Online Interior Decorating Courses

Why ICS Canada?

  • DEAC Accredited
  • Self-Paced
  • Supportive
  • Low monthly payments

Program Overview

Develop your natural talent for interior decorating with ICS Canada’s online Interior Decorator Career Diploma training courses. Our online training can help you prepare to work in department or furniture stores, hotel or restaurant chains, or to open your own interior decorating business. ICS Canada will help you train at home or on the go, all at the pace that’s right for you. Plus, you can complete this program in as little as six months.

The ICS Canada Interior Decorator program has been approved for recognition by the Decorator's and Designers Association of Canada (DDA). Graduates of ICS Canada’s Interior Decorator program are eligible to apply for a paid, five-month DDA Accredited Member membership.

Curriculum Details

Program Goal and Outcomes

Program Goal

To prepare students for an entry-level career as an interior decorator.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

  • Recognize the difference between interior decorators and interior designers, and understand employment opportunities in the interior decorating field, interviewing techniques, and the characteristics of a successful decorator in different specialty areas and for different types of clients.
  • Identify clients’ needs by recognizing their basic physical and psychological needs, understanding the clients’ goals along with their budgets and priorities, and determining a client’s preferences in regard to furniture styles, colors, fabrics, textures, and patterns.
  • Identify the elements and principles of design including line, form, color, value, texture, pattern, light, space, proportion, scale, emphasis, and unity and recognize whether elements and principles of design have been successfully applied to a décor by understanding the importance of the function of the room.
  • Distinguish the importance of color, recognize how color affects people and how color balance is created within a room; identify primary, secondary, and intermediate colors, and categorize their placement on the color circle.
  • Recognize various color schemes based on the color circle, how colors affect each other, and how the amount of light and various surfaces can affect color.
  • Identify the four general categories of furniture styles most widely used today and recognize typical furniture pieces from the past to present day and the periods during which these pieces originated.
  • Identify furniture quality and workmanship to meet a client’s needs based on the best use, as well as appearance, and recognize traffic patterns and how to create a focal point in a room by understanding harmonious furniture arrangements, including how to balance line, object, and space.
  • Recognize how to measure a room, make rough sketches, prepare an accurate scaled plan, and use furniture templates Understand the importance of floor treatments and how lighting effects floor treatments, the differences between types of flooring and floor coverings, the differences and characteristics between carpets and rugs, and how to select and use appropriate finishes on floors.
  • Distinguish between various architectural features of walls including the use color, texture, and patterns in choosing wall treatments for specific décor and recognizing how to create scaled elevations.
  • Recognize how to choose window treatments including shades, blinds, shutters, and panels to suit many decorating situations, and understand accurate measurements and yardage requirements for curtains, draperies and window treatments, in addition to studying how to draw windows to scale on an elevation.
  • Identify a wide variety of architectural symbols and terms while reading blueprints.
  • Recognize the three types of house plan layouts according to their activity zones and room by room problem areas and the solutions.
  • Understand the characteristics of natural and synthetic fibers, the types of special fabric finishes, types of knits, yarns, common weaves and fabric yardage requirements, in addition to, the information on an upholstery tag.
  • Understand how to light a room and choose accessories to meet all of your client’s needs and desires according to the selection of paint, fabric, wallpaper, and specific situations to meet a room’s style, and mood.
  • Identify the three types of residential lighting and distinguish between incandescent and fluorescent lighting, and the effects of natural and artificial light on specific colors of décor.
  • Comprehend how to plan spaces for home offices, home fitness centers, and home entertainment rooms by recognizing how to choose furniture for these rooms, based on anthropometric and ergonomic principles.
  • Understand the concept of selling and how to approach a client by learning how to look for new clients, how to present merchandise, develop a follow-up system, and write appropriate thank-you notes.
  • Comprehend how to establish yourself as a professional by studying how to assemble a decorating team, and expand your clientele, identify the subcontractors, tradespeople, and custom fabricators, and recognizing how to set up a studio or office, locate suppliers, set up a source file, and how to keep records for income and self-employment taxes.
  • Develop a decorating plan for a living room and submit specific information regarding the plan along with photographs, floor plans, paint chips, fabric swatches, window treatments, and elevations.
  • Pass the cumulative final examination.

Instruction Set 1

Learning Strategies

The advantages of learning at home; types of study materials; types of examinations; accessing and using the features of our website; determining what kind of learner you are; establishing a study schedule; using study tips; preparing for and taking examinations.

Decorating Today

The history of interior decorating; meeting and interviewing clients; characteristics of a successful interior decorator; employment opportunities.

Instruction Set 2

Meeting Your Client's Needs

Determining your client's needs, preferences, goals, and budget priorities; developing a decorating plan, including measurements and room graphs to scale.

The Elements and Principles of Design

Identifying the elements of design: line, form, colour and value, texture, pattern, light, and space. The principles of design: balance, proportion, and scale; emphasis and unity.

Instruction Set 3

The Principles of Colour

The properties of colour; how to use colour in interior decorating; planning a colour scheme; using the colour wheel.

Identifying Furniture Styles and Periods

Exploring different furniture styles — Traditional, Provincial, Contemporary, Modern — from the 17th to the 20th century; identifying styles and integrating each into your rooms.

Decorating with Furniture

Arranging rooms according to function and use; creating the best traffic patterns; positioning furniture on a floor plan; recognizing quality workmanship and construction in furniture.

Instruction Set 4

Floors

Importance of floors in room decor; carpeting; rugs; wood floors; durable floors; how to select the appropriate floor treatment; measuring, scaling, and using a floor plan.

Walls

How to treat walls in decorating; wall coverings, including wallpaper, paint, murals, mirrors, paneling, and tile; drawing scaled elevations.

Additional Material

Exam Booklet: Floors/Walls

Windows

Different types of windows; planning and choosing window treatments — curtains, draperies, shades, and blinds; window treatments for special occasions.

Decorating from Building Plans

Identifying decorating problems when reading blueprints; types of housing plans; evaluating house plan layouts; discussing specific decorating problems and solutions, room by room.

Additional Material

Exam Booklet: Windows/Building Plans

Instruction Set 5

Fabrics

Using natural and synthetic fabrics: silk, wool, cotton, linen, special fibers; identifying weaves; selecting the right fabric texture.

Lighting and Accessories

The three types of lighting; lighting and the colour scheme; making use of lamps and lighting fixtures in decorating; using wall and table accessories; tips for arranging accessory groupings.

Additional Material

Exam Booklet: Fabrics/Lighting and Accessories

Special Purpose Rooms

Planning home offices, home fitness centers, and home theaters; selecting furniture based on anthropometric and ergonomic principles; coordinating floors, walls, upholstery, equipment, and lighting for these three types of special purpose rooms.

Instruction Set 6

The Skills and Methods of Selling

Qualifying a client; how to "approach" a customer; how to present merchandise; developing a follow-up system; how to prospect for clients.

Starting Your Own Business

Residential and contract decorating; developing a design program; working with clients, subcontractors, tradespeople, custom fabricators, and suppliers; advertising, charging clients, and getting paid; keeping financial records.

Additional Material

Exam Booklet: Selling/Starting Your Own Business

Instruction Set 7

Graded Project

Graded Project: Decorating a Living Room

Final Examination

Final Examination

Graduation Set

Upon Graduation You'll Receive:

Paid five-month CDECA Accredited Member membership.

Note: The graduation shipment will be sent when all program requirements and obligations have been met.


Computer Specifications
As you know this is an online academic program. This means you will need access to high-speed internet to begin your program. In addition, you will need access to a Microsoft® Windows® based computer running Windows 10® or later or an Apple® Mac® computer running macOS® or later, and an email account to complete your program.

We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.
In order to further enhance your performance in this field, ICS has researched and recommended specific practical activities designed to complement your course work.
To ensure that you acquire the manual skills which are important in this program area, we encourage you to follow all of the course instructions.

Sample Lesson

To view an Interior Decorating sample lesson, click here.

Interior Decorator Program Details

In ICS Canada’s Interior Decorator online training program you'll cover many topics. Our online training can help you to:

  • Analyze your clients' preferences, needs, goals, and budgets to develop a decorating proposal
  • Design with furniture and arrange rooms according to function and use
  • Select appropriate floor and window treatments for your projects
  • Learn the skills and methods of successful selling
Online interior decorating course

Interior decorators plan indoor spaces for clients, while managing style, budget, and room layouts. Here are a few qualities that effective interior decorators have in common:

  • Intuitive: It’s important to stay a few steps ahead of trends and trust your instincts.
  • Persistent: You need to work hard and stand by your projects and ideas to get others on board.
  • Communicative: Take charge of projects and always offer opinions and advice to help others.
  • Creative: In design you need to think outside the box and bring in fresh ideas.
  • Detail oriented: It’s important to have a sharp eye and check things twice.

"I chose to further my education and accounting knowledge with ICS Canada while working as an accounting clerk, which allowed me to move up within the company at which I am currently working. Studying with ICS Canada was a great experience, and the instructors were very helpful when it came to resolving any issues I had while studying."

- Sean S., ICS Canada graduate

"I have taken three diploma courses with ICS Canada. It has been very rewarding and challenging. I love to increase my knowledge level and share experiences. ICS Canada is great. Enrol! The contact with them is always very pleasant. You feel like a part of the ICS team."

- Connie K., ICS Canada graduate

Your program includes:

  • Customized payment plans with 0% interest
  • Books and learning aids
  • Study Planner App to customize your study plans and keep track of your progress
  • Instructional support from our experienced faculty
  • Your personalized online student homepage and learning portal
  • Exclusive access to ICS Canada’s Student and Alumni Facebook Group
  • Additional resources such as our online library and career guidance from Career Cruising
Decorators and Designers Association of Canada logo.

Is the ICS Canada Interior Decorating program recognized by any Associations?

The ICS Interior Decorator program has been approved for recognition by the Decorators' & Designers’ Association of Canada (DDA). Graduates of ICS Canada’s Interior Decorating program are eligible to apply for a paid, five-month DDA Accredited Member membership.

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