To interior design students out there! Ever wonder how internships feels like here in New York? Today we have our old friend sharing her experience of working as an intern in our firm.

“Hello all! My name is Priya and I was an intern at Jo Laurie Design. I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Interior Design and I am thrilled to have some insight into the industry. I side with Jo in believing you must do an internship in the design world before being able to hold a position in this industry. What you see on television is very far from what interior design actually is. A lot of people watch ‘design’ shows and think, “I can do that!” I was one of them. Anyone with good taste can make a room look good, but that isn’t what you learn in school and that definitely isn’t what interior design is.

What I saw on TV and what I learned in school were completely different, and what I learned in school and the real world of interior design are two totally different entities. My first semester of school was dubbed the 'weed out’ semester. People who thought they were going to be doing the things they saw on TV realized during that first semester that they were very wrong, and the ones who didn’t like it or couldn’t handle the work dropped out.

Though, no matter how amazing my education was, I would not have been ready or experienced enough to just jump into this field. For instance, since I started this internship, I’ve learned that window treatments (especially in New York City) are very important for any design project. From pleats and liners, to hems and fabric widths, these are all aspects of window treatments that I never realized were actually important. I personally didn’t learn very much about window treatments in school, but since working here I’ve learned that window treatments can really make or break a space.

For anyone currently in school or any aspiring interior design students, I would definitely suggest taking an internship position to gain experience. The sacrifice is well worth the experience and insight you will gain. In fact, it may even help you decide if this is something you really want to do. My advice: If interior design is something you still feel very passionate about after school, don’t give up. It’s a tough economy, but make the sacrifices you need to make and keep networking and putting yourself out there. You never know who you will meet.”