Residential vs. Commercial Design Services: What is the Difference?

Interior design services can be categorized into residential or commercial design services. While these services are similar in the sense that they deal with interior designing and decoration, they still have differences that set them apart.

If you are thinking of going into the interior designing business or you are simply seeking to hire an interior designer, it is best that you know the distinction between these two services. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss the differences between commercial design services and those for residential projects.

Residential Design Services

This service deals with the interior arrangement and design of the space within a residential building. Apart from carrying out the general designing of a residential building, some designers chose to specialize in a particular area. Examples of such are custom furniture designing, home office organization, kitchen redesigning, etc.

As a residential interior designer, your services will include working on brand new residential buildings that haven’t been designed or decorated to rearrangement and repurposing of already existing décor and furniture.

You might be required to make suggestions for furniture, new décor, paint colors, etc. A client might even require you to help them in purchasing certain home items. All these are done to enhance the quality of the home space.

Furthermore, a residential designer can be required to redesign the home’s layout and style which is done through recommendations. This is a higher level of redesigning as it might involve the addition or removal of walls and partitions.

This higher project level can involve skylight installation, the addition of a different ceiling style, a new floor, and flooring, interesting light installation, etc. Visit https://www.pinterest.com/CPC3/interior-design/ to check out some interior decoration designs.

Commercial Design Services

As a commercial interior designer, your focus will be on arranging and designing the interior space of commercial buildings. This type of buildings includes small business places, stores, offices, warehouses, retail buildings, restaurants, banks, hospitals, schools, industrial buildings, etc. In summary, you can work on spaces that exist for profit-making and will be used by the public.

Compared to residential services, the job opportunities are more, and it is more lucrative. The reason is that the nature of the job is more demanding as it brings into consideration, not just the taste of the client, but also that of the people who will be frequenting the commercial space.

Commercial designers likewise specialize in certain areas; however, this is done after being on the job for years and gathering experience. In the initial stage of being on the job, you will take all kinds of jobs, but after some years, you might choose a niche for yourself.

The categories of market specialization that exit within this service include technology, government, retail, medical, historic, or manufacturing buildings.

Designers who specialize are more sought after due to their wealth of experience. Hence, it is one of the ways you can set yourself apart and create your business brand.

Differences between Commercial and Residential Services

Now that we have a good understanding of the two services, let us look at their differences more closely…

Scope

The major difference between these two is the project’s scope. The residential service deals with living spaces, while commercial design focuses on workspaces.

As a result, the commercial designer prioritizes safety and function while providing impressive style and aesthetics. The safety is for the sake of the people who will visit the commercial building.

They also know that the building can either improve or reduce the business profit. Hence, they focus on enhancing the design to make them more appealing to customers.

Needs Requirement

Both services put into consideration the needs of a particular group of people which shape the outcome of the project.

For living spaces, the needs that are considered when designing the space are those of the individual or family that live or will live in the home. The said individual or family in most cases is the client, and it is their needs and personal taste that is considered.

Therefore, the choice of items, furniture, painting, etc. is generally a reflection and expression of their needs, wants, tastes, and desires.

In contrast, when it comes to designing workspaces, the needs considered are not necessarily that of the client. The client might be the business owner or management board. The design of a workspace focuses on the brand image of the company. Any design made on a workspace must speak about the company or business.

The design also focuses on the needs of the clients and customers of the business. The needs and desires of these people are put into consideration alongside the brand image.

Another thing that is considered is not necessarily the needs but the requirements put in place by the law. Hence, the designer and the client need to consider things such as code requirements for commercial buildings and practical space limitations. Click here to read more about U.S building codes and standards.

Range of Service

Apart from interior design which we have largely focused on in this article, the commercial design offers other services that residential design does not provide. We will discuss these other commercial design services briefly.

Urban Design

This deals with planning as well as arranging a city’s building. In this case, instead of designing one building, the focus shifts to ensuring that each building will fit the area’s architectural design. This service is regarded as an open space for modern interpretation.

Restoration, Renovation, and Preservation

Restoration focuses on ensuring a building’s structural legacy is maintained while it is kept functional. Some techniques involve the replacing of materials that are non-historic with replicas. Using historic photos, historical accuracy and safety are maintained.

Preservation ensures that all that is original is kept in place. It is done in an environmentally sustainable manner. Renovation is carried out on an old building to ensure that aesthetics and styles are maintained.

Conclusion

At this point, we believe you now know what residential and commercial services are. Whichever of these you might choose as a profession, make sure you do that which you are comfortable with.