What is your hourly fee? This is the most common question I get asked when meeting a new client. Some are bold and ask outright… but most hate having to even ask. Does talking $$$ stress you out? – me too!
I want you to feel more comfortable and confident when talking about your all important budget with your interior designer, and to do so I’m going to give you an exclusive insight into how I charge my clients. Keep in mind that not all interior designers charge using the same system, so it is important that you feel comfortable with your interior designers billing systems and level of transparency.
Okay! Let’s talk process
You’ve come across my website and you like what you see, great! You either give me a quick 5-10 minute call to discuss your project or maybe you fill out my client intake form, it’s that easy. Now what? I will come and check out your project! This is a great chance for me to gain a better understanding of the scope of your project and start visualising some amazing ideas for your space.
You’re wondering if you get charged for that initial consultation? At this point you will only be charged my hourly fee for my time spent on site with you, well worth it if you ask me! I spend anywhere from an hour to three giving you my advice and parting my design wisdom on you (ie. intellectual property) now that’s a value add! This is a pretty typical practice for all interior designers – so don’t be surprised if I’m not the only one starts their process off this way.
Now What?
I’ll start by explaining how most designers charge for their services and that is by… an hourly fee! They sit down and estimate how many hours your project is likely to take them to design and there you go… a magic figure appears. For example: let’s say this designers hourly rate is $125 and they estimate your project to take them 15 hours ($125 x 15 = $1,875.00). But sometimes projects take longer right? You hit a bump in the road ie. a problem arises that takes the designer longer than expected to resolve, not your fault or the designers – just a part of doing a renovation. If that’s the case the designer will add extra hours onto your bill. With this method by the end of the project your bill has encroached well over what you had expected – and you will never really be able to forecast that final number! – Stressful? YEP!
Many other designers, including myself, charge slightly different.. Yes, I still have an hourly fee, but this only applies for our initial consultation, face to face meetings, on site consultation or shopping and sourcing trips. So pretty much, if I have to leave the comfort of my office and my fluffy slippers to meet with you, I charge you my hourly fee! – sound’s fair right? You betcha! But I will estimate how many of those trips and meetings will be required and that is included in your overall price… and if we happen to go over, you know the drill!
After our initial consultation I sit down and look at your project. Instead of charging an hourly rate based on how many hours I estimate it will take me, I break it down… like right down! In that initial meeting we will decide together what services of mine you require, then I head back to the office and refer to my price guide and calculate that all important number ie. How much it is going to cost you to hire me for the services you require. YES… that all important number!
Mrs White’s Bathroom Reno!
For example, let’s say I’ve gone out to see Mrs White at her home and she’s planning a bathroom renovation. She would like me to design the whole bathroom, order the materials and fixtures, and choose the colours – she also struggles to visualise them so she has asked that I draft some 3D renders and an animation for her. Ohh and she is elderly so she would like me to project manage and organise the trades. I say ‘That’s great Mrs White I look forward to helping you with your bathroom renovation. Allow me to go back to the office, sit down and work out a price for everything involved.’ – And I do just that! I head back to the office, refer to my price guide for full service bathroom renovation and put together a quote and contract for Mrs White. It will read something like this;
Strategic planning $__
Sourcing all materials and fixtures $__
Selecting colours $__
Ordering of materials $__
3D Renders, Plans, Sections and Animation $__
Project management fee $__
Hiring of all trades $__
= $______
Plus $__ p/h for any consultations, shopping trips and site visits.
Then I draft that into a contract and send over to Mrs White. She sends me back a signed copy and her 50% deposit so that I can get started planning her dream bathroom.
My design fee quoted for Mrs White’s project will not change even if it takes me longer than expected, that’s entirely on me!
No surprises!!!
How Do Designer’s Make Money Selling Product?
Well I’m glad you asked. – It’s common knowledge that designers receive discounts from retailers but they can range from 5% to 30%. Your next question will be ‘do you share your discount with me?’… Some designers will, some won’t. BUT I DO!!
I will share 50% of my discount with you. Let’s use Mrs White’s bathroom renovation as an example of this. Mrs White will need a lot of materials for her bathroom and I will order most of the fittings and fixtures from Reece Plumbing. Her budget for these items was $10,000, and her bill for these came to $8,500 retail price. But what about my discount? Let’s say I receive a 10% discount and I’m going to share half of that discount (5%) with Mrs White. Her total bill will be $8,500 – 5% = $8,075. She has saved $425 by hiring me to do her purchasing for her!
DISCLAIMER – Yes I make money off your purchases but your budget always comes first. I am never ever.. going to try to sell you a more expensive product just so I can score a couple more bucks! – Your happiness and budget will always mean more to me than $$$ will.
So there you have it. This is my exact pricing structure that I use for every single job. I hope this was helpful in making you feel more confident about hiring an interior designer. Never hesitate to ask your prospective interior designer how they plan to charge you for their services, it’s your money! You have a right to know how it will be spent.
I am all about full transparency with my clients, not only will you receive copies of all invoices and receipts for every item I purchased for you but you are also more than welcome to ask me anything about your bill or purchases that you don’t understand. I’m here for you! If you have any questions please leave a comment below, or contact me today, I look forward to hearing from you.
Are you building a new home? – learn why you need to hire an interior designer.
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