How Interior Designers Charge: Fixed Fees, Hourly Rates, Percentages and Mark-ups

Ask three interior designers what they charge and you won’t just get three different numbers. You’ll get three different kinds of answer. One quotes a fixed fee, one an hourly rate, one a percentage of the build.

That isn’t because anyone is being evasive. There’s simply no single standard way to price interior design, and no fee scale you can look up. When the BIID surveyed its members in 2019, about half said they combine two or more methods. I spoke at the BIID’s Inside Knowledge conference that year on one question, what is an interior designer actually worth, and I’ve since sat on a BIID panel on pricing design services. Here’s how it works, in plain terms.

The five ways designers charge

1. A fixed fee

You agree one price for a defined scope of work before anything starts. About one in five designers in the BIID survey work this way.

Good for: knowing where you stand. The fee doesn’t creep up because a decision took longer than planned.

Watch for: what’s in the scope. A fixed fee is only as clear as the list of what it covers. If you add rooms or change the brief halfway through, expect the fee to change too.

2. An hourly or daily rate

You pay for the time spent. Just under one in five designers charge this way.

Good for: small jobs, advice sessions, or projects where the brief is likely to change.

Watch for: the total is open-ended. Ask for an estimate of hours up front and a regular record of time spent, so there are no surprises on the invoice.

3. A percentage of the project cost

The fee is a share of what’s spent on the project, often the build, sometimes the furnishings too. It’s how many architects charge, so it can feel familiar. Only a small minority of designers in the survey priced this way, most of them at 6 to 10%.

Good for: large projects where the scope is hard to pin down at the start.

Watch for: the fee rises as the spend rises. Check exactly which costs the percentage applies to.

4. A mark-up on what they buy for you

Most designers buy furniture, lighting and fabrics on your behalf. Many suppliers give designers a trade discount, and designers then add a fee on top of each item. This is often called a procurement or buying fee.

There are two broad versions. Some designers pass the trade discount on to you and add their fee openly. Others charge you the full shop price and keep the difference. Both exist. The first is easier to check.

Watch for: whether the discount is passed on, what the mark-up is, and whether it’s charged on everything or only some items.

5. A combination

This is the most common approach by some distance. A typical version is a fixed or percentage fee for the design, plus a buying fee on furniture and finishes.

How we charge

We use a combination, and we put the numbers in writing.

• A fixed design fee, agreed before we start and paid when the contract is signed. Our design fees start at £28,000.
• A 25% procurement fee on the furniture and accessories we buy for you. We pass our trade discounts on, so the discount usually cancels out most or all of that fee.
• Travel agreed up front, as a set budget in the contract, never billed after the event.

Across a whole project, build included, our design fee usually works out at 4 to 11% of the total spend. There’s a full breakdown in What Does a Luxury Interior Designer Cost in London?, and more on buying in our post on FF&E procurement.

Why so few designers publish their fees

In the same BIID survey, around 80% of designers said they don’t list their fees online. Partly that’s because every project is different. Partly it’s habit.

We publish ours because the first thing most people want to know is whether we’re in the right range. We’d rather you knew now than three meetings in.

What the BIID says to clients

The BIID publishes a free client’s guide to working with an interior designer, which includes a section on fees. It also suggests checking that a designer is a BIID Registered Interior Designer, meaning they’ve met the Institute’s professional standards. We are.

Questions to ask any designer about fees

• Which method do you use, and what exactly does the fee cover?
• What isn’t included?
• How are changes to the brief charged?
• Do you pass trade discounts on, and what is your mark-up?
• When do I pay, and how much is due up front?
• How are travel and expenses handled?

A designer who’s comfortable with their pricing will answer every one of these clearly. If the answers are vague now, they won’t get clearer once the project starts.