Residential Decorating Extension Certificate

Classroom and Blended Delivery
E-mail: cearts@mtroyal.ca
Information: 403.440.6012
Register: Start here
Location: Lincoln Park Campus, 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW

Required Courses | Professional Development | Student Testimonials

Create the desired ambience in an interior by applying the essentials of home decorating. Explore the fundamentals of design and decorate any room in your home with style and confidence. Develop practical hands-on decorating skills. 

Requirements
We recommend that the courses be completed in the sequence listed in the schedule chart above in order to receive the most benefit from each individual course.

Earning Your Extension Certificate
Choose between classroom delivery or blended learning to complete the eight required courses (135 hours) within four years of beginning the program.

Career Outlook
Completion of the Residential Decorating Extension Certificate may lead to an entry-level position in retail sales or interior decorating depending on personal and professional suitability for the field.

Required Courses 

Introduction to Residential Decorating
Gain an overview of residential decorating. Explore the basics of design and how these apply to home decorating. Practical application of the design process is used to create a desired mood or theme.

Interiors Past and Present: The Western Tradition
Discover some of the most influential interior decorating styles throughout Western history. Various time periods are explored with a focus on key furniture pieces, art and architecture. 

Using Colour and Light in Your Home
Colour can be one of the most important and expressive elements in creating a successful residential design. Explore colour theory, composition and lighting through practical application.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Residential Decorating

Perspective Drawing
Expand your interior decorating skills by improving your ability to visually represent objects and furnishings realistically within an interior space. Draw one-point and two-point perspectives. 

Materials for Window Treatments and Soft Furnishings
Review popular styles of window treatments and soft furnishings, properties of fabrics and estimating techniques. Take function, aesthetics and budget into consideration when selecting materials. Gain experience while determining selection, installation and cost of various treatments. Learn about window types as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different window treatments.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Residential Decorating 

Materials for Surface Finishes
Considerations of  function, aesthetics and budget affect your selection of materials for surface finishes. Gain practical experience while learning about the choice, installation and cost of residential surface treatments.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Residential Decorating 

The Role of the Residential Decorator
Find out about the career opportunities within the residential decorating field. Review contract styles and agreements, sales and presentation skills, and practical business tips.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Residential Decorating
Note: We strongly suggest completion of the first six courses before registering in this course.

Advanced Topics in Residential Decorating
Further your understanding of paper drawings, documentation and developing an overall concept. You are required to apply the concepts and practical skills attained in previous courses to accurately develop and present your final project.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the previous seven Residential Decorating courses.

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Professional Development Courses

Everyone welcome.

The Sustainable Home     NEW!
Whether you're redecorating or renovating your existing home or moving to a new one, learn about sustainable techniques and materials that provide efficient energy and water usage and healthy air quality. Discuss furnishings, finishes, energy efficient devices, lighting, solar panels and smart thermostats.

Introduction to Home Staging    
Staging your home can give you an advantage in today's real estate market. Start with staging one room and extend the concept to your whole house. Learn about clearing clutter, form and colour, and the visually pleasing arrangement of objects. Create good compositions for photographs/virtual tours. 

Home Staging as a Business: An Overview
Gain an overview of advanced staging techniques related to home staging as a career. Explore the specifics of conducting a home staging consultation and working with a client for either a vacant or occupied home.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Home Staging

Perspective Drawing Continued
Further develop your perspective drawing abilities for interior and soft furnishings. Explore expressive line quality, weight variation and value. Continue working on one-point and two-point perspective using colour pencil crayons, felts and conte sticks.
Prerequisite: Perspective Drawing

Designs for Your Kitchen
Whether you are building new or remodelling, explore the fundamentals of designing your own kitchen. Become familiar with popular kitchen designs, cabinets, appliances, colours, materials, surface finishes and lighting schemes. Discuss working with a budget, cost estimates and design professionals.

Accessorizing the Home
Express individual style through accessories. In this hands-on class, approach home accessorizing with confidence through exploring the basics. Learn to assess needs and select items of appropriate design and scale, as well as successful placement of accessories. From rugs to lighting, and artwork to books, explore how to bring a room to life.

Professional Design Presentation
Enhance your residential and interior design skills by learning how to present your design ideas with powerful visual impact. Discover how to lay out your drawings and explore professional presentation methods. Gain practical how-to information on creating a presentation board to market yourself professionally. 

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Student Testimonials

“Our instructors … were very knowledgeable in the course subject and were able to answer very satisfactorily all questions asked. I liked having the perspective of two different instructors.”

Jennifer Tomkin, Introduction to Residential Decorating student

“Great program, very informative and useful for my future endeavours.”

Heidi Teets

“I love the whole concept of transforming a space. I sew a lot and wanted to get into a new, more creative career, and I decided this was the program for me.”

Robin Strom

“I have a general interest in decorating so I took the first couple of classes for fun and got hooked, so I completed the series.”

Jeannie Kezama

“I wanted to be certified, most employers in the decorating industry recognize the Mount Royal Program, which gives me a better chance at employment in the decorating industry.”

Kelly Gaboury

“I went into the program as a professional interior painter, a lot of my clients would ask my opinion on their decorating, now I feel I can answer their questions with confidence and I like using the decorating terms [words] to help them.”

Kelly Gaboury

“Improved my credibility as a decorator.”

Shawn Richardson

“Currently I am renovating/decorating my own house, but I also help out my family with their decorating.”

Susan Walters

“I am presently doing colour consultations for a Benjamin Moore store and run my own decorating business along with my carpenter husband.”

Laurel Pasishnik

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