The Components of Interior Design Fees
Do not assume all the time that running out of money means you can no longer enjoy the professional help given by an interior designer. There are now a lot of ways that you can work with this expert. Just remember that you may not be able to pay for the designer’s help for your entire house but you can ask for his expertise with a single task. A lot of designers are more than happy to provide consultancy work with a single design job such as the selection of furniture in a room or even picking the right paint for the walls.
Do not let the fees worry you. So that you can go out there with much more confidence later on, you need to understand the complexity of the interior design project that you want to finish as well as the size of the space. You also need to consider the timetable for the said project and what kind of skills will be needed for its completion.
You have to accept the fact that a simple renovation is a lot easier to attend to than building from scratch. Consider also the skills and educational attainment that your chosen interior designer has achieved as these are also determinants for your future payments.
Hourly Rate
There are a few interior designers who prefer to be paid on an hourly basis. This is a fixed, hourly rate which is most applicable during the planning and sketching phases of the project.
Other designers choose to stick to this method till the task has been done. This is a payment option that favors the designers since they can collect on their overtime work. For example, a designer can charge an hourly rate of $50 for redesigning just your family room.
The Flat Fee
More designers opt for the flat rate which is the lump sum amount for the entire project. This amount is paid to this expert regardless on the project being done sooner or later than expected.
This mode of payment is most preferred by customers since they do not have to watch the clock at all times. This means that an interior designer who charged $5,000 USD for the kitchen renovation project will get paid this amount even when he finishes days after the schedule on the contract.
As a client, you need to remember that the fees cover the expertise and time of a designer and that you will need to pay a separate amount for the materials that will be bought for the project. So, whether you are modest or extravagant with regard to your furniture, appliance and light fixture choices; if you have set $5,000 for the interior design fee, then that amount is separate from the cost of the supplies that the designer will be buying.
What Is Cost Plus?
This is the most popular way to calculate fees among interior designers these days. With this method, the cost of the project is calculated then a flat fee is added on top of it; in the process, it is designed to come out as a packaged service.
For example, a bedroom makeover that costs $7,000 in furniture and other material purchase can have an additional 10-20% as a percentage for the interior designer’s fee. This totals to about $8,400. This amount is still not inclusive of the delivery fee or the sales tax.
If you are currently on a budget, hiring an expert interior designer is – ironically – the cheapest way to go. This pro is keen on building his portfolio so you can save money by getting an expert opinion from the onset. And expert opinion almost always equates to zero errors.
