If you’re considering hiring an interior designer for a renovation, new construction, or furnishing project in St. Petersburg, one of the first questions you may have is: How much does an interior designer actually cost?

The answer depends largely on the scope of the project and the level of service you’re looking for. Designing and furnishing a living room is very different from renovating an entire home, just as selecting finishes is very different from having a designer manage a project from the initial concept through final installation.

Understanding what goes into interior design fees can help you plan realistically and determine what type of design service is right for your project.

How Interior Designers Charge

Interior designers typically structure their fees in a few different ways, including hourly rates, flat design fees, purchasing or procurement fees, or a combination of these.

For full service projects, design fees account for much more than selecting furniture and finishes. A considerable amount of the work happens behind the scenes: developing the design concept, space planning, sourcing, creating specifications and drawings, coordinating with contractors and trades, reviewing samples, managing orders, troubleshooting, and overseeing installation.

For this reason, two projects of similar size can require very different levels of design involvement.

What Determines the Cost of Interior Design?

The biggest factor is scope.

A furnishings project using an existing floor plan will typically require less design time than a renovation involving a kitchen, bathrooms, lighting plans, custom cabinetry, or architectural changes.

Other factors include the size of the home, the number of spaces being designed, the level of customization, the amount of custom millwork or furniture involved, and how much project management the designer is providing.

The earlier these elements are identified, the more accurately the overall investment can be planned.

Design Fees and Your Project Budget Are Different

One of the most important distinctions when budgeting for an interior design project is the difference between design fees and the project investment itself.

At Astral House, full service interior design fees typically begin around $25,000 for qualifying projects. Furnishings, construction, materials, freight, receiving, and installation are separate from design fees.

Design fees compensate your designer for their expertise, creative work, planning, and management of the project, while the project budget covers the items and work required to bring that design to life.

Understanding both from the beginning helps establish a realistic investment and allows the project to be thoughtfully planned from concept through completion.

What Does Full Service Interior Design Include?

At Astral House, full service interior design is intended to take a project from its earliest ideas through final installation.

Depending on the project, this may include space planning, furniture and material selections, lighting, custom millwork, drawings and specifications, collaboration with architects, contractors and trades, procurement, order management, receiving and white glove delivery, installation, and final styling.

Our past full service clients tend to have something in common. They lead busy lives, value their time, and aren’t looking to DIY one of their most important assets.

A large scale interior project can involve hundreds and sometimes thousands of decisions. There are contractors and trades to coordinate, orders and lead times to manage, details to resolve, unexpected problems to solve, and countless individual choices that ultimately need to come together as one cohesive home.

Our role isn’t simply to find ways to spend less. It’s to protect our clients’ investment and their time.

That means helping them make informed decisions from the beginning, anticipating problems before they become expensive ones, protecting the integrity of the design as a project moves through construction and procurement, and managing the complexities required to carry a vision all the way through execution.

Our clients don’t need to become experts in furniture, cabinetry, lighting, construction details, procurement, or logistics in order to create an exceptional home. They have a team managing those details on their behalf.

The result isn’t simply a beautiful finished home. It’s a thoughtfully considered home and a process that asks far less of the client’s time and attention.

When Should You Hire an Interior Designer?

For renovations and new construction, earlier is almost always better.

Ideally, your interior designer should be involved before major construction decisions and finish selections are made. Early collaboration allows decisions about space planning, lighting, electrical locations, cabinetry, materials, and furnishings to be considered together rather than independently.

For furnishing projects, bringing a designer in before purchasing individual pieces can also prevent costly mistakes and create a more cohesive result.

Planning a Home in St. Petersburg?

Whether you’re renovating a home, furnishing a downtown St. Petersburg condominium, building from the ground up, or creating a home that simply feels more considered and personal, understanding the scope and investment at the beginning creates a stronger foundation for the entire project.

Astral House is a St. Petersburg interior design studio specializing in full service residential interiors, including whole home furnishings, renovations, new construction, and custom millwork.

Our approach goes beyond how a home looks. We consider how it functions, how it feels, and how it supports the way you want to live.