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Getting better at interior design doesn’t equal burning lots of money to learn how to do it. If you know where to look, it’s possible to do that without spending a dime.

3D Image by: Duke Renders — **Design By** : Domaine Luxe
**3D Image by:** Duke Renders

Interior design is a hot and somewhat exclusive topic that may lead you to believe there’s a high bar of entry.

But if you stop for a second and think - what is interior design?

It’s the art of arranging and designing a space to improve one’s lifestyle, mood, and productivity.

Sure, there are a lot of nuances that separate good interior designers from the average. But it’s not like you need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get the proper education and start reimagining different interiors.

A quick Google search would show you plenty of free courses that can do the trick. But how do you tell a great free course from a dud?

We’ve done all the hard work.

This article highlights the best free interior design courses you can sign up for today.

The Free Courses

#1 - Oxford Home Study

The course comes from Oxford’s Home Study Centre and offers 20 hours of content that takes you through the exciting interior design industry.

Oxford Home Study is for novices looking to get started. But it can act as an excellent guide for homeowners who wish to embark on a DIY project.

You will learn the interior design basics, including the fundamental principles of using color, lighting, and decoration to achieve a specific style. And the course acts as a great starting point for further exploration into architecture and interior design.

Note that the entry-level course is free and there are three more paid options - Certification, Diploma, and Advanced Diploma. These are very cost-effective, particularly for the knowledge you’ll be getting.

#2 - Photoshop Launch

If you’re looking for a very short course to get a taste for interior design, Photoshop Launch could be for you. It lasts only 73 minutes and is available on the Design Cure Academy website.

The focus is on teaching interior designers Photoshop basics and how to create eye-catching drafts in a hurry. Also, this is a great course to brush up on your Photoshop skills.

The key benefit is that it provides a digest version of Photoshop for interior designers. In other words, it eliminates all surplus explanations and functions that you might never use.

On top of that, you get access to social media communities and exercises that can help perfect your skills. And after completion, you can display a Photoshop certificate (Level One) on your LinkedIn profile.

Now, some may argue that the downside is the length. But, we believe it’s an asset because you can combine Photoshop Launch with other free courses later on.

#3 - HGTV’s Design 101 Blog

This is more like a detailed guide for interior design and specific solutions that help you improve your style and aesthetics.

Even so, HGTV’s blog is an invaluable resource for the latest and greatest information about interiors design.

Each page is like a class that teaches a particular topic and contains additional resources at the bottom. The recommended videos, articles, and slideshows are great for expanding your knowledge.

Also, this is a course that you might want to combine with another that covers the theory and basic design principles. And it’s surely something you’ll revisit to brush up on your knowledge.

#4 - Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design (Masterclass)

Kelly Wearstler is an award-winning interior designer who focuses on contemporary hotel design.

The main selling point of this course is all of the practical tips. The delivery method is video tutorials that promote participant interactions.

As for the syllabus, you’ll learn about Kelly’s unique techniques to select the right color palette, interior tones, textures, and backgrounds.

More importantly, Kelly teaches you the intricacies of any given space with the intent to transform it into something breath-taking. With that, the focus is on boosting your imagination and creativity to properly apply interior design tips to create a truly unique space.

Keep in mind that this course is free with a MasterClass subscription. If not, you can only watch a sample.

#5 - Alison Diploma in Interior Design

Alison Diploma is an in-depth overview of interior design. And the course lasts between 6-10 hours.

Some of the highlights include client communication and project planning. You’ll also learn about achieving balance and harmony and how to best utilize different spaces.

On top of that, Alison Diploma walks you through color theory and how to use materials and textiles to round off an interior space.

The main highlight is the style guide for setting furnishing themes. There are also tips on how and where to find furniture that can match a particular interior style.

#6 - MIT - Principles of Design

This is part of MIT’s OpenCourseWare, with which the famous institute opened its doors to all online students.

Principles of Design is entirely free and covers the fundamentals of interior design. But given the quality of the syllabus and the included materials, this course isn’t just for complete novices.

Budding designers can brush up or expand on their knowledge. This is because Principles of Design covers advanced theoretical principles and focuses on honing your perspective and approach as a designer.

The idea is to give you a blueprint for taking a project from a vision to a fully functional design.

One downside is that the syllabus hasn’t been updated since 2005. But this shouldn’t be a problem since most of the topics covered are evergreen.

#7 - YouTube Courses

Yes, YouTube can be a perfect place to learn interior design, particularly if you’re looking for sketching tutorials.

The course we have in mind is a selection of videos that offer a step-by-step guide on sketching one or two-point perspectives.

You’ll be learning professional sketching techniques and how to nail all your angles. Plus, there’s a series of freehand sketching tutorials that might impress your future clients.

There’s some overlapping in the content because the syllabus isn’t fully coordinated. But all the videos come from different artists, so you could be learning a number of techniques that do the same thing, which isn’t bad at all.

#8 - Lynda - Free Interior Design Classes & Courses (LinkedIn Learning)

Lynda’s free offer is an assortment of courses and classes. It consists of tutorials that guide you through software packages such as SketchUp and Revit.

But there’s more than just basic blueprint design. The tutorials show you how to include products with your plans and create work plans to streamline the construction phase.

Therefore, Lynda’s selection could be regarded as more advanced, but there are still classes for novices. Some of the highlights include LEED Certification (bathroom remodelling and green buildings) and Restaurant Design.

#9 - Interior Design Basics (Howcast)

If you want something that can get your creative juices flowing, this course could be right up your alley.

In fact, this is more like a curated selection of video tutorials from Blanche Garcia, an accredited professional designer featured in Red Book, Latina, the Huffington Post, etc.

The course consists of 53 videos that cover topics from sustainable and green interior designs to Feng Shui and vintage decor. Some of the more unique entries that might be of interest include using fabric panels for decoration and interior design ideas for couples.

The only drawback is that it’s not interactive.

#10 - Designing a Tiny House With SketchUp (LinkedIn Learning)

This is what you’d call a niche course, but the idea and approach are so compelling that the course deserves to be on our list.

The course has nine modules that instruct you on how to design and build a tiny house from scratch. The tutorials and step-by-step guides cover every detail needed to put together a fully functional tiny house on your own.

But why’s that beneficial for interior designers?

You’ll learn more about using SketchUp. But then, the most significant benefit is that you can see the entire construction process and some of the challenges of working with small spaces.

But keep in mind that this course is free only for LinkedIn premium accounts.

It’s Learning Time

You really can’t go wrong with any of the above. Ideally, you’d be mixing and matching the courses for a more comprehensive learning experience.

For example, you can start with Oxford Home Study, followed by Photoshop Launch and YouTube sketching courses for developing your technical skills.

You can then round off the knowledge with MIT Principles of Design and Blanche Garcia’s course on Howcast.

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