Interior Design & Decoration
Professional retraining course (1 year)
Interior Decorating career change program overview
The Interior Decorating program, designed for career changers, runs over 8 months and offers two distinct specializations: Interior Design and Real Estate.
Through this intensive training program, you will learn the fundamental principles of interior decoration in order to create spaces that are both aesthetically refined and highly functional.
Resolutely pragmatic, the program follows the three key stages of an interior design project: Listen, Design, and Organize.
Beyond the necessary theoretical foundations, this program prioritizes a hands-on approach, grounded in the realities of site management and the entrepreneurial skills required to build and run your own business.
You will also receive dedicated support for the entrepreneurial dimension of your professional project: agency creation, communication (including a public speaking seminar with Cours Florent), and leadership development (conflict management, discussing fees and budgets, etc.).
At the end of the program, you will have acquired the skills required to work in the interior decoration sector, whether as an independent decorator, an interior design consultant, or as an employee within an agency.
Interior Decoration & Interior Design
This specialization enables you to develop the professional skills required for a career in interior design. You will learn how to design a project and present it effectively to various stakeholders. You will also learn how to implement your concepts and organize your future worksites to ensure smooth and efficient execution.
Finally, you will be supported in launching your new professional activity and creating your own agency.
Interior Decoration & Interior Design Career Change Program at LISAA Architecture & Design Paris.
Interior Decoration & Real Estate
Are you passionate about interior decoration and interested in the real estate sector?
LISAA offers a unique program that combines these two fields and opens up new professional opportunities.
In 8 months, you will learn the core principles of interior decoration to create aesthetic and functional spaces, while also developing the skills required for real estate negotiation.
Exterior Decoration & Design
This career change program enables you to develop the operational and creative skills required for exterior design.
You will learn how to design and develop outdoor spaces such as terraces, balconies, gardens, or second homes, combining aesthetics and functionality.
The program builds on expertise in interior architecture and design, while connecting you with a professional network in the landscape sector.
At the end of the 8-month program, you will be able to :
- Design an interior renovation project, from the initial analysis phase to the client presentation
- Manage an interior renovation project, from the development of an operational implementation plan to site supervision, including the selection of contractors
- Develop an independent interior decoration business, covering both entrepreneurial and marketing dimensions
- Launch your own interior decoration agency, from administrative and financial management to leadership coaching and public speaking (Interior Design track)
- Conduct real estate negotiations, from market analysis to commercial positioning and communication techniques (Real Estate track)
Professional certification Interior Decorator – IDAA – LISAA, NSF 233n, Level 5, registered with the RNCP under number 38940 by decision of the Director General of France Compétences on April 26, 2024.
96,6%
RNCP qualification success rate – Interior Decorator (June 2024)
81%
Employment rate 6 months after graduation
(2022*)
* Most recent rate published by France Compétences
Program structure and pace
Course organization
The 8-month program is structured as follows:
- 5 months of classes, totaling 496 hours of instruction;
- 3 months of internship / professional experience (This internship may be extended up to a maximum of 6 months if the student wishes.)
UE1 - Cultural Studies
- History of Interior Architecture & Design
- Trends (colors & materials)
UE2 - Representation Techniques
- Technical drawing & site survey
- Rough sketches & hand-drawn perspective
- Digital design tools
- Real estate software (AutoCAD)
UE3 - Technology and Technical Documentation
- Materials, specifications & construction technology
- Technical constraints
UE4 - Project Design
- Preliminary analysis and full project development (from A to Z)
- Contractor consultation, site supervision & final handover
- Projects
- Workshops
- Site management
UE5 - Professional Development
- Positioning your service offering
- Promoting your service offering
- Leadership development
- Individual mentoring
- Internship preparation
- Agency branding
- Introduction to decoration and cross-disciplinary perspectives
- Internships
UE6 Specialization Options
Option: Interior Design – Launching Your Own Decoration Agency
- Setting up your agency (administrative & financial framework)
- Leadership coaching & service contracts
- Public speaking seminar (Cours Florent)
Option: Real Estate – Real Estate Negotiation
- Introduction to the real estate market & prospecting
- Communication and real estate negotiation
- Property enhancement and commercial positioning
Admission requirements
This program is available as an initial program or as a professional program designed for career changers :
Initial program
- Hold a Level 4 qualification, a high school diploma (Baccalauréat), a DAEU, or an equivalent qualification (including foreign diplomas)
Professional program designed for career changers
- Hold a Level 4 qualification, a high school diploma (Baccalauréat), a DAEU, or an equivalent qualification (including foreign diplomas),
Or
- Hold a Level 3 qualification and provide proof of at least 24 months of professional experience in the relevant field.
Specific exemptions : If the applicant does not meet the required academic or professional criteria, they must submit a portfolio demonstrating their ability to obtain the professional certification (Recognition of Prior Learning, employer certificate, or any other proof of professional, personal, or voluntary experience demonstrating related skills).
How to apply
Admission to LISAA is based on an interview.
To apply for the Interior Decoration & Interior Design Career Change Program, you will attend an oral interview. This interview allows the admissions team to assess your motivation and the consistency of your professional project.
Interview duration: 1 hour
Admission results are communicated within 3 to 15 days.
Admissions are open from October to August for a September intake. Applications are processed within a maximum of 3 weeks after receipt of a complete file. Enrollment remains possible until the start date of the program, subject to availability.
By special exemption, enrollment may be possible after the official start date, following review and verification of the applicant’s ability to catch up on missed coursework, within a maximum of two months after the program begins.
Tuition fees
Full details of tuition fees and associated costs are available on the dedicated page.
Advanced Standing
If you have already obtained an RNCP qualification of a similar level and specialization and are interested in this certification, you may request a full or partial Advanced Standing.
Pathways
No official pathway to another certification is provided within the framework of this professional certification.
Further studies
This professionally oriented program is designed for direct entry into the workforce.
Resolutely pragmatic, this program follows the key stages of an interior design project: listen, design, and organize. It emphasizes a hands-on approach, in close connection with industry professionals (craftspeople, architects, legal experts, suppliers, etc.).
Participants are trained to manage a project from start to finish, from analyzing a client brief to final implementation, while developing their entrepreneurial mindset through dedicated modules on agency creation, communication (including a public speaking seminar led by Cours Florent), and project management.
By the end of the program, participants are able to:
- Analyze a client brief and understand the expectations related to an interior design project.
- Assess a space (volume, circulation, lighting, technical constraints).
- Develop an aesthetic, functional, and sustainable proposal, integrating accessibility considerations and spatial enhancement.
- Produce a complete design file: sketches, mood boards, technical drawings, material selection.
- Present and defend a project both orally and in writing, before a client or a jury.
- Plan the different stages of a project and manage its budgetary, technical, and human aspects.
- Identify and recommend appropriate contractors and partners for each phase of the project.
- Oversee the operational follow-up of an interior project through to final delivery.
- Integrate evaluation tools and client satisfaction measures.
- Define a clear professional positioning and structure a service offering in interior decoration.
- Promote their activity through effective communication tools (portfolio, website, social media).
- Develop ongoing monitoring of trends, materials, and societal and environmental challenges in the sector.
To validate the program, you will be assessed through several formats:
- Continuous assessment through exercises and timed presentations
- Professional simulation exercises
- Professional project file focused on an interior design project
- Professional project file focused on the creation or development of an interior decoration business
- Final comprehensive project with oral defense before a jury of professionals
- Professional experience report related to the internship
Possibility to validate one or more skill blocks/
The certification is awarded upon validation of all skill blocks. Each block is capitalizable throughout the validity period of the certification.
In the case of equivalency (Recognition of Prior Learning and/or validation of a skill block or equivalent certification), it is the candidate’s responsibility to submit the request to the jury for validation.
Throughout the program, you are supported and trained by professionals in interior decoration and/or the real estate sector.
Full-class teaching weeks include:
- Lectures (theoretical foundations)
- Practical and technical workshops providing the methodology required to develop professional skills
- Professional simulations based on real cases
- Independent work
- Individual coaching sessions to review and structure your professional project
- Internship periods in a company
To become an interior decorator, you need to follow a specialized program that teaches the fundamental principles of decoration, representation techniques, and project management.
The 8-month LISAA career change program enables you to acquire all the essential skills: project design, site supervision, and agency creation.
At the end of the program, you can work as an independent interior decorator, an interior design consultant, or as part of an agency.
The salary of an interior decorator varies depending on status (self-employed or salaried) and level of experience.
To learn more, please refer to our dedicated page on the Interior Decorator profession.
This 8-month career change program covers all aspects of the profession: representation techniques, project design, material technology, and agency creation.
It offers two specialization tracks: Interior Design and Real Estate.
Please refer to the dedicated page for full details on tuition fees and associated costs.
The duration of an interior decoration program depends on the type of program chosen.
The LISAA career change program lasts 8 months, including:
- 5 months of intensive courses (496 hours)
- 3 months of professional internship (extendable up to 6 months)
Distance learning programs may last between 12 and 24 months depending on your pace. Short programs typically range from 3 to 6 months, while full academic programs in schools may last up to 3 years.
An interior architect can modify the structure of a space (partitions, openings, spatial reconfiguration) and usually completes a 5-year program.
An interior decorator focuses on layout, decoration, materials, furnishings, and atmosphere, without structural modifications.
The 8-month LISAA career change program specifically prepares you for the profession of interior decorator, with a comprehensive professional approach.
The LISAA career change program is not offered as a work-study format. However, it includes a 3-month professional internship, which may be extended up to 6 months.
This immersion period allows you to gain significant hands-on experience and build a professional network within the decoration sector.
