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It’s kind of a hard problem for designers and it’s why I didn’t take the plunge myself into owning a design business. Prices are about what I would expect (I was assuming it would be $200+/hr). And while understandable and totally deserved, it makes me sad that I’ll probably never be in a place to afford it. I have 3 shelves in the living room that I want styled, but I can see how quickly that would add up to be out of my price range. And I assume designers would rather have bigger projects with more control.
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When it’s an individual, it’s a lot harder sell than when a corporation is paying for it. I cannot charge less than $100/hr or I would go negative. I have to have e&o insurance and pay for expensive drafting/design programs that take a hefty computer on top of the expenses others have stated.
The Time and Money Breakdown Of Sara’s Makeover Takeover Project

Design and creative work is EXTREMELY important and improves quality of life, but I think it reasonable to have some sense of perspective. Many of the Phds who have mentioned their pay have spent their entire 20’s studying and earning minimum wage, before they then earn $40 an hour, and their contributions will be of huge benefit to society. Both jobs are meaningful but this is not a winning comparison. I am neither a professional creative or scientist. Why is being a designer any less valuable than being a psychologist or a tech engineer? There’s a lot involved in designing a space including things like obtaining permits or abiding by state building codes for example.
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I’m a designer with a master’s in architecture. I deal with people’s homes and their family dynamics. I have to build trust and act as a therapist all while managing the construction, knowing codes, getting their home to function again (not just pretty), and making it beautiful. Thank you Emily and the team for talking about this touchy subject, I love this transparency you continuosly share here! After all people, we live in capitalism, that’s all I have to say.
I have several friends who own their own residential design businesses. Each has their own model of how she runs her business. In spite of the fact that it is very expensive to hire a full-service designer, designers are not getting rich off their fees!
I’m not a designer, but I agree that people seem to underestimate or undervalue the kind of professional expertise needed to do this job. Love reading all this- and yes, you should’ve been charging more!! It’s the gaps in time and availability you pay for to have the support you need when you need it. So, now let’s turn to our anonymous special guests and get some REAL answers.
'UK at the Half': College of Design Students Learn From Hands-On Experience - UKNow
'UK at the Half': College of Design Students Learn From Hands-On Experience.
Posted: Fri, 01 Apr 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
So would any designers even want to help style only 3 shelves? It helps me think about goals and what I could save up for. For what it’s worth, no designer (except maybe the ones working just for themselves or really high up in a company) gets to take home even half of what the company charges for their time. My company bills $150-$175 for my time (I can’t remember the exact number), and I get to take home about $30/hour of that (my salary is $58,000/year with about 4 years of experience). So as far as personalized design services go, we should just call them what they are – a luxury service for a very select group of rich folks. There is no salaried job in this country except perhaps high-end medical and Wall street that would pay a salary sufficient to afford 16K for 3 small rooms design (incl 2K for purchasing and vendor communication).
Graphic Design Art School of the Arts - University of Nevada, Reno
Graphic Design Art School of the Arts.
Posted: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:27:39 GMT [source]
Non-design school trained team members like Arlyn, Bowser, and Jess are all self-made success stories that exemplify the fact that all you need is a Pinterest board, a good flea market or two, a pinch of taste, and the time/patience to pull it off. And don’t worry, Sara is being forced to design her own bedroom and master bathroom, so she’s not sitting in lap of luxury – aka my lap – for too much longer. She’ll pull it off though, she’s done it before (see her old apartment below). Though the specifics varied, a common occurrence was evident; most designers have this element addressed/outlined in their contracts.
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Luckily, our designer friends had some solutions and are budgeting in contingency or overestimating in their proposals to allow for the X factor of clients’ particularities. Regardless of your background, our unique blend of hands-on design and business applications allows for real-life experience so you can confidentially begin designing or staging interiors immediately after graduation. As an architect, I alway tell friends and family to bring me or show me lots of pictures of what they are looking at and what they would want to change. I can then let them know roughly what work needs to be done and what they can expect to spend.
Working for myself – in this industry – was the only way I had the potential to surpass the very real cap on my salary working for someone else. Do you mean that your salary works out to $56 per hour? As mentioned elsewhere, designers do not get paid for every hour they are working.
Can you do an update post on how much Sara’s design update costs when you add in price of furniture, construction and labor, etc? It would be great to get the full picture of what we should budget for if we are doing a remodeling project. As an educated interior designer working for a small business, super thankful to see this comment. Thank goodness for free blogs as resources to help us figure it out ourselves. Also, would love to see more process, behing the scenes stuff on Instagram. I’ve been wodering for months whatever happened to Sara’s house or if I missed the reveals.
Yes, I’m very aware of the difference between the hourly rate charged by a self-employed person vs. the take-home pay of a salaried employee. And as a former business owner, I’m also very aware of the additional costs of running a business and having employees. Still, I was amazed at the rate that designers are charging.
Collaborative work is encouraged, but please credit all authors and highlight your specific contribution. Similarly, academic, professional, and personal work are all welcome, but please differentiate these distinct types of work. I am not an interior designer, but I do work in a creative field and I was shocked at how elitist some of these comments are. It’s fascinating to see how people openly value science/tech jobs more highly than creative ones, and how that lines up with traditional masculine and feminine roles. But, designers, you want to remain competitive with your rates. Your knowledge and resources are uniquely valuable (project-undertakers, be wary of hoping your contractor will moonlight as your designer. That can be an expensive mistake!).
We have an unusual model here at EHD because the blog and partnerships are the bulk of our business, not residential clients (we can’t do everything). When I did have clients I charged $200/hour for me (when I remembered to bill thus the real problem – and now I’m realizing that I wasn’t charging enough), and I think for a senior designer like Ginny was at the time $150, and $100 for a junior designer. Now we have what we call a ‘friends and family rate” which is $75/hour for my design team’s time which we charge simply to cover overhead costs (like payroll, office space, insurance, 401K, etc., for the EHD designers on the project). I don’t charge my time because these truly are my friends or family and I don’t like to charge them for me but I simply can’t lose money and go out of pocket for the time spent from my design team.
We’re counting on you to join the conversation down in the comments with your own perspectives. You can do a few google searches and find that interior designers average a take home pay of 50-60k a year USD …owning their own businesses or paying someone. This isn’t an industry with stock options, job security, maternity leave or vacation time.
Definitely Kelly, some designers will offer stand-alone consultations to help make these decisions. To MelissaB, just be sure to look for the evidence in the designer’s portfolio and education that they’ll be able to confidently help you. I’m an interior designer, and instead of clients paying the high costs for an architect, we can often partner with a draftsman and engineer to finalize the drawings they need for projects like you’re describing. ” feelings relate more to not knowing previously how much it costs to hire an interior designer (never having worked with one before). I fully support paying people living wages, it just seems clear that use of interior design services is not something I (or most other people, I would imagine!) can afford. Velinda here, and today I’m talking spreadsheets, budgets, and survey data – all the good stuff that comes with the design process for an interior.