"Is an online interior design school right for you?"

Taking advantage of an online interior design school can be the perfect choice when a traditional college route does not fit your lifestyle. Perhaps you are caring for young children and need the flexibility of studying from home. Or maybe you want to keep your current job while you pursue the beginning of a new career.

That was my situation when I decided to begin some interior design course work. I wanted to continue working my current job while I studied, so an online approach was the perfect solution for me.

There are various online programs from which to choose. The one I chose was through The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Their training format is set up incredibly well.

What I loved most was the fact that classes were not at a specific time. I could work on my courses any time of the day or night while still having interaction with my classmates. It’s really an awesome program that leads to a Bachelor of Science degree in interior design.

There is something you should understand, though. Just because a program is delivered online does not make it a breeze. At least that’s not what I discovered through my experience. It requires self discipline, especially when coupled with a full time job. I had to devote quite a bit of time working through class projects and assignment each week. The interaction with my instructors and classmates encouraged me to excel beyond what I thought was possible, though. I learned a lot!

My course work included drawing which is very important for developing realistic interior design sketches with proper representation of line and perspective. I started my drawing class demonstrating no special ability. Yet, only six weeks later I was able to sketch part of my own home's interior (shown here). It may not be a Picasso, but coming from a guy that could barely do better than draw stick figures at the start of the course, I think it’s great! Vigorous study, practice and classmate critiques are key elements of the program that helped me go beyond what I imagined I could do.

A good interior design program should covers a wide range of interior design fundamentals and skill development in subjects that include color theory, drawing, computer aided drafting technology, history of furniture, lighting, space planning, specialty design, textiles and the list goes on…culminating in the development of a thesis and doing an internship.

Pursuing an interior design degree through an online interior design school is a great way to realize your dreams without completely disrupting your current career or life situation. I found it to be the perfect solution for me!

For a directory of schools that offer online programs I recommend starting here.

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