Interior Design Budget Hack
One of the biggest questions people grapple with when contemplating a room full of new furnishings is: How much will it cost? Your Designer will inevitably ask you, “What is your budget for this space?” This is an intimidating question for Interior Design Clients and Design DIYers alike. Guesstimates can have a way of biting you in the bank account. For example, How many times have you or someone you know estimated a budget that turned out to be too low and you either have to anti-up more mula, live with an incomplete space, or delay the plans for another space you had hoped to work on sooner? This simple hack will help you avoid this pitfall and answer these tough questions for yourself before you hire a Designer or begin your project. The goal is to develop a realistic expectation before your start.
Here are the steps to this simple hack for creating a realistic budget for your project.
- Identify the level of quality of furnishings you’d like to have in your home. You may want the living room to be higher-end than your bedroom, for example.
- Identify your favorite online vendors who sell your desired quality. Some popular vendors are Restoration Hardware, Mitchelle Gold Bob Williams, Arhaus. Go to that favorite vendor online.
- Select each item you think you need for your space one at a time and add them to your shopping cart. Don’t worry about style or matching. You are not designing in this exercise and you are not purchasing these items. Make random selections for sample pricing only.
- See the total cost at the bottom of your cart and voila! You have a rough estimate of what it will cost to fill your space.
How to Calculate a Budget for a Living Room
For example, If you love Restoration Hardware, you might go to RH.com and select a sofa, a couple of comfy chairs, a coffee table, some side tables, a couple of lamps and pieces of art. Select everything you think your space needs to be complete. See the total at the bottom of the cart, and you have an idea of what a living room full of new furnishings will cost. If you already have some basic pieces, only add the things you think you will need. Here is an example shopping cart we filled with basic living room furnishings from Restoration Hardware:
Living Room Est:$18-25K
You may also want to add a console, a few more accessories, or whatever else you need to the cart. Play with items at different price points. Look at a couple of vendors to compare. Sometimes in design we purchase a few high-end pieces and supplement with lower-end selections for the less featured items.
Use the same exercise for each space to give you a future budget to work into your finances over time. Parse out your spaces in order of priority and work one to completion. Experience the reward of completing one space of solace while you dream and plan for the next one using this tool. Home was not built in a day!
Lastly, when working with a Designer, remember that the fee for the design of the space and procurement of the items will likely be a separate cost and all Designers charge differently. Your investment in furnishings, art, accessories, window treatments, lighting, and decor items will collectively be your biggest financial outlay. Design Fees can range anywhere from 10-25% of that number depending upon layers of service and time required to make the selections and build your design.
At Liz Gabriel Interiors LLC, we get a firm grip on your budget before we start. It’s our job to design according to your budget. Or we can design for your dreams and edit accordingly! We provide some budget estimates on furnishings and accessories to get you started. We quote one flat fee for design and procurement up front (per space), and there will be no asking for more money. There is no obligation to proceed with us until you are made fully aware of all the seen and unforeseen costs of the project. No surprises, no guess work, clear expectations, and fabulous results! Connect with us to get started!
Check out our other articles of interest such as Why Spend Money on Home Decor at
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