ABSTRACT
In November 1960, Interiors magazine released an anniversary issue celebrating “Two Decades of Interiors.” Reflecting on the achievement of interior designers finally becoming independent professionals, the editors attributed the accomplishment to the resolution of a very simple bookkeeping problem: how, and for what, was the interior designer being paid. 1 Whereas interior designers had historically been remunerated on commission for reselling merchandise, by 1960 they were being recognized as the sellers of a high caliber service – which Interiors defined as “the training, knowledge, skills, talent and experience to design and produce an interior” – compensated in its own right. 2 The editors further argued that it was not until interior design work was given a price tag, measured and analyzed by contracts and billing systems, that the activity could be elevated in standing from a business into a profession, from a retail operation into a service as late as 1960. Yet financial independence would only arrive after interior designers had defined their services, and specifically in relation those of architects.
