What Does It Actually Cost, And What’s The Actual Value, Of Working With An Interior Designer?

When people first get in touch, the question underneath most other questions is: how much of my budget will this actually take up, and what am I really paying for?

It's a fair question, and I'd rather answer it properly than fudge it.

There's a word I came across recently that sums up what I think interior design fees are actually buying you: stewardship. A good interior designer isn't just making things look nice. They're stewarding your project, creatively and logistically, from the first sketch to the last bookshelf.

What interior design stewardship actually looks like 

Stewarding comes down to a few things. On the logistical side, it means you're in safe hands. I'm removing stress and uncertainty, and giving you clarity and someone to go to with questions, at every stage. 

Most of a project is small decisions made on site, week after week. Having someone steering them is what takes the stress out of it.

It also simply comes down to time. Sourcing a single decent sofa or dining chair can take a full day of work. Creating a bespoke lighting concept takes time, and isn’t done in a couple of hours. If you're time poor, these aren’t nice-to-haves, they’re the whole point.

Then there's my little black book. Years of working on projects means I know which joiners, contractors and suppliers do brilliant work, and which ones to avoid. I've been through the cowboys already, so you don't have to. That access alone tends to lift the quality of a project beyond what you'd find on your own.

Bringing this all together is the creative side to my role, which is harder to put a figure on but matters just as much. I'll solve the problems you've already spotted, but I'll also bring you ideas you hadn't thought of. You might come to me wanting a new kitchen and living room, and I'll design that, but I might also suggest joinery you hadn't considered, or a completely different layout. That's the elevation a designer brings: resolving what you knew you needed, and opening up what you didn't know was possible.

Stone, timber, tile and fabric, narrowed down sample by sample. This is where the hours go, and why fees are based on the time a project genuinely takes.

What does that look like in numbers?

I calculate fees based on the time and breadth of work a project genuinely takes: design concept and development, technical drawings and site visits, sourcing and contractor liaison. It's not a percentage applied mechanically to your budget, though once the fee is worked out, it's useful to check it’s inline against the total project cost. As a rough guide, my combined professional fees as an interior designer (design, project management and procurement) tend to land at around 15-20% of total project cost. 

To give an example of this, let’s imagine you have a project budget of £300,000 – which will typically cover a midscale renovation involving, say, a side return and new kitchen, or an overhaul of the house with lots of juicy furniture and art procurement – and with a project timeline of around 8 to 12 months from start to finish. For this size of project, I’d estimate our design fee would be about £50,000, on top of the £300,000. 

Much of the work happens away from site: planning, drawing, and thinking through the detail long before anything is built.

Why budget and build cost aren’t the same thing

The fee being ‘on top’ matters, because budgets are where clients and the industry most often talk at cross purposes. In construction, a project's value usually means the build cost alone, before VAT, and it's the figure professional fees like mine are measured against. 

A client, understandably, tends to think of their budget as everything. So by the time VAT, fixtures and fittings, and professional fees (ours included) are added to a £300,000 build, the total is closer to £450,000. Neither view is wrong, but it's why we agree early on exactly what your budget covers.

Separately, it’s worth noting that if I’m sourcing and buying furniture on your behalf, I charge a handling fee of 15%, inclusive of VAT, on the value of those goods. Against that, I pass on 100% of my trade discounts, typically 10-20% off retail, so this part of the process tends to be broadly cost neutral. You’re paying for my time and access, not paying materially more than retail. I’ve wrote in more detail about this here.  

An interior designer often comes up with unexpected ideas you didn't know you needed: a desk folded into the bookcase is making a pre-existing bookcase work twice as hard.

If a full design service isn't in reach

There are a few alternatives I point people to. The first is my Design Concept package. It’s a full design service delivered upfront, so we work through the big questions and open up the possibilities, but I’m not project managing once it’s underway. Generally we estimate our Design Concept packages take about 100 hours of design time and so the cost typically runs to about £10,000-£12,000. 

The second is my consultancy, either by the hour or half day. It’s ideal for smaller-scale projects where I can offer focused, practical support without clients committing to a full design service. 

Lastly is Home Notes. It was set up by Amy and Jane, two fantastic architects who spotted the gap that opens up when homeowners try to project manage a renovation themselves, and it's built to support exactly that. For anyone take that route, head there. 

Every project is different, and these numbers are a starting point for conversation, not a fixed quote. If you'd like to talk through what this might look like for yours, get in touch, or take a look at the FAQs for more detail on how I structure fees.