Services. The Interior Design Project, Its Contents and Prices.
Interior design services: what the design project contains
Depending on what you need, you can choose one of several sets of services for the future interior of your house or apartment. Below I describe in detail what each design project package contains, how they differ and which extra services can be added. The price depends on the floor area, the package chosen and the style, and I quote an exact figure once I know your brief.
Layouts
The basic project
The basic design project includes the following services:
- Site measurements and the presentation of layout options.
- Development of the design project sketch, the style concept for the rooms.
- Visualisation of all significant rooms, no more than 2 or 3 images per room.
- Development of the project documentation.
The project documentation comprises:
- the measured drawing (plan) of the property
- the demolition plan for walls and partitions
- the plan after the layout changes
- the furniture and equipment plan
- the ceiling plan
- the floor plan with finish types
- the lighting plan
- the lighting circuit diagram
- the lighting-to-switch distribution plan
- the switch position plan
- the socket position plan
- the low-voltage plan (TV, home cinema, telephone, internet)
- the sanitaryware plan
- the underfloor heating plan
- the wall elevations with tile setting-out
- the finishing materials schedule
- the sanitaryware specification
- the wall and floor finishes specification.
The basic project also includes:
- advice on choosing furniture, light fittings, sanitaryware and floor, wall and ceiling finishes for every room. Advice is given by email, by text message and in person during the working hours set out in the contract
- visits to showrooms and shops. The total number of visits included in the project does not exceed 5, each lasting no more than 4 hours. Additional visits outside the project are agreed and paid for separately
- no more than 5 meetings for sign-off. Meetings are arranged verbally, by email or by text message. A meeting that does not take place because the client does not attend counts as having taken place.
The contents of the working project can be varied where necessary.
The design process
The optimal project
- The basic project.
- Lighting specifications.
- Furniture specifications.
Signing off a stage of the design project
The maximum project
- The optimal design project.
- Design of bespoke furniture.
Every detail has to be taken into account at the planning stage
The sketch project
- The layout.
- The set of drawings (see the description of the full project).
- Collages instead of 3D visualisations.
Site measurements are not included and are paid for separately.
Discussing the project stages
The layout only
- The measured drawing.
- The demolition and construction plan for walls and partitions.
- The plan of the rooms after the layout changes, with a schedule.
- The furniture arrangement plan with dimensions.
Site measurements are not included and are paid for separately.
Drawings
Bespoke furniture design
Furniture designed around your individual requirements. It might be a dressing room, a kitchen, wardrobes, upholstered furniture, bathroom furniture, mirrors, or small pieces such as an armchair or a pouffe.
Placing and following up the order with makers I know and trust.
Furniture design
Procurement
The procurement service is for when you need to furnish an apartment that is already renovated. It can be provided whether or not a design project was commissioned, and it also works with another designer's project. The price is agreed case by case: a fixed monthly fee or a percentage of the total budget (depending on the floor area and the cost of the works).
Selecting materials for the project
A single visit to a showroom or to the property
One visit to any showroom, shopping centre, textile workshop, furniture maker and so on, to choose furniture, furniture components, finishes, lighting, decorative pieces, textiles or finishing materials (no more than 3 hours of working time).
Design supervision
Design supervision means the author of the project checking that what is being created and built matches the design decisions taken during the project and recorded in the drawings.
Design supervision guarantees that the project is realised exactly as it was designed, changed or extended by its author, as the party holding a complete picture of the whole design solution and its details.
Design supervision is not part of the project and is paid for separately. It can be paid monthly in advance, and the price depends on the floor area, the complexity of the property and how far it is from the city. A single site visit for a consultation is possible, including within design supervision. Any increase in price for a distant or unusually complex property is agreed separately. There is a detailed article on design supervision for an interior project, along with what it does not cover.
Remote design supervision (email, messaging) means advice on realising the project, and its price depends on the volume of work.
Design supervision
How decoration differs from design supervision
Design supervision exists above all to keep an eye on the main renovation process. It involves furnishing the property with finishing materials and furniture, and I often include the textile side of the project in design supervision (if it is booked for more than 3 months): curtains, throws, cushions. But choosing tableware, bed linen, towels, table linen, small appliances, artwork, figurines, floral arrangements and assorted decorative details is decoration. It is a very important part of the work, but a separate one.
Interior decoration
Interior decoration happens while the building work is going on. It means choosing furniture and equipment, finishing materials and accessories, light fittings, paintings and sculpture and other details of the interior, and it involves regular trips to shops, suppliers' offices, exhibitions and so on, both with the client and alone.
The interior decoration service includes:
- selecting paintings, drawings and wall graphics
- selecting sculpture and similar pieces
- selecting cutlery, dinner services and table linen
- selecting curtains and drapes
- selecting bed linen and towels
- selecting accessories for the various rooms
- selecting floral arrangements
- selecting light fittings.
This service can be priced per trip of up to 4 hours. It can also be priced per square metre, in which case the decoration of the space is carried out in full.
Christmas decoration
Decoration can also be booked by theme, for the New Year and other holidays. I will choose your tree, the lights and the ornaments, and dress the whole space for the occasion.
An interior design consultation
A consultation can be online or in person, lasting up to 1.5 hours or up to 3 hours. In a consultation you can ask anything about your interior, and get my expert opinion if you have already commissioned a project but have doubts about another designer's work. The final price depends on the style chosen.
Site measurements
Useful reading before you commission a project
To understand how the work is structured and what you are paying for, I recommend reading about the related services and the process:
- The stages of an interior design project, the whole path from the first meeting to a finished folder of drawings.
- How long an interior design project takes, and what the timeline depends on.
- The payment stages for an interior design project, and how payment is spread across the work.
- What an interior design project does not include, the boundaries of the service that are worth knowing in advance.
- How a sketch differs from a photorealistic 3D visualisation, and what you get at the visualisation stage.
- How I work, and about me, if you are choosing an interior designer.
From sketch to visualisation
You can also read about me in ELLE Decoration. The portfolio is being updated for the new site, but there is already something to look at. My blog has plenty of useful material if you are choosing an interior designer or planning a renovation. And if you have not settled on a style yet, look at the examples and read about contemporary style and American classic.
Frequently asked questions
What does the basic interior design project include?
The basic project includes site measurements and layouts, the sketch and the style concept, visualisation of the significant rooms and the full set of project documentation, from the demolition plan to the wall elevations with tile setting-out. It also includes advice, showroom visits and sign-off meetings in the agreed quantities.
How do the basic, optimal and maximum packages differ?
The optimal project is the basic one plus lighting and furniture specifications. The maximum is the optimal one plus the design of bespoke furniture. The sketch project is a lighter version in which collages replace the 3D visualisations.
How much does an interior design project cost?
The price depends on the floor area, the package chosen and the style of the interior. I quote an exact figure individually once I know your brief. Design supervision, measurements taken before the contract is signed and additional visits are paid for separately.
Is design supervision included in the price of the design project?
No, design supervision is not part of the project and is paid for separately. It is usually paid monthly in advance, and the price depends on the floor area, the complexity and the distance to the property. There is more in the separate article on design supervision.
