On September 25, I had the opportunity to speak at the State House on behalf of the interior design community at the “Interior Design Day on the Hill”. This event is organized by the Massachusetts Interior Design Coalition, and is open to the entire design community, including professionals, students, educators and industry members. The primary goal of the day is to connect with legislators and educate them on the profession of Interior Design, and on any active bills. (Click here to read my presentation)
Interior Design legislative efforts have been active for over 25 years – for my entire career. The primary ongoing initiative has been to create licensing for Interior Design, either as a Practice or Title Act. Although 27 states currently have some form of legislation for interior designers, Massachusetts has always faced serious opposition from various constituencies, including architecture organizations, kitchen and bath design associations, and the Institute for Justice.
The issue of licensing for Interior Design is complicated, and sometimes becomes a personal one. The opposition is concerned that the legislation would limit their right to practice (however the bills have been worded so that qualified interior designers are able to be licensed, without limiting the practice of interior design). Some interior designers have not actively supported licensure, because they do not see that it affects them.
But the reality is that lack of recognition of the profession of interior design affects every interior designer. Interior Designers play in a critical part of the health, safety and wellness of interior environments for people, and should be recognized for their expertise, and allowed to practice equally. We go through extensive education, examination, and professional development to become qualified professionals, and licensing would allow consumers / clients to know that they are hiring a qualified Interior Designer.
The lack of licensure / registration also has specific limitations with regard to public work. For example, the State of Massachusetts currently requires that in order for a firm to bid on state projects, the majority of owners must be registered professionals. Because Interior Designers cannot be registered, STA is not able to bid on any state projects (STA is equally owned by an Architect (Tom Trykowski), and an Interior Designer (myself). In my opinion, the state is missing out on a great firm doing their work! And there are many other firms and individuals that fall into this scenario.
The current bill, HB.2832, “An Act recognizing the Profession of Interior Designers to Bid on State Contracts” would allow Interior Designers to be the prime consultant on state projects for which there is a defined interior design scope (i.e. FFE, programming). Although the bill has some opposition, there have been some positive developments through the legislative process. This bill is incredibly important to pass, but will still not solve the larger issues that full licensure would address.
Please feel free to contact me to learn more about Interior Design legislation, and contact MIDC to get involved!
-Felice
