Exterior Vs. Interior Design – What Are Their Differences

Interior design refers to the art of creating functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces. It involves choosing colors, textures, materials, furniture, lighting, and other elements to create a space that reflects your personality and lifestyle.

While exterior design focuses on the outside appearance of buildings or structures, and as such is a part of on-campus or online architecture degree programs, interior design deals with the inside look and feel of those same buildings or structures.

The differences between interior and exterior design have less to do with what’s done on the surface than their very different purposes. Both deal with creating spaces for people to live in. However, interior designers work within the structure of an existing building, often furnishing a condo or other residences.

At the same time, exterior stylists often focus on designing new spaces like homes and buildings. However, many of their ways about these projects can be similar. They may use sketches, photos, and models as guides to help them visualize the final aesthetic they want.

You probably envision things like light fixtures, carpets, window coverings, artwork, and paint colors when you think of an interior design. These all play essential roles in making the interior style of your home unique, but most don’t compare to the real star of the show: the furniture! Furniture makes up the actual structure of your room, Therefore, it can be just as crucial as a wallpapering or rug to define your personal style.

Let’s dive into the significant differences between interior and exterior designs.

Definitions

Interior Designer

An interior designer specializes in creating spaces for people to enjoy using their minds, bodies, and belongings. Interior designers plan out rooms for people to live in. They also work closely with architects, builders, contractors, and other professionals to ensure that any changes made to a project will serve everyone involved well.

An interior designer typically has a degree in architecture, fine arts, graphic design, or another related field and usually has significant design theory and practice training. Internships and certifications are highly sought after by employers.

On a smaller scale, interior designers design everything from small living spaces such as kitchens to large areas like hotels. Their clients range from individuals looking to decorate a single room to large organizations like corporations and universities that need complete renovation plans for the entire office and residential environments.

Exterior Stylist

An stylist is someone who works directly with homeowners to make sure every part of a house, apartment, or business looks its best. Depending on size and location, this could include everything from landscaping to painting walls.

There’s no doubt that homeowners ask an exterior design professional to help create the look and feel of their residence or workplace. This includes planning out how plants and trees should grow; deciding where windows, doors, and other structures should be positioned; and choosing which finishes are appropriate for a particular area.

Some companies specialize in working with exterior design pros, such as landscape architects or architects. Others hire general contractors and ask them to handle the details.

Education

Both types of professionals will have similar educational backgrounds as long as they receive training in relevant topics. However, it’s important to note that some education will vary depending on the type of job being performed.

For instance, a college degree in interior design would likely mean learning about architectural principles. In contrast, an exterior design education would focus on engineering and construction.

Skills

You can prepare to learn new skills in drawing, sketching, color analysis, measurements, and others for both professions. However, based on the designer’s type of work, these skills have different uses.

People who want to become interior designers might study architecture or fine arts. Interior designers often start as fashion illustrators before moving onto more traditional roles.

On the other hand, those who like to become exterior designers are most likely to pass training in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and construction science. It’s also possible to get hired as an independent contractor without having formal training.

Duties

It may sound obvious, but designers of both kinds do many things. When you think about your average interior designer, they probably do many things.  These duties include designing furniture, creating window treatments, and even building rooms.

No doubt interior designers create all sorts of items for homes. However, there are also plenty of people who turn to them for corporate offices. Concerning exterior designers, they’re very much involved in the same activities. They’ll paint walls, install skirting and install fencing. They’ll basically do anything about making a home or property look better.

In case you have any architectural, structural, and MEP design requirements, or need full multifamily conversion design including structure, and HVAC design, feel free to contact us.  We provide you with the full permit set design + T24 for your request.