Whats the going rate for an interior designer? ?
There are several ways interior designers can charge their clients. Some decorators work for free and earn commissions from merchants on the products their clients buy. However, because of this they may steer clients to the highest priced products.
Others charge a fixed hourly fee, which will depend on their reputation. Well known designers, with celebrity clients, and their work represented in the editorial pages of prestigious magazines such as Architectural Digest, can charge $500 US Dollars an hour or more.
In addition, decorators can charge both a flat rate AND a percentage of any products purchased.
There are also decorators who act as consultants, and charge just for a few hours of their time. After studying the floor plans and finding out a client’s likes and dislikes, they offer ideas for decorating and help clients gain admittance to decorating showrooms which are not open to the public. Decorators generally do this by giving clients their card to be presented at the showroom for admittance. This might be the most economical way to go, as you will have the creative talent of a professional, although you will do all the legwork yourself, thus saving hours of the professional’s time.
If you are wondering whether it is worth the high price of a decorator, then you probably can’t afford their services. However, if you have seen the amazing results decorators can produce, their creativity, expertise and knowledge of where to find unique furnishings, then you will likely see they are well worth their prices.
Interior Designers and Decorators work for themselves or through design firms and each formulates how they will charge their clients through varying methods. Design fees are usually charged through two means—an hourly rate or a fixed rate. Interior Designers and Decorators will calculate how much time they feel it will take them to research and coordinate all the details of your project and will give you an estimate. If they are charging an hourly rate, expect to be charged for the time the Interior Designer spends in the office preparing, making phone calls to contractors and the supervision of deliveries and installations. Do not assume you are being charged only when the designer is at the design site, but for the entire scope of work for the project. If the Interior Designer or Decorator is charging a fixed rate, he or she has estimated the amount of time the project will take and will require a retainer. You should also expect a schedule for additional payments with the final paym
