My name is Rob Pappas and I live and work in Virginia Beach, Va. and throughout the Tidewater area.  I write this comment in STRONG support of the continued regulation of the interior design profession in Virginia.

I have been a Certified Interior Designer 000648.  I have been practicing Interior Design since 1990 in Virginia Beach and throughout Tidewater.  I have been teaching in the Interior Design Program at Tidewater Community College (TCC) for the past 13 years while working as the Interior Designer and Project Manager for Norfolk Redevelopment ad Housing Authority for the past 19 years.  Before NRHA I ran my own interior design firm.  At TCC I have help hundreds of Virginia Students achieve their dream of becoming an interior designer.  Many of them are currently working on the next step, add the credential of "CERTIFIED INTERIOR DESIGNER" in the State of Virginia.  To them this is ultimate achievement in their careers.  To take this away from them would destroy them.  The Virginia Certification gives these young designers the credibility and confidence that a young architect or engineer has.  At TCC we teach them the Virginia codes along with local, state, and federal regulations of our profession.  We teach them the structure of building systems.  These are the same skills that are taught to the architectural and engineering students.  To take the certification away, the state should also take the architectural and engineering licensing away. 

I have been doing interior design a long time, and the removal of our certification will deregulate interior design profession in Virginia.  This will create an industry that will have no state oversight and no state punishment for when a designer is negligent.  As our leader, do you want that to happen?  My experience tells me that people, Virginia residents, get hurt, either physically or financially.   I am pretty sure the Commonwealth would not want that, and would rather continue to be a leader in the Interior Design profession to other states that do not regulate their interior design industry.   

Interior designers are not only employed by design firms.  They are employed by architectural firms to assist in the designing of buildings.  The interior designer's role is to make sure the interior spaces function with the end users, not just pick paint colors.  The designer is responsibly for creating a design that is safe and will meet the needs of the client.  How many times have you worked in an office and just couldn't get into a rhythm.  Then in other offices, you find it easy to get into the rhythm.

Interior designers are also employed in the ship building industry.  We work closely with all the military bases in Virginia assisting them in meeting their design challenges.  Interior designers work in the manufacturing fields designing carpets, clothing, paints, and furniture design to name a few.   Interior designers work in the automotive and aerospace industry.  In fact, Cadillac's Interior Designer, Crystal Windham, is an industrial interior designer.   Interior designers can go into the entertainment industry designing sets, props, and other production related items.  In fact, TCC has one of our design students working at Sony Pictures as the Assistant Art Director for the show "For All Mankind".  Another one of our  Interior Design Student is working for Ferguson Enterprises designing kitchen and bath spaces while working towards her work requirement to sit for the NCIDQ Exam.  I hope the above shows you just a small glimpse into how important the Virginia Certification is for Virginia's interior design profession.

It is clear, eliminating regulation of Interior Design would gravely harm Virginia Certified Interior Designers, Interior Design small businesses, and others in the Commonwealth. For example:

– In order to hold a position on a corporate board for a “Professional Corporation,” the employee must be licensed or certified in their profession by the Commonwealth. Eliminating the interior design regulation would prevent interior designers from serving on the board of architectural-interior design and interior design-only firms.

– RFPs (Request for Proposals) and RFQs (Request for Qualifications) in the Commonwealth of Virginia and for Federal Government Projects that include Interior Design Services require that the Interior Designer providing these services be a Certified Interior Designer. Eliminating the regulation would bar Virginia interior designers from submitting for these proposals.

– Job postings for Interior Designers in the Commonwealth and for Federal departments typically require an Interior Designer to be a Certified Interior Designer. Eliminating the regulation would exclude Virginia interior designers from these opportunities.

In Virginia, of the 1,272 interior design establishments in the Commonwealth, 96% are small businesses of four or fewer employees. 83% of these small businesses are women or minority owned. Eliminating interior design regulation would crush these entrepreneurs and small businesses because of the reasons listed in this comment.

Eliminating the Interior Design statute would also harm the Commonwealth. Being a Certified Interior Designer in the Commonwealth provides the public with knowledge that a minimum set of requirements, including education, experience, and testing, has been met. Certified Interior Designers do complex design drafting work in large public and code-regulated spaces like hotels, hospitals, corporate offices, and multifamily housing where public life-safety is implicated. CIDs have a knowledge of building codes, standards, and other laws and regulations that are essential to the safe construction of public and other code-regulated buildings.

Washington D.C., Maryland, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, all have statutes in place for the regulation of the title and/or practice of Interior Design. In total, 27 states and two federal jurisdictions regulate interior design. No jurisdiction has ever deregulated the practice of interior design.

The interior design statute is not restrictive or protectionist. The title protection law—enacted during the 1990 Session of the General Assembly—does not restrict the scope of practice and serves as the framework for the voluntary certification program. While only certified interior designers may use the title “Certified,” any individual may contract with a client to render services as an interior designer, interior decorator, or similar practitioner if the client so chooses.

Eliminating the voluntary regulation of interior design in Virginia is bad public policy. Continued regulation is vital to the practice, profession, industry, consumers, and the public’s health, safety, and welfare. I ask you to not eliminate the regulation of this profession.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Robert Pappas, CID 000648