i+D - January/February 2020 - 35
By Brian J. Barth
"Interior design" is not a term often uttered from a politician's soapbox. However,
the profession featured prominently in Florida governor Ron DeSantis' "State
of the State" address in early 2019-but not in a good way. The newly elected
governor said he was on a mission to cut down on red tape that he felt made
it difficult for people to break into a number of occupations, including interior
design, a profession he lumps with barbers, auctioneers, and talent agents. "We
need reform of our occupational licensing regime," he said, calling the interior
design licensing requirements "absurd" and saying that these and other such
occupational requirements "need to be streamlined, rolled back, or eliminated."
Image: Bill Oxford/Unsplash
Florida lawmakers soon introduced a bill to repeal all interior design licensing
regulations, which would essentially eliminate crucial business rights for the
profession and hinder designers' ability to practice in regulated environments in
the state. Proponents of deregulation seem unaware of the public harm that
can result in unregulated designers working in public spaces. Their justification is
that consumers-and the "free market"-should be the only arbiters of deciding
who is qualified to do so. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of the profession,
membership association staff, and understanding legislators, the bill died.
Sarasota interior designer Holly Dennis countered this thinking in an op-ed in
her local paper, the Herald-Tribune. "It is not difficult to justify the Florida interior
design license," she wrote, noting the "common misconception...that
interior designers only pick furniture and choose fabrics and paint colors, like
the decorators seen on television." What the governor did not seem to realize,
she added, is that interior designers "safeguard the well-being of the public in
high-volume, high-occupancy spaces... Eliminating this license will only harm...
the health, safety, and welfare of the public at large."
Practice
i+D - January/February 2020
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i+D - January/February 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i+D - January/February 2020
Contents
i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover1
i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover2
i+D - January/February 2020 - 3
i+D - January/February 2020 - 4
i+D - January/February 2020 - 5
i+D - January/February 2020 - Contents
i+D - January/February 2020 - 7
i+D - January/February 2020 - 8
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i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover3
i+D - January/February 2020 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/asid/asid/design_product_guide_2024_fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/asid/asid/design_product_guide_2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/asid/asid/design_product_guide_2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210910
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/asid/design_product_guide_2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20210102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20201112_french
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/asid/design_product_guide
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200708_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200506_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200304_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20191112_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190910_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190708_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190506_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190304_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20181112_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180910_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180708_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180506_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180304_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180102
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com