How To Charge for Interior Design Services
Wanna Know How To Charge for Interior Design Services
Isn't that a loaded question?
The price range for design services varies all over the map.
And I will tell you that there isn't a standard. It's not like buying a pair of Converse sneakers. You can buy a pair for virtually the same price everywhere, give or take a few bucks.
Interior design services? Pffft. It is the wild west out there when you try to figure out how much you can charge and get clients, too.
Especially when you're basing it off someone else's worth. (Hint: that's a bad idea)
What are you offering?
Design services range from a mood board to a more complete package with floor plan, samples, mood boards, and renderings. First, you need to figure out what you are offering.
If you are just offering a mood board, no one is going to pay you $2000 for it unless you sell them on why this will work for them. And you have to ask why (no, seriously this isn't a dumb question).
What value does a mood board bring to the average client? Yes, a client can see that mood boards give them a look much as a fashion mood board does. But the difference is that while I can go buy that stunning blouse I want in my size, I have no guarantee that all these pieces of furniture on a mood board will even fit in my space. And if they did, where am I supposed to put them?
You also have the other side of the coin. Some clients could see a mood board and hit the ground running knowing what you were going for. They may never need to speak to you again about their room.
Another step to figuring out how much to charge for interior design services is you need to know how long it takes you to do your magic
How long will it take you to:
Scour the internet to find all the components for the room.
Save those images (along with the link to the store so your client can click and purchase).
Put together a pretty mood board.
Label all the items on your mood board so the client can go get the items you specified.
Turn the mood board into a PDF.
Send the PDF.
Things take time whether you drive to the stores or surf the Google. Mood boards take me about 4 hours if I am banging them out and don't hit any speed bumps.
When you figure out how long a mood board takes you to do, you should multiply that times your hourly rate. Then you need to also account for your overhead and all that jazz.
I found a really helpful tool for you to figure out how much time it takes you to complete a mood board. I use Google Chrome every day. They have these cool little apps you can add on and one of them is a timer.
Add it to your browser and you can click start and go, no problemo. Time yourself and see how long it takes you to complete your design tasks. Take that information and make a spreadsheet to figure out what you should be charging.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Hola! I'm Alycia Wicker and I help online interior designers grow their business.
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