Interior Decorator
Interior decorators choose the colours, furniture and finishes that make a room work, styling homes, offices and shops to a client's brief and budget.
- Median salary*
- $72,800
3.9%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 1,900
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +13.9%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Interior decorators work in design and styling studios, homewares and furniture showrooms, or on their own, mostly on residential projects with some commercial and property styling work. The job overlaps with interior design, but decorators deal in colour, furniture and finishes rather than structural change, so the result comes from styling a space that already exists. Many people come to the role through retail or a property styling business and learn sourcing and colour on the job.
How much do interior decorators earn?
The median full-time salary for an interior decorator is $72,800 per annum, before tax, up $15,100 since 2018.
Pay depends heavily on whether you are employed or freelance. Salaried decorators in studios, showrooms and property styling usually work to an award or enterprise agreement with set bands, while freelance decorators set their own rates and carry the quiet months between projects. Over time, the scale of the jobs you run matters more than the hours you put in, because decorators who manage larger projects and keep their own client list charge more for the work.
What does an interior decorator do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Meeting clients to work out how the space will be used, what they like and what they can spend
- Building colour schemes, mood boards and sample boards for the client to react to
- Sourcing furniture, fabrics, lighting and finishes, and comparing quotes and lead times from suppliers
- Measuring rooms and checking that pieces will fit, including doorways, lifts and stairwells
- Coordinating delivery and installation, then styling the finished room for handover or photography
What skills do interior decorators need?
Employers look for visual design, spatial and interior design, project management, backed by SketchUp fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.
Specialist skills
- Visual design
- Spatial and interior design
- Project management
- Budgeting and forecasting
Software and tools
- SketchUp
- AutoCAD
- Adobe Photoshop
- Canva
- Microsoft Excel
General skills
- Client relationships and advisory
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
Is the job growing?
About 1,900 people work as interior decorators in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 13.9% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become an interior decorator?
Here's the path most interior decorators take, step by step.
- 1Build a folio while you are still at school
Art, design and visual communication subjects give you work to show, and restyling your own room or a family space is enough to start. No subject is a prerequisite, but a folio is what colleges and studios look at first.
- 2Study a certificate IV or diploma
TAFE and private colleges offer certificate IV and diploma courses in interior decoration and interior design, usually one to two years full time and longer part time, covering colour, materials, drafting, sourcing and the business side. The most common qualification held by people working as interior decorators is Diploma / Advanced Diploma, at about 29%.
- 3Get a first job in styling or homewares
Property styling firms, furniture showrooms and homewares retailers hire people with a good eye and little experience, and this is where most decorators learn to source, price and handle clients. It also gives you finished rooms to photograph for the folio clients will ask to see.
- 4Build a portfolio of real rooms
Photograph every finished job, including your own projects and any work you did for friends, because clients choose a decorator from pictures. Five or six well-shot rooms say more than a long list of courses.
- 5Set up for freelance work
There is no licence or registration for decorating, so working for yourself means an ABN, public liability insurance, a quoting template and a deposit policy. Membership of a professional body such as the Design Institute of Australia adds credibility, and many decorators freelance alongside a part-time studio or retail job while the client list builds.
Ready to apply as an interior decorator?
Whether you're working toward becoming an interior decorator or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can an interior decorator move to?
Moving into Project Coordinator typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $38,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Coordinator Interior decorators already coordinate trades, timelines and client expectations, so project coordination in design and construction extends those skills. | +$38,000 | 44% | reskill |
| Production Designer Interior decorators bring colour, composition and spatial styling to set design, moving into production design for film and television. | +$26,000 | 68% | minimal |
| Interior Designer Interior decorators who add spatial planning and design documentation can move into interior design, often through further study.Known move | +$15,200 | 55% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as an interior decorator?
The typical interior decorator is 43 years old; 90% are women, 41% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 43
- Median age
- 90%
- Female share
- 41%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being an interior decorator?
The work runs in projects rather than a fixed daily routine, so a week might hold a client meeting, a supplier visit, a day of sourcing and an installation. It suits people who care about colour, materials and how a room feels, but who also enjoy the logistics of getting the right pieces into that room on time and on budget.
What people like
- You see the finished room. A styling job has a visible end point: the last cushion is placed, the client walks in, and weeks of sourcing and measuring suddenly make sense.
- Every brief is different. A rental refresh, a cafe fitout and a family home bring different budgets, styles and constraints, so the work rarely settles into one routine.
- Creative and practical at once. Colour and composition matter, but so does knowing which fabric survives a household with dogs, or whether the sofa fits through the stairwell.
- Suppliers and clients come back. A client who liked the first room often calls again for the next one, and the upholsterer or furniture rep who delivered well becomes part of how you work.
What people find hard
- Budgets cut into the plan. Clients often fall for a look that costs more than they want to spend, and reworking the scheme to fit is a steady part of the job rather than a rare annoyance.
- Delays sit outside your control. Furniture arrives late, a fabric is discontinued, a trade does not turn up, and the decorator is usually the one explaining it to the client.
- Freelance income is uneven. Work comes in projects, so quiet weeks between jobs have to be covered by quoting, marketing and savings, while salaried roles in studios and retail trade some of that flexibility for a steadier pay cycle.
- Paperwork and chasing. Quotes, invoices, purchase orders and delivery follow-ups can fill a day you had hoped to spend on the design itself, particularly when you work for yourself.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ interior decorators?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of interior decorators, followed by Construction.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Construction
- 3Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 28.7% | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 12 or below | 27.6% | |
| Bachelor degree | 22.4% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 10.9% | |
| Postgraduate | 3.9% |
Will AI replace interior decorators?
Interior decoration sits in the middle on AI exposure. Image generators, 3D visualisers and product-matching tools now produce mood boards, palettes and styled room renders quickly, which speeds up the early, presentational part of a project. The parts that hold up are physical and relational: measuring a real room, judging how a fabric reads in afternoon light, understanding how a client actually lives and keeping suppliers and trades on schedule.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Mood boards, colour schemes and concept visualsTools such as image generators and 3D visualisers can offer ten versions of a living room in an hour, so the decorator's value shifts to choosing the one that suits the space and the budget.30%high
- Client consultations and brief-takingWorking out how a family uses a room and what they can spend happens in conversation and in the space itself, and the brief that comes out of it shapes everything after.25%low
- Sourcing, quotes and supplier liaisonProduct search and price comparison are partly automated, but lead times, discontinued lines and substitutions are still settled by phone with the supplier.25%moderate
- Measuring, installation supervision and final stylingSomeone still has to measure the alcove, check the lift dimensions, meet the delivery and place the last piece on the day.20%low
Common questions about becoming an interior decorator
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do interior decorators earn?
Interior decorators earn a median of $72,800 per year before tax. That median covers a mix of salaried and freelance work, so what you take home depends on whether you are on an award or enterprise agreement, the type of projects you take on, and how established your client list is.
How do you become an interior decorator?
There is no licence or registration, so the usual route is a certificate IV or diploma in interior decoration, a portfolio of styled rooms and a first job in a styling or homewares business. Backgrounds vary: about 28% of people working as interior decorators finished school at Year 12 or below and learned the rest on the job.
Are interior decorators in demand?
Interior decorators are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 13.9% over the decade to 2035. About 1,900 people work in the occupation, so the number of openings in any year is small and many are filled through styling firms, retailers and word of mouth.
Will AI replace interior decorators?
AI image tools and 3D visualisers already draft mood boards, colour palettes and room renders in minutes, and product-matching software suggests substitutes when something is out of stock, which is why the role carries moderate exposure. What they cannot do is stand in the room, measure an awkward alcove, judge how a fabric reads in afternoon light and keep suppliers and trades on schedule, and that is where most of the working week still goes.
What is the difference between an interior decorator and an interior designer?
Decorators work with colour, furniture, finishes and styling, while interior designers also plan spatial layouts, joinery and documentation for builders. Interior design usually asks for a diploma or degree with drafting and spatial planning in it, while decoration can be entered through a certificate or diploma plus on-the-job experience.
What can interior decorators move into?
With further study in spatial planning and documentation, decorators move into interior design, where pay is about $15,200 more and roughly 55% of the skills carry over. Production design for film and television suits decorators with strong composition skills, and project coordination suits those who enjoy scheduling and trades, with pay about $26,000 more and $38,000 more respectively. Many decorators eventually run their own styling business, which is often where earnings grow.
Related roles
- Interior Designer
- Production Designer
- Project Coordinator
- Retail Assistant
- Costume Designer
- Fashion Designer
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