Opportunity knocks - but for whom? - careers in interior design - includes related articles on resource information and what designers really do - Cover Story

Black Enterprise, Feb, 1994 by Suzanne Riss

A decade later, Carter is an integral part of a team of 30 designers, engineers and architects who plan every office, library and specialty area used by the bank's staff of 10,000. The job is a formidable one, since the bank encompasses 21 buildings which are modified often. One of his most challenging projects involved converting a 30,000-square-foot, semi-outdoor parking garage into office space. "I see the projects through from their conception to their execution," he says. "It's a satisfying process." At a time when many businesses are downsizing, the World Bank is expanding, says Carter, who earns about $45,000 a year. The staff is continually being relocated because the bank must respond to the changing needs of the overseas areas it services--Africa, Russia and the Middle East. "A country may fall today, another one may be created tomorrow," says Carter. "We have to respond to these changes." Given global happenings of late, Carter is not likely to see a lull in his work load anytime soon.

CHANTAL VILMAR-MATTHEWS: KITCHENS, BATHS & BEYOND

Like the rest of us, independent interior designers have been hit by the recession, and many report their business has waned. Yet in some ways, the work has not diminished--but simply shifted. While tightening the building industry, the recession has actually opened up renovations. People who can't afford to build or buy new structures opt to fix up the old ones, and hire interior designers to help.

Chantal Vilmar-Matthews, 29, launched her interior design business out of a spare room in her two-bedroom apartment in New York in September 1992, with an eye toward filling a void on the design scene. "I offer a total kitchen and bathroom renovation," she says. "A lot of designers find the kitchen the toughest room in the house because it involves a lot of electrical work, plumbing and cabinetry. I think it's the most challenging room in the house."

Kitchen and bath renovations can also be the most expensive interior design work in a house, says Vilmar-Matthews, who holds a bachelor's degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Kitchens typically cost $35,000 to $50,000 to renovate, while baths run about $17,000 to $20,000, she says. Her firm, C. Matthews Architectural Design, has gotten off to a steady start in spite of the recession--or perhaps partly because of it. It's still less costly to renovate than to build anew and, as it happens, well-appointed kitchens and bathrooms raise the resale value of a home more than any other single factor.

Vilmar-Matthews handled about $70,000 worth of projects last year, netting about 30% of that. She expects her gross to double this year.

She learned about tricky construction jobs during six years working for Florence Perchuk & Associates, a top kitchen-and-bath design firm in New York. Not one to hide behind her drawing board, Vilmar-Matthews dove into the trenches when the construction phase of each project began. "I would go to the sites and deal with the electricians and the plumbers, she says. "I learned about construction firsthand."