How to learn interior design?

Whether for a career in design, home renovation, or personal interest, having a clear end goal in studying interior design will guide your learning. Regular practice in sketching, space planning, and using design software is necessary. Join design communities online or attend local workshops for inspiration and feedback. Work on real projects like redesigning a room or creating mood boards.

What are the best interior design courses on Coursera?

Popular interior design courses include Making Architecture from IE School of Architecture and Design and The Language of Design: Form and Meaning from the California Institute of the Arts . These courses explore design principles, space planning, color theory, and creative thinking.

Can I learn interior design for free on Coursera?

Yes. Many interior design courses offer a free audit option, which gives you access to video lessons and readings at no cost. If you want to complete assignments or earn a certificate, you’ll need to pay or apply for financial aid.

What will I learn in an interior design course?

You’ll learn how to design functional and visually appealing spaces using elements like layout, lighting, texture, and color. Some courses also explore design history, sustainability , and tools like SketchUp, CAD or other digital rendering software.

Do I need a design background to start learning interior design?

No design experience is required. Many Coursera courses are beginner-friendly and walk you through the fundamentals of interior design, helping you develop your eye and build your confidence.

Can learning interior design on Coursera help me start a career?

Yes. Whether you're exploring a new interest or planning to enter the design field, Coursera can help you build foundational knowledge and develop a portfolio. Certificates and project-based work can also help demonstrate your skills to clients or employers.

Top Interior Design Courses - Learn Interior Design Online

Find the Best Interior Design Course for Your Goals

Georgia Institute of Technology
Introduction to User Experience Design
Skills you'll gain: User Experience Design, Prototyping, User Centered Design, Usability, Requirements Analysis, UI/UX Research, Interaction Design, User Interface (UI) Design, Usability Testing, User Research
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
8.9K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
The Museum of Modern Art
Fashion as Design
Skills you'll gain: Culture, Cultural Diversity, Aesthetics, Innovation, Design, Art History, Environmental Issue, Research, Sociology, Design Thinking, Creativity, World History
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
3K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Coursera Instructor Network
UX Design: Research, Prototyping, Accessible Interactions
Skills you'll gain: User Research, User Interface (UI) Design, Prototyping, Usability, Figma (Design Software), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, User Experience Design, User Centered Design, Mockups, Usability Testing, Persona (User Experience)
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
25 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
Johns Hopkins University
HTML, CSS, and Javascript for Web Developers
Skills you'll gain: HTML and CSS, Javascript, Responsive Web Design, Ajax, Front-End Web Development, Web Design, Web Applications, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Browser Compatibility, Web Development, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Usability, Cross Platform Development
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
17K reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
California Institute of the Arts
Visual Elements of User Interface Design
Skills you'll gain: User Interface (UI) Design, Graphic and Visual Design, Web Design, Design Elements And Principles, Human Computer Interaction, Responsive Web Design, Typography, UI Components, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, User Experience Design
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
6.3K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
The University of Sydney
Design-Led Strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship
Skills you'll gain: Design Thinking, Innovation, Business Modeling, Product Design, Service Design, Product Development, Business Strategy, Strategic Communication, Market Research, Corporate Strategy, User Feedback, Product Testing, Customer Insights
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
1.3K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of Minnesota
Introduction to UI Design
Skills you'll gain: User Interface (UI) Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Usability, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience Design, Design, Design Thinking, UI/UX Research, Design Strategies, Human Centered Design, Design Research, User Centered Design
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
1.4K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Stanford University
Game Theory
Skills you'll gain: Game Theory, Strategic Decision-Making, Mathematical Modeling, Graph Theory, Bayesian Statistics, Behavioral Economics, Probability, Economics, Markov Model, Algorithms
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
4.8K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Virginia
Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector
Skills you'll gain: Design Thinking, Stakeholder Engagement, Innovation, Prototyping, Brainstorming, Storytelling, Human Centered Design, Ideation, Service Design, User Experience, Experimentation, Qualitative Research, Data Visualization
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
415 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
IBM
IBM Full Stack Software Developer
Skills you'll gain: Prompt Engineering, Istio, HTML and CSS, Software Development Life Cycle, Node.JS, Cloud Computing Architecture, Server Side, Application Deployment, React Redux, Kubernetes, Cloud Services, Software Architecture, Django (Web Framework), Development Environment, Git (Version Control System), Flask (Web Framework), Full-Stack Web Development, Cloud Computing, Jupyter, Interviewing Skills
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
55K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Google Advanced Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Storytelling, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Data Ethics, Data Visualization Software, Sampling (Statistics), Data Presentation, Regression Analysis, Feature Engineering, Data Transformation, Descriptive Statistics, Professional Networking, Data Visualization, Tableau Software, Data Manipulation, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Machine Learning, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Data Analysis, Interviewing Skills
Build toward a degree
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
6.4K reviews
Advanced · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Meta
Meta Front-End Developer
Skills you'll gain: Jest (JavaScript Testing Framework), Version Control, UI/UX Research, Usability Testing, Responsive Web Design, Data Structures, Unix Commands, HTML and CSS, Git (Version Control System), Persona (User Experience), GitHub, Interaction Design, User Experience Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Bootstrap (Front-End Framework), React.js, Mobile Development, Front-End Web Development, Algorithms, Javascript
Build toward a degree
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
22K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months