When we think of America, we tend to think of a fairly unregulated, dynamic free market economy and whilst that may be generally correct, in some states, not so.

When you think interior designers, you may know that many will now be educated to degree standard in s=design, but you don’t tend to think of interior design as a regulated industry or one where there are obvious reasons why it should be regulated.

So, we were very surprised to see an article this week about the position for becoming an interior designer in Florida.

Florida is one of 3 US states that requires a license to provide interior design consulting and advice.

According to US legal experts,  in order to obtain an interior design license in Florida the applicant will need :-

• a combined six years of post-secondary education and apprenticeship under a state-licensed interior designer
• to have successfully passed an exam

Failure to have these qualifications carry a state penalty of up to a year in jail and about $1,000 in fines.

Controversy has been created by the fact that the licensing boards are generally made up of people already in the industry, with the argument being that they have a vested interest in keeping the number of accredited designers as low as possible.