Your Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Furniture Designer
- Jan 23, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 7
The role of furniture designer and manufacturer has existed since the beginning of modern history, with beautiful examples of this line of work dating back to Ancient Egypt and Greece. A profession that is often overlooked - these expert craftspeople work to create pieces that help us perform everyday tasks whilst also decorating our spaces. Furniture design is the backbone of interior design: it dictates the layout, style, mood and activities performed in a space. And although the bespoke pieces that adorn furniture shop windows may look deceptively simple, a vast amount of time and thought goes into creating a product that delivers on functionality, quality, aesthetics and safety.
If you’re looking to pursue a career in this dynamic, age-old vocation, start by reading this guide on how to get started.
Should I Become a Furniture Designer?
Before getting into the ‘how’, it’s important to consider whether the furniture industry is a viable career path today.
Fortunately, according to Global Market Insights, the global furniture market is expected to grow by 5.4% between 2021 and 2027 - a very healthy growth rate. Plus, when you consider that in-house furniture designers can earn between £25,000 - £30,000 - and often more after several years of experience - it’s clear that furniture design is a solid career choice.
As well as working in-house, furniture designers can also work on a freelance basis or establish their own studio. They often work in conjunction with interior designers and architects to help bring about their vision.
How to Get Into Furniture Design
1. Get Qualified
The first step in your furniture design career path is to get educated. Furniture design, just like all product design, requires a number of skills in creative thinking, problem solving, design development, materials and manufacturing. Consider looking into Diplomas or Bachelor degrees in furniture design, interior design, product design or architecture - all are appropriate prerequisites for employment in this field. After this, securing an apprenticeship is a great way to gain practical experience in the industry through shadowing professional designers.
2. Find Your Style
Finding your voice as a designer comes by looking at what resonates with you and how you then interpret this into your designs through fabrics, forms, colours, materials and textures. It’s important to look back and understand how furniture design came to be what it is today, so studying styles and trends of the past will serve as a solid foundation to determine your own approach as a designer.
3. Knowledge is Power
There is a wealth of knowledge to be found in books when it comes to furniture design. Here are a few examples of publications that every furniture designer should have on their shelf:
Keeping up to date with blogs and magazines is another great way of getting clued up on the industry. Try to follow a mixture of local and international publications.
4. Know Your Industry
In order to work in furniture design, you have to know how the industry works. Visiting showrooms and contacting professional designers is a great way to do this. If you’re looking for some advice, Mirror Door Company’s friendly team are experts in the fitted furniture field. Contact us or visit our Glasgow showroom today.
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