How to price interior design services: 5 proven models
Hourly, flat fee, cost-plus, percentage, or per-square-foot? A clear breakdown of the five interior design pricing models — with when to use each to protect your margin.
Pricing is the decision that quietly determines whether your studio is profitable or just busy. Charge the wrong way and you’ll do beautiful work for a loss. Here are the five most common interior design pricing models, and how to choose.
1. Hourly rate
You bill for time at a set rate. Simple, transparent, and low-risk when scope is unclear.
- Best for: consultations, small projects, undefined scope.
- Watch out: it caps your income at your hours, and clients fixate on the clock.
2. Flat fee (fixed)
One agreed price for a defined scope. Clients love the predictability.
- Best for: well-defined projects where you can scope accurately.
- Watch out: scope creep destroys flat fees. Define deliverables tightly.
3. Cost-plus (markup)
You charge the trade cost of furnishings plus a markup (commonly 20–35%).
- Best for: procurement-heavy, FF&E-driven projects.
- Watch out: your margin depends on an accurate, current budget. If prices move and your schedule doesn’t, your markup silently shrinks.
4. Percentage of project cost
Your fee is a percentage of the total project or construction budget.
- Best for: larger renovations and new builds.
- Watch out: it can misalign incentives; be transparent about how it’s calculated.
5. Per square foot
A rate multiplied by the project’s square footage.
- Best for: large commercial or multi-unit work where scope scales with area.
- Watch out: square footage doesn’t capture complexity or finish level.
The thread running through all five
Notice how often the risk comes back to one thing: knowing your real numbers. Cost-plus, percentage, and flat-fee models all assume your FF&E budget is accurate and current. The moment a price changes and your spreadsheet doesn’t, your pricing model leaks.
Pricing strategy is only as good as the budget underneath it.
This is where keeping a live FF&E schedule pays for itself. With Casa, budgets update in real time as you source — markup, freight and tax included — so whatever model you charge, you’re charging on numbers you can trust.
Try Casa free for 30 days and keep your project budgets honest from the first link you drop.
