6 Ways to Calculate Interior Design Fees with Transparency

Interior Design Fees, Interior Design Pricing, Interior Design Rates, Design Business Coach
  1. Marian Boll says:

    Melissa, great article! Wow this is so helpful. However, I’m in a difficult situation now. After owning a high-end 64k sq ft furniture store since 1938, we had to painfully close permanently in 2007. It felt like a death. My grandparents started it, my father them myself. Our local economy could no longer support an upscale store such as ours.

    Now that I’m slowly getting into the interior design business again, I’m finding myself working for friends and former clients. There are no stores near my small city. Columbus OH is about 2.5 hours away. Point being it’s difficult, and I find myself having to order from places like Wayfair etc … I lost everything financially. And found myself selling my home and at the age of 47.

    Melissa I don’t know how to charge for my services. I’m used to being the queen bee since I was 26. We had over 100 vendors and I could go to my upholstery, window treatment, and wall covering department all at my fingertips. I even decorated our governors mansion and his office in our capital building.

    I’m doing the following services at a current job by selecting; wall paints throughout, wallpaper in 2 bathrooms, crown molding, baseboard, door trim, choose tile/pattern layout for kitchen and two foyers. Researched and sent choices all door handles, dining room & living room lighting, breakfronts/credenzas. Assisted selecting wall to wall carpeting. Found and the ordered a dining room table and chairs on Wayfair. I’m also the coordinating & communicating directly with contractors.

    These are friends of mine and they absolutely understand and would never ask me to work for free. However I want to be fair to them and to myself. I’m not making any commission off of any of the furnishings since they directly purchased themselves. What do you think a fair design fee by the hour should be for being located in a rural state?

    I’ve been physically ill over this since November 11th. You have no idea how much this means to me. Any advice is so much appreciated
    Thank you,
    Marian

  2. Melissa Galt says:

    Marian,
    So sorry to hear of your challenges. There are at least 8 ways to charge for design services. It would be near impossible for me to provide that kind of specific advice here without knowing a lot more.

    You can get a free copy of my ebook on rates in the FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/interiordesignbusinessmastery It’s under announcements.

    2021 is expected to continue the increase in demand for design, it’s the perfect time to make your pivot.

    Hugs,
    Melissa

  3. workshop studio says:

    Hi! I’m Liam and I’m an interior designer who helps fellow designers grow their businesses. Forget confidence and competition, I believe designers should maintain and uplift each other. By helping and supporting one another, we can promote the business of interior design together.

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