Interior Design Side Hustle – Turning Your Passion Into Profit

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Are you a creative soul with an eye for design? Do you find yourself constantly rearranging furniture and dreaming up new decor ideas? If so, why not turn your fun hobby into profit by starting an interior design side hustle or small business? It’s a win-win advice.

• According to an estimation, the average salary of interior designers reached $52,810 in 2011.

• For those in the interior design work profession, the average early pay estimated was $25.39.

• The top 10% of designers earn up to $86,430, while the bottom 10% of interior designers earn a maximum of $25,720.

• For more than half of all interior designers, the yearly salary range was between $35,320 and $65,960.

Based on the above figures, we can demonstrate that all interior designers do not earn the same amount annually. Yet, their salary ranges are based on a number of factors. Thus, in these unpredictable scenarios, interior designers might get an advantage from having a side hustle.

But earning money on the side would not stop interior designers from pursuing their passion. You can simply use your internet connection and use design software in your own hours. Even though interior designers adore their current full-time job, it would not harm them to work extra hours.

Today, we are going to explain the top interior design side hustles.

How Can Interior Designers Work Online?

For every interior designer, there are a number of ways to provide their services online. They can take advantage of technology as well as digital tools.

Here, we are going to show you some ways for interior designers to work online:

• Virtual Design Consultations: Interior designers can conduct design consultations using online portals like Zoom or Skype. Here, designers can give design advice and solutions, and discuss their budgets, and preferences.

• Mood Boards and Design Presentations: Designers can present their ideas, color schemes, and furniture options to clients in digital mood boards with the help of online tools.

• 3D Rendering and Visualization: This software allows interior designers to make virtual visualizations of spaces. 

• E-Design Services: Designers can use these services to send a complete design idea digitally to their customers and charge an hourly rate.

• Virtual Room Layouts: Interior designers pick and place furniture to create room layouts with the help of online tools.

• Online Collaboration and Communication: Designers can work with their clients and suppliers through collaboration and communication platforms.

Is Interior Design a Good Side Hustle?

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Absolutely! An interior design business can be an exciting side hustle for several reasons.

Here, we have covered some benefits of interior designing as a side hustle:

• Flexibility: Designers can enjoy flexibility and schedule their working hours according to their availability, ensuring their side hustles won’t affect their day job.

• Creativity: If you have a passion for making homes look nice and lovely, taking on interior design side hustles will enhance your creativity even more.

• Low startup costs: Launching an interior design side business is a low-cost, and low-risk way to start. It often only involves the Internet and some project management software to collaborate with clients and make portfolios.

• Networking opportunities: Interior design offers opportunities to create a strong relationship and network that could translate to referrals and more future projects.

• Growing demand: Online interior design services are becoming in demand because many people are valuing visually appealing homes. 

Yet, it is very important to keep in mind that before you start a side job and take on interior design projects, you must have a specific level of skills, expertise, and experience in the industry. Furthermore, you must have to be updated with current design trends to enhance your abilities.

Top 7 Interior Design Side Hustles Idea For Maximizing Profit

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Here are the top 7 side hustle ideas that you should focus on if you want to succeed in the interior design industry.

1. Eco-Friendly Interior Design

Providing eco-friendly interior design is a growing trend in the design industry. More and more people are becoming environmentally conscious and are willing to invest in sustainable and eco-friendly home decor.

To get started, research eco-friendly materials and products that you can incorporate into your designs. Look for suppliers that offer sustainably sourced materials, such as bamboo flooring or recycled glass countertops. You may also want to consider obtaining certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) to further establish your expertise in eco-friendly design.

Once you’ve established yourself as an expert in this niche, you can sell your services through social media, networking events, and by creating a portfolio showcasing your eco-friendly designs.

2. Kitchen and Bath Design

In the modern era, our kitchens and bathrooms are not just functional spaces in our residences. These rooms have become the core of our daily life activities. No wonder, there is a high demand for designing stunning kitchens and bathrooms. This is where you want to showcase your creativity.

Your clients may be landlords, commercial enterprises, homeowners, and real estate investors. When you provide them with well-designed kitchens or bathrooms and on-budget, you can almost expect additional projects with them in the future.

To get started in kitchen and bath design, consider taking courses or workshops to build your skills, networking with industry professionals, and building a portfolio of your work. With dedication and hard work, you can turn your passion for interior design into a profitable and creative side hustle.

3. Home Staging

The skill of staging a residence is also known as real estate staging or property styling. Home staging appeals to potential purchasers. Its objective is to make the house look eye-catching so that potential clients will be more convinced in buying it.

Home staging is a must because:

• Boost the value of the house: Homeowners can enhance the value of layer houses by up to 10% by using home staging services. This means when property owners list their residences for sale, they can expect to get a better return.

• Accelerate the sale of homes: Homeowners can accelerate the sale of their homes by using a home staging strategy. Most of the time the properties with home staging are faster than unstaged homes. 

• Make a good first impression: Home staging can make a fantastic first impression of your home. The reason is that well-staged properties are friendly and look ready to move into.

As a home stager, you can work with real estate agents or directly with homeowners to style, stage their properties, and earn extra cash on the side. With the demand for home staging growing, this could be a lucrative interior design business.

4. Home Management

Home management is the process of grouping and arranging household items and making them more organized. Clutter and miscellaneous things at home tend to accumulate and lead to unnecessary disorder.

This is where home management small businesses can help customers achieve an organized and disorder-free living space.

• Everyone knows the importance of clutter-free homes because they increase productivity and decrease stress.

• Designers can provide their services for those persons who need extra assistance like the elderly, for example. They usually are in search of such services to help minimize stress and enhance comfort.

• There is also a trend for the professional services of home organizations, as most people don’t have enough time to arrange and tidy their own home.

To maximize profits, it is important to market yourself effectively and offer a range of services that meet the needs of your clients. This interior design side hustle may include offering personalized design consultations and creating custom organizational systems. With a little creativity and hard work, home management can be a profitable venture for anyone with a passion for interior design.

5. Commercial Interior Design

Commercial designing mainly focused on the inside areas of commercial structures such as:

• Offices

• Retail stores

• Hotels

• Banks

• Hospitals

• Restaurants

Its primary purpose is to provide an atmosphere that is pleasing, secure, and practical. Doing this will draw clients, improve larger firms’ overall brand image and boost productivity.  

Why would commercial interior design ideas for the company be successful? Here we have covered reasons to answer the question:

• High Demand: There is a high demand for commercial interior design. The reason is that every company strives to give a distinctive and memorable experience to their clients.

• Long-term: Commercial interior design is a long-term job. This is because every growing company requires changes and adjustments to its interior.

• Benefit Margin: Clients are always ready to pay for useful facilities. Commercial interior design businesses have a large profit margin.

To get started in the commercial interior design business, it’s important to build a strong portfolio that showcases your skills and experience. You may also want to consider networking with other professionals in the industry and seeking out mentorship opportunities to help you grow your side hustle. 

6. Residential Interior Design

Residential interior design is the practice of upgrading a home’s interior and giving them an aesthetically pleasant and comfortable atmosphere.

A residential interior designer will be adept at:

• Interacting with clients

• Listening to their needs

• Producing designs that are customized to their preferences

There are many reasons to score residential interior design as a side hustle:

• Possibilities for expansion: Once you are able to build a thriving business in the design field, you will get additional opportunities to increase the services provided.  

• Creative fulfillment: In interior design, the creative process can be incredibly fulfilling. With your interior design skills, you can assist others in creating their dream home.

• High demand: With the popularity of home decor, many are seeking expert services to design a unique and practical space. That’s why the need for residential interior design is increasing day by day.

• Good earning potential: If you are a great interior designer, you can charge services at premium rates. Your clients along with admiring your expertise will pay you a lot.

When working on commercial projects, it’s important to keep in mind the specific needs of the space and its intended use. You will need to work closely with the client to ensure that the design meets their functional and aesthetic requirements while still staying within their budget.

7. Luxury Interior Design

For everyone who wants to launch a business or a side hustle in the interior design industry, there are a number of distinct niches to concentrate on. Luxury interior design is one of those that is getting high demand. So let’s explore luxury interior design.

• Client’s taste: The goal of this interior design is to create beautiful environments that are personalized to the client’s tastes. 

• High-Quality Finishing: It pays special attention to every aspect to create an impeccable finish. It entails using high-quality finishes, furnishing, and materials. 

• Main Objective: The main objective of luxury interior design is to make a comfortable and luxurious space.

• Right Business Strategy: Starting a luxury interior design business or side hustle may be quite lucrative with the right business strategy and marketing plan.

By offering high-quality services and building a strong reputation within the industry, you can maximize your profits and turn your passion for interior design into a successful side hustle.

How to Become A Successful Interior Designer?

There are several steps you should follow to become a successful interior designer.

Here is a guide we composed for you to assist you on your journey:

• Develop your skills and knowledge: You must attend formal education to get an interior design bachelor’s degree or diploma from a reputed institute. Then seek entry-level work at interior design studios to gain experience in the field as a designer.

• Build a portfolio: The next step you should do is to build a portfolio. You should add your previous work samples to demonstrate your abilities.

• Network and build relationships: You have to attend industry gatherings, trade shows, interior design exhibitions, etc. This will help you build a strong network and relationship with possible clients and professionals.

• Gain professional recognition and certifications: To increase your creativity and build more opportunities, you should get a certificate from a reputable institute and continuously learn.

• Provide excellent customer service: By being attentive to your clients’ needs and by providing outstanding results, you can establish a strong connection with them.

Takeaways

If you want to monetize your passion as a designer, building a side hustle in interior design can undoubtedly be a lucrative way to earn extra cash. Aside from your full-time job, there are many other interior design project opportunities that you can take advantage of, as listed above. Which one will you try? Let us know in the comments.