How much does an interior designer cost?
Most designers keep their prices behind a consultation. We publish ours. Here is what interior design actually costs in 2026, how designers charge, and exactly what we charge, in the open.
The reason a straight answer is so hard to find is that “interior designer” covers everything from an hour of advice to a whole home sourced, built, and styled for you. The fee also sits separately from the money you spend on furniture and construction, and that second number is usually the larger one. So the useful question is not the vague one everybody asks first. It is: which pricing model is in front of you, what does it include, and what does the total come to before you commit. That is what this page sets out to answer plainly.
How interior designers charge
There are five common ways to price interior design work. None is inherently better than another, but each suits a different kind of project, and knowing which you are being quoted tells you far more than a single headline number ever could. Exact figures move with your city, the designer’s experience, and the size of the job, so treat the models as the thing to compare, not a fixed price.
| Pricing model | How it works | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Billed per hour of the designer’s time, often with a minimum | Small or open-ended jobs, and advice where the scope is hard to pin down before you start |
| Flat or fixed fee | One agreed price for a clearly defined scope of work | Most residential projects, because you know the full cost before you commit and no meter runs |
| Percentage of budget | Fee set as a share of the total furniture and build spend | Larger renovations and new builds where the construction budget is the main driver |
| Per room | A set price for each room designed | Furnishing or refreshing specific spaces rather than committing to a whole home at once |
| Cost-plus | Designer buys furniture at trade price and adds a set markup | Projects with heavy sourcing, where the value is access to trade lines you cannot buy from |
Whichever model you are quoted, ask what is included, what is billed on top, and what the likely total is. A clear answer to that is the real signal of a good fit.
What we charge, in the open
We price on a flat fee, one agreed figure for a defined scope, and we publish every price rather than hiding it behind an enquiry. That transparency is deliberate. You should be able to see whether we fit your budget before you spend an hour on a call. Here is where each service starts.
| Service | Starts at | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Fix | 500 dollars | One room, or a second pair of eyes on a plan you have already started |
| Virtual design (home) | 1,000 dollars | A full home designed remotely, with a plan you order and install yourself |
| Full-service (home) | 1,200 dollars | A home designed, sourced, and managed for you from start to finish |
| Bathroom design | 2,500 dollars | A single bathroom planned in full, from layout to finishes and fittings |
| Kitchen design | 3,500 dollars | A kitchen planned around how you actually cook, live, and store |
| Airbnb design | 4,000 dollars | A short-term rental designed to photograph well and book from launch |
| Turnkey Airbnb | 8,700 dollars | A rental done for you: designed, sourced, delivered, styled, and ready to list |
Each of these is a starting price, because the final figure depends on the size of the space and how much sourcing is involved. The design fee is also separate from the furniture budget, which you own and control. If you want the full breakdown of what each tier includes, it is set out on the pricing page, and the short-term rental tiers have their own detail on the rental design pricing page. Not sure which level you need? The interior design quiz points you to the right one in a couple of minutes.
What drives the cost
Two projects can carry very different price tags for reasons that have nothing to do with the designer being cheap or dear. A handful of factors do most of the work, and understanding them lets you shape a quote to fit your budget rather than being surprised by it.
The one factor that sits outside the design fee entirely is the furniture and build budget. That is your spend on the actual pieces and construction, it is usually larger than the fee, and it is the number to fix first. For a short-term rental, we break that furnishing budget down room by room on our Airbnb interior design cost guide, so you can plan it rather than guess.
Is an interior designer worth it?
It is the fair question to ask before spending anything, and the honest answer is that for most people, yes, a designer pays for itself. Not because a room looks nicer, though it will, but because of what a designer stops you doing. The sofa bought twice because the first one was the wrong scale. The renovation that ran over because decisions were made late and on site. The rooms that never quite work and never get fixed. A good designer front-loads those decisions, so the money you spend on furniture and building goes further and does not get spent again.
There is also a measurable side, at least for anyone furnishing to earn. In a study of short-term rental listings, featuring a well-designed living room in the main photo raised the booking rate by 35 percent. Design is not a finishing touch on a space like that. It is the thing the booking decision is made on.
Featuring a well-designed living room in the main listing photo raised the booking rate by 35 percent. For a rental, design is what earns the booking, not what dresses it afterwards.
Worth it does not have to mean full-service, though. If your project is small, or you enjoy the hands-on part, a Quick Fix or a Virtual design gives you a designer’s plan without the managed fee. The point is to match the level of help to the job, which is exactly what we will tell you plainly on a call. There is no upsell in it, because our prices are already on the table.
What clients say
Michael has an incredible eye for design, detail and functionality. His vision made the entire project come together beautifully. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone looking for a talented, reliable designer. 10/10.
Michael is very professional and dedicated. He took time during his vacation to visit my apartment to give me an estimate and draft examples of what we could do. I was very impressed.
See where you fit, in plain numbers
Every price is published. Take the quiz for a quick steer, or book a call and we will tell you honestly which level suits your project.
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Frequently asked questions
It varies widely, because designers bill in different ways and every project has a different scope. Most charge by the hour, as a flat project fee, as a percentage of the build budget, per room, or cost-plus on the furniture they source. Most keep the actual numbers behind a consultation. We publish ours instead: our work starts at 500 dollars for a Quick Fix and runs to 8,700 dollars for a fully turnkey Airbnb, with every service priced in the open on our pricing page.
For most people, yes, because a designer saves you from the expensive mistakes: pieces bought twice, a room that never quite works, a renovation that costs more because decisions were made late. You buy back your time and you get a result that holds together. If your project is small or you enjoy the hands-on part, a lighter Virtual design or a Quick Fix gives you the plan without the full-service fee. Book a call and we will tell you honestly which level fits.
There is no single normal, because it depends on how many rooms, how much furniture you are buying, and whether the designer just plans the space or sources and manages it too. The design fee is separate from the furniture and build budget, and that furniture spend is usually the larger number. The honest way to plan is to fix your total budget first, then choose a service that fits it. Our pricing page lists what each service costs so you can work backwards from a real figure.
A decorator works with the surface: colour, furniture, soft furnishings, and styling in a space that already works. A designer works with the space itself as well, including layout, function, and how a room is used, and often coordinates the trades who build it. The line blurs in practice, and plenty of good work is pure decoration. The question to ask is whether you need the room to look better or to work better. We can do either, so tell us which on a call.
Flat fee. We price each service as one agreed figure for a defined scope, so you know the cost before you commit and there is no meter running while we work. A Quick Fix starts at 500 dollars, Virtual design at 1,000 dollars, and full-service at 1,200 dollars. The full list is published on our pricing page, which is rarer than it should be in this industry.
Our short-term rental design starts at 4,000 dollars for the design itself, and a fully turnkey Airbnb, designed, sourced, delivered, and styled ready to list, starts at 8,700 dollars. That design fee is separate from the furniture budget, which is the larger spend and depends on the size of the property. We break that furnishing budget down room by room on our dedicated Airbnb cost guide.