So you have just acquired a new property, and you want an interior designer to work on it. The first discussion between both of you will probably be about budget, and pretty soon, you would like an estimate for the project.
But there’s just one thing: No two homes are alike. In the same manner, no two homeowners think alike. There may be unforeseen design plan changes and multiple revisions, and things can go south if you’re not prepared for it. Ballpark budgets don’t translate into concrete figures, nor do they provide an accurate idea of the costs involved.
It may be tempting to think you can go over the financials later, but it’s not. Here’s why:
There are hidden charges and markup prices. There are many reasons which may cause your budget to exceed. And why should you end up paying more when you can get the same job done within a set budget?
You’d want the task to be completed on time. Getting an idea about the costs involved will help you streamline your vision and help your designer pick the right stuff. You’ll save not just money but time as well.
Having established the importance of discussing costs, let’s take a look at the charges.
What Kind of Charges Are Involved in an Interior Designing Project?
1. The Designer’s Fee
Depending on the project requirements and the designer’s expertise, the fee could be between 100 rupees per square foot to 5000 rupees per square foot. Fees are usually charged under one of these categories:
Per square feet
This is the most common form. It could start from 100 rupees per square foot and go upto 5000 rupees per square foot. It is to be noted that the square foot isn’t limited to just the floor plan but also the walls, kitchen cabinets, and wardrobes.
Per consultation
This is for premium designers who usually create five or six design plans for large properties like hotels and showrooms.
Percentage of Costs
This usually applies to luxury residential properties. Usually, it is about 5 per cent of the property cost, but it can definitely go up depending on the requirements.
Turnkey Projects
Turnkey projects are end-to-end, so they often involve additional commissions, price markup, or consultation charges. Therefore, homeowners need to have a good understanding of the cost breakdown for these projects beforehand. These are usually the ones with hidden charges.
2. Furniture Costs
The designer can choose these at the retail price or by the homeowner as per the designer’s suggestion.
3. Material Costs
A great deal of the aesthetics depends on the kind of material used. It could be something small like the stuffing of a bean bag or something big like the kind of wood used for kitchen cabinets. Good quality materials can definitely notch up the overall costs.
4. Other Services
These include services like plumbing, painting, electrical wiring, electronics installation, maintenance, and so on. Except in turkey projects, designers don’t charge directly for these services.
How to Integrate Customisation Costs?
Sometimes, even experienced designers tend to fumble when asked about customisation costs because there’s not enough cohesive data to determine the price at a moment’s notice accurately. Customisation is usually required for furniture and the floors but can also be needed for walls, kitchen cabinets, and wardrobes.
Customisation is tricky because every room needs to have a unique design yet maintain synergy with the overall ambience. Your vision of your home is something that is uniquely yours. It carries your essence. So everything right from the colour of the curtains to the design on the kitchen cabinet needs to fit with an overall theme. Every little detail serves a higher purpose of notching up the aesthetic appeal.
This makes forming an initial design cost estimate for customisation requests difficult. The cost depends heavily on the type of materials and designs used, and it can snowball quickly if it’s a large property. For example, a rustic look versus a minimalistic look can have two vastly different figures irrespective of the number of furniture used.
Additional shelling out is a given. But as a client, you’ll need to have a thorough idea about the costs involved so that you don’t overspend.
HipCouch’s Cost Estimation Tool
HipCouch’s Cost Estimation Tool can help prevent that. It is a simple, easy-to-use tool, built-in Hipcouch’s website that can give you a reasonably accurate design estimate within minutes. Based on past customer surveys, the estimate generated by the Cost Estimation Tool is 5 per cent (plus and minus) of the final cost. You can read more about it here.
The Cost Estimation Tool uses information like the number of rooms, type of flat, and carpet area in square feet to generate an accurate interior design estimate. Based on previous calculations and current trends, it then proceeds to give you an almost accurate statement of the cost, customised furniture charges and flooring costs. You can read more about the tool here.
The best thing about the tool is that it provides a timeline for the project completion along with the interior design estimate. This helps you to analyse the cost versus benefit.
Also, it reduces hidden charges by a fair margin. We divide the estimate into four categories: Classic, Comfort, Premium, and Luxury to help you decide to what extent you want customisation. This tool can save a lot of back and forth over the cost sheets. And you can get all this within minutes. All it needs is a few details to help create a clean layout of the budget. You can also raise questions in case you need more information.
A designer, treating your budget as sacred, is a keeper. And a well-established budget keeps everything else in check!
Want to give the cost estimation tool a shot? Click here.