STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

ISABELLA B. GOMULKA, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 91-6759

)

DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL ) REGULATION, BOARD OF ARCHITECTURE ) AND INTERIOR DESIGN, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to Notice, this cause was heard by Linda M. Rigot, the assigned Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings, on January 22, 1992, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Isabella B. Gomulka, pro se

1663 Pleasant Drive

Juno Beach, Florida 33408

For Respondent: Arthur R. Wiedinger, Jr.

Assistant Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs Suite 1603 The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

The issue presented is whether Petitioner's application for licensure, without examination, as an interior designer should be granted.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Petitioner applied for licensure, without examination, as an interior designer pursuant to a "grandfather" clause. In a series of subsequent correspondence between Petitioner and Respondent, Respondent notified Petitioner that her application was incomplete, reviewed additional material submitted by her, re-considered her application, and eventually advised her that her application for licensure was denied since she had not submitted proof that she had the required six years of experience as an interior designer prior to January 1, 1990. Petitioner timely requested a formal hearing regarding the denial of her application, and this cause was transferred to the Division of Administrative Hearings for the conduct of that formal proceeding.

Petitioner testified on her own behalf. Additionally, Petitioner's Exhibits numbered 1 and 2 and Joint Exhibit numbered 1 were admitted in evidence.

Only the Respondent submitted post-hearing proposed findings of fact in the form of a proposed recommended order. A specific ruling on each proposed finding of fact can be found in the Appendix to this Recommended Order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioner was born in Europe. Since both her father and her brother were architects, she was exposed to a background of architecture and design. She received a bachelor of arts degree in fine arts in Holland, which included many drafting courses and interior design courses. She travelled extensively through Europe studying the many different architectural styles of many different time periods. She came to the United States twenty years ago.

   
   

2. From January 1982 through September 1984 Petitioner was employed full- time by Lucido Brothers as a design consultant. Lucido Brothers is a manufacturer and seller of fine cabinetry, specializing in custom-made kitchens and bathrooms, including built-in wall-units and room dividers, storage cabinets, wet bars, bookcases, and entertainment centers. Lucido Brothers further specializes in new construction and renovations.

   
   

3. During that employment, Petitioner consulted with customers, visited job sites, and took measurements. Although Petitioner worked closely with builders and architects, she did her own drawings, designs, and spacial analyses. She designed custom-made furniture, wall-units, and built-in dividers as non-structural walls. She designed kitchens and bathrooms and built-in window seats. She drew floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, and drawings for wall partitions. She supervised the construction and installation of the

   custom-made furniture, built-ins, and cabinets. She specified recessed lighting and the placement of light fixtures and electrical outlets.

   
   

4. After leaving the employ of Lucido Brothers, Petitioner opened her own business, called Barbara's Interiors, on March 29, 1985. She obtained an occupational license which she still renews every year. She worked full-time as an interior designer in that business through December of 1986.

   
   

5. Petitioner's husband is an electrical contractor. While at Barbara's Interiors, she did many jobs with her husband, as she has for the last twenty years. In conjunction with those jobs, Petitioner designed recessed lighting (indirect lighting), suspended ceilings, track lighting, soffit lighting, and spot lighting.

   
   

6. Many of her customers at Barbara's Interiors were building new homes or renovating existing homes. However, Petitioner also designed interiors for offices and commercial buildings.

   
   

7. At Barbara's Interiors, Petitioner consulted with customers, visited job sites, and took measurements. She reviewed blueprints with architects and builders. She analyzed space and did her own drafting and layouts. She drew reflected ceiling plans. She drew interior elevations, doorway locations, and window locations, and drew how they should be altered by enlarging to improve lighting or view. She selected floor coverings based on safety and functional criteria. She selected window treatments based on functionality, lighting, ventilation, and the alteration of window form and appearance. She drew floor plans, designed additional storage space, and re-designed lighting. She designed non-structural walls and room dividers to separate living areas. She assisted contractors in the remodeling of homes, converting a porch into a

   kitchen, and a dining room and kitchen into a larger dining room. She remodelled bathrooms.

   
   

8. In addition to doing interior design work while at Barbara's Interiors, Petitioner also did work which can be done by interior decorators. The division of labor between designing and decorating was probably fifty percent each.

   
   

9. From January of 1987 through May of 1990 Petitioner was employed full- time by Ethan Allen Galleries in West Palm Beach as an interior designer. Ethan Allen is a retail business, which manufactures its own furnishings and offers interior design services.

   
   

10. At Ethan Allen Petitioner consulted with customers, visited job sites, and took measurements. Although she used blueprints provided by customers and worked with their builders and architects, she also did her own room layouts. She designed rooms according to the architectural style and period specified by her customers. She designed built-in furniture to be used as room dividers, designed recessed and soffit lighting, added partitions to existing rooms and enlarged windows, and supervised the manufacturing of custom-built furniture. She also supervised subcontractors implementing her selection of paint, wallpaper, and carpeting. She designed floor-to-ceiling shelves as a dividing wall and drew her own floor plans. She designed additional storage space and

    re-designed lighting. Working with architects and builders, she designed room additions. She designed changes to interior doorways and to windows. She performed spacial analysis, and she supervised installation.

    
    

11. In addition to performing interior design services at Ethan Allen Galleries, Petitioner also performed interior decorating services. The division of labor between those things currently requiring licensure and those things not requiring licensure was 50/50.

    
    

12. Prior to January 1, 1990, Petitioner had a total of seven years and five months of full-time interior designer experience.

    
    

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

13. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties hereto and the subject matter hereof. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

    
    

14. Section 21 of Chapter 88-383, Laws of Florida, as amended by Chapter 89-19, Laws of Florida, establishes a procedure for licensure of an interior designer without examination. Section 21(1)(b), as amended, provides for licensure without examination as an interior designer for any person who prior to January 1, 1990, used or was identified by the title "interior designer" and had at least six years of interior design experience. Petitioner filed her application for licensure without examination pursuant to that "grandfather" provision. Accordingly, Petitioner must demonstrate six years of experience as an interior designer prior to January 1, 1990, to be licensed without examination.

    
    

15. Interior design services are defined in Section 481.203(8), Florida Statutes, as follows:

    
    

    (8) 'Interior design' means design services which do not necessarily require performance by an architect, including

    consultations, studies, drawings, and specifications in connection with reflected ceiling plans, space utilization, furnishings, or the fabrication of nonstructural elements within and surrounding interior spaces of buildings; but specifically excluding mechanical and electrical systems, except for specification of fixtures and their location within interior spaces. Except as provided herein, interior design shall not include services which require performance by an architect.

    
    

    Licensure is now required for someone performing interior designer services. Licensure is not required, however, for someone performing interior decorating services as provided in Section 481.229(6), Florida Statutes, as follows:

    
    

    (6) This part shall not apply to unlicensed persons holding themselves out as 'interior decorators' or offering 'interior decorator services,' such as the selection or assistance in selecting surface materials, window treatments, wallcoverings, paint, floor coverings, surface-mounted lighting, or loose furnishings not subject to regulation under applicable building codes.

    
    

16. Petitioner has met her burden of proving that she has more than six years of full-time experience as an interior designer prior to January 1, 1990. Petitioner has presented competent, substantial evidence that for more than six years on behalf of Lucido Brothers, Barbara's Interiors, and Ethan Allen Galleries she performed design services including consultations, studies, drawings, and specifications in connection with reflected ceiling plans, space utilization, furnishings, the fabrication of non-structural elements within and surrounding interior spaces of buildings, and specifications of fixtures and their location within interior spaces.

    
    

17. While it is true that Petitioner also performed some services which can be performed by unlicensed interior decorators incidental to her services as an interior designer, such does not diminish the fact that she was employed

full-time as an interior designer for more than the requisite six years. The boundaries between interior design and interior decorating are often unclear, and it is arbitrary to deny Petitioner credit for her full terms of employment simply because some of her specific tasks could also be classified as interior decorating. Certainly, every job undertaken by a designer does not require solely designer tasks. Many licensed professionals perform administrative, financial, and clerical tasks not requiring licensure as part of their professional responsibilities. Petitioner's application for licensure, without examination, as an interior designer pursuant to the "grandfather" provision should be granted.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered granting licensure to Petitioner,

without examination, as an interior designer pursuant to Section 21(1)(b) of Chapter 88-383, Laws of Florida, as amended by Chapter 89-19, Laws of Florida.

DONE and ENTERED this 29th day of April, 1992, at Tallahassee, Florida.

LINDA M. RIGOT

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550

(904) 488-9675 SC 278-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 29th day of April, 1992.

APPENDIX TO RECOMMENDED ORDER DOAH CASE NO. 91-6759

1. Respondent's proposed findings of fact numbered 10, 11, 13-16, and 18-

   21 have been adopted either verbatim or in substance in this Recommended Order.

   
   

2. Respondent's proposed findings of fact numbered 1-9 have been rejected as being unnecessary to the issues involved herein.

   
   

3. Respondent's proposed findings of fact numbered 12, 17, and 22 have been rejected as not being supported by the weight of the competent evidence in this cause.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Ms. Isabella B. Gomulka 1663 Pleasant Drive

Juno Beach, Florida 33408

Arthur R. Weidinger, Jr. Assistant Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs Suite 1603 The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

Angel Gonzalez, Executive Director Board of Architecture and

Interior Design Department of Professional

Regulation

1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-0792

Jack McRay, General Counsel Department of Professional

Regulation

1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-0792

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions to this Recommended Order. All agencies allow each party at least 10 days in which to submit written exceptions. Some agencies allow a larger period within which to submit written exceptions. You should contact the agency that will issue the final order in this case concerning agency rules on the deadline for filing exceptions to this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the final order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 91-006759

Orders for Case No: 91-006759