What a design fee actually pays for

The design fee is the number people ask about first and understand least. It pays for time, and on a whole house most of that time happens where you never see it: at a desk with a scale ruler, on the phone with a workroom, in a warehouse checking a sofa for a scuffed leg.

Drawings and plans

Thirty-eight percent of the hours went into plans and elevations. Every room is drawn with its furniture before we order anything, which is how a nine foot sofa ends up in a room that can take it and a rug stops short of the door swing.

Sourcing and samples

Twenty-seven percent went into finding things and proving them: fabric cuttings, plaster samples on your wall, a chair sat in before it is bought.

Ordering and tracking

Twenty-one percent went into purchase orders, deposits, lead times and chasing. This is the part clients most often try to do themselves, and the part that most often goes wrong.

Install and styling

The last fourteen percent is install week. Furniture and finishes are billed separately at our trade cost plus fifteen percent, and every invoice shows both numbers.