed to be involved in all stages of the project.

However, to be able to combine a creative concept with elements of utility, an interior designing aspirant would need to master the theory and practical aspects equally.

Opting for a professional course in the subject is the best way to achieve this and ensure a strong footing in the industry with vast career options.

With new spaces like restaurants, co-working spaces, commercial spaces and residencies growing so rapidly, everybody is eyeing the touch of an interior designer and starting a design firm at this point can be a very lucrative option.

This would mean plenty of creativity showcase, work flexibility, big money and being your own boss. If you don’t wish to start off on your own right away, an architecture office or a tech-based interior design startup could be some of the other places to work at for you to unleash your creativity.

Known to be a rewarding job, it won’t be easy to climb up the ladder of success initially. Designers might have to work for lesser pay in their early days but the situation can flip within a short period of time wherein the entry-level interior designer’s pay could be around 4 lakh per annum and a senior interior designer could earn up to a massive 30 lakh per annum.

Before kick-starting a career in this space, one basically needs a vision about how a seamless functionality can be achieved with a unique design and of course the right designing skills to customise projects as per the client’s expectations.

Moreover, interior designers also have the freedom to decide whether they are willing to devote their entire time to the subject or balance it with another stream of learning. In both situations, their efforts will pay off in the future.

Meanwhile, the dawn of new-age platforms is giving the designers a wonderful opportunity to upgrade their technical skills, thereby deriving more value and better earnings.

So considering the prospects it offers and gates of growth it opens, interior designing is indeed emerging to be a promising arena and if you think, you have what it takes to become an interior designer, now is the time to connect with your passion and take the plunge.

The writer is founder, Arrivae.