Designer vs. Decorator, and then some.

Many people think that an interior designer and an interior decorator are the same thing, and when it comes to projects for the home, where should they go?

Well, here is the answer...

1. Interior DESIGN is the art and science of understanding people's behavior to create functional spaces within a building. Decoration is the furnishing or adorning of a space with fashionable or beautiful things. Interior designers apply 

creative and technical solutions within a structure that are functional, attractive and beneficial to the occupants' quality of life and culture. 

2. An Interior DECORATOR may decorate a space, but will not actually design the layout of a house without the supervision of an architect or contractor. Decorators are very helpful and great to use. 

Many people get the terms confused and intertwined, and the differences are actually quite large.  In short, interior designers may decorate, but decorators do not design.
  
                        

Source of definitions from the NCIDQ website. Picture from http://uthinkido.com