Residential Interior Design Course Online

This course is the perfect starting point for anyone eager to explore the world of interior design. Whether you're considering a career in design or simply wish to enhance your creative skills, this course will provide you with the foundational knowledge and tools to bring your ideas to life. 

• Design Principles & Elements: Master the core concepts of color theory, balance, texture, and spatial arrangement
• Space Planning: Learn how to optimize spaces for functionality and aesthetics 
• Material and Furniture Selection: Gain insight into choosing the right materials, furniture, and accessories to transform any room
• Design Trends and Styles: Explore various design styles and trends to inspire your unique creations
• Practical Skills: Develop mood boards, room layouts & design mockups to bring your vision to reality

This course gives interior designers a solid foundation in color theory, combining the science and art of color. Students will learn how perception, systems, harmonies, and psychology shape design choices across physical and digital environments. 

• Understand how light, vision, and materials affect color perception
• Master the color wheel, harmonies, and contrast
• Apply color systems like RGB, CMYK, and Hex
• Use psychology and cultural meaning to inform palettes
• Design for accessibility, legibility, and inclusivity
• Build professional, brand-aligned color palettes

This course explores the essential principles of interior lighting design, from the fundamentals of light and human experience to luminaire selection, lighting plans, and control systems. Students will build the technical knowledge and creative sensibility needed to craft lighting solutions that are both purposeful and visually compelling across residential and commercial settings.

• Demonstrate foundational lighting techniques across a variety of residential and commercial design contexts
• Assess the technical requirements and practical constraints that shape real world lighting decisions
• Understand how lighting choices influence user experience, mood, and the character of a space
• Express how lighting contributes to and enhances an overall interior design concept
• Weave lighting solutions into broader design projects to achieve both functional and aesthetic goals
• Discuss lighting decisions clearly and confidently with clients, architects, and installation teams
• Create lighting plans that thoughtfully combine daylighting strategies, electric sources, and control systems
• Deliver a final lighting design project that meets professional standards and demonstrates applied course knowledge

This course introduces the core materials used in interior design, including masonry, wood, glass, metals, synthetics, and acoustic treatments, with an emphasis on how designers evaluate and specify finishes in real projects. The course is designed for aspiring and practicing interior designers who want a structured, materials-focused foundation that supports professional design decision-making.

• Evaluate interior materials based on performance, durability, maintenance, and design intent
• Apply masonry, concrete, stone, and brick finishes in functional and decorative interior applications
• Select and specify glass, ceramics, plaster, and gypsum materials for walls, floors, and surfaces
• Understand wood species, engineered wood products, millwork, and cabinetry detailing
• Assess metals, synthetics, laminates, and composite materials for modern interior environments
• Interpret acoustic principles and select finishes that support sound control and user comfort

This course builds foundational skills in architectural and interior drafting, covering everything from tools and linework to construction documents and annotated drawings. Students will develop the technical literacy, visual precision, and professional habits needed across architecture, interior design, and construction.

• Explain what drafting is and how it functions as a specialized communication tool distinct from freehand sketching.
• Trace the historical development of drafting and connect traditional conventions to modern practice.
• Produce drawings that demonstrate accuracy, visual hierarchy, consistency, and graphic clarity.
• Read and navigate a complete set of architectural drawings, including title blocks, sheet organization, and drawing relationships.
• Select and use drafting tools, paper, and scale correctly to set up and execute technical drawings.
• Execute linework, lettering, dimensioning, and annotations in line with professional documentation standards.
• Produce floor plans, elevations, sections, and details that reflect industry conventions and graphic standards.
• Take field measurements of an existing space and translate that data into a scaled, dimensioned, and annotated drawing.

This course covers the foundational principles of interior space planning, from analyzing how people move through and use spaces to developing programmatic strategies and producing scaled, fully integrated floor plans. Students will build the spatial thinking and diagramming skills needed to approach layout decisions with clarity, intention, and a human-centered perspective.

• Analyze existing interior spaces using human-centered research methods and observational techniques
• Identify and evaluate circulation patterns, adjacencies, and spatial hierarchies within a given environment
• Apply core design principles such as proportion, scale, balance, and visual weight at the plan level
• Translate programmatic requirements into zoning, adjacency, and bubble diagrams that inform spatial decision-making
• Develop and test multiple planning strategies before committing to a final layout
• Produce clear, scaled floor plans with appropriate furniture layouts and circulation clearances
• Integrate lighting intent and material concepts to reinforce spatial function and user experience
• Communicate spatial ideas effectively through diagrams, drawings, and concise written explanations

This course takes students through the complete world of textiles and soft finishes in interior design, from the science of fibers and fabric construction to hands-on specification, sourcing, and professional presentation. Students will walk away with the material literacy and technical grounding needed to make purposeful, well-informed textile decisions across residential and commercial projects.

• Follow a textile from raw fiber through yarn, fabric, and finished application, and articulate how each stage shapes its performance and design potential
• Distinguish between fiber types, construction methods, and fabric formations, and connect those differences to real-world durability, maintenance, and function
• Interpret industry performance testing, including abrasion ratings and flammability standards, and apply that knowledge to residential and commercial material decisions
• Explore how pattern, scale, texture, and surface design choices affect the way a space is perceived and experienced
• Match textiles to specific interior applications by weighing aesthetic intent against performance requirements, sustainability considerations, and long-term maintenance
• Complete professional textile specification documentation, including reading fabric labels, understanding dye lots and repeats, and calculating yardage
• Understand how designers source materials through trade showrooms, vendor relationships, and the broader textile production and distribution pipeline
• Assemble and deliver polished material presentations that clearly communicate design intent using professional language and cohesive visual storytelling

Discover how furniture shapes the way we live, from iconic historical styles to modern movements, materials, and ergonomics. Students learn to recognize, evaluate, and communicate furnishing solutions for both residential and commercial interiors.

• Define furniture typologies and explain how furnishings support lifestyle, function, wellness, and spatial experience
• Identify residential furniture categories and evaluate how they support different living patterns
• Recognize major historical furniture periods and their defining stylistic characteristics
• Analyze modern movements such as Bauhaus, Mid-Century Modern, Scandinavian, Art Deco, and Minimalism
• Explain furniture construction, materials, joinery, upholstery, and manufacturing methods
• Apply ergonomic and anthropometric principles to evaluate comfort, accessibility, and usability
• Differentiate residential and commercial furnishings and their performance requirements
• Evaluate sustainability, adaptive reuse, and ethical considerations in furniture selection

Build a foundation in sustainable interior design for residential and commercial spaces. Students explore material selection, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and life cycle thinking through hands-on projects that balance aesthetics, function, and environmental impact.

• Apply sustainable design principles to interior spaces 
• Identify environmentally responsible materials and finishes 
• Evaluate energy efficiency and resource conservation strategies 
• Explain how design decisions affect occupant health and wellbeing 
• Communicate sustainable design solutions effectively to clients and collaborators 
• Integrate sustainability into residential and commercial design projects 
• Analyze the environmental impact of common interior design decisions

Build a professional design portfolio that showcases your creative vision and technical skills. Guided by expert instruction, you’ll explore digital and print portfolio formats, master composition and typography, and refine visual storytelling techniques using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Acrobat.

• Create polished portfolio layouts using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Acrobat.
• Apply principles of composition, hierarchy, and typography to communicate design concepts effectively.
• Integrate project imagery, plans, and renderings to highlight your creative vision and technical expertise.
• Produce a professional, presentation-ready portfolio that reflects your personal design identity and supports your career goals.