Fee Schedule
Homeowners are often unclear on how to work with a decorator or interior designer. Here is an overview of how a Fee Schedule works:
Design Consultation
After we have an initial 20 minute discovery phone call, and it’s mutually decided to move forward with an up to two hour in-depth design consultation, we collect the fee for this upfront, which is $450, and schedule your appointment.
Why do we charge for this? For several reasons, one being that this consultation is not a “meet and greet”; we get right to work, and we talk design dilemmas, obstacles, wants, needs, solutions. If the consultation is strictly a two hour consultation for you to jump start your project yourself, we discuss in detail actions that will assist you in moving forward on your own with your project. This fee more than pays for itself when our time together prevents you from using the wrong color paint (and paying a painter to re-paint), purchasing furniture that is too large for the space, hanging light fixtures too high, getting too small of a rug for a space – to name just a few of the issues confronting homeowners every day. For two hours, you get to pick our brains and get the benefit of over 25 years experience – our intellectual property.
If your project is more involved, this consultation helps determine the scope of the project, what trades (painters, wallpaper installers, electricians, plumbers, GCs, etc) need to be brought in, if we need an architect, structural engineer and the like. We talk about problems with how a room flows, or how it functions (or doesn’t function) for your lifestyle; color and style preferences are discussed as well. We discuss prioritizing all the different moving parts of the project. If your project involves a major renovation, we discuss the process, how we prep the space, drawings, elevations, measure day, etc and plan the next step before the consultation ends. Again – two hours of peeking inside our heads, and learning how our experience in design and renovations will help you love your home again.
A “meet and greet” consultation will not give you actionable information (which is why we don’t do them – we can’t help ourselves, we love advising people on their homes’ dilemmas!), and if we did design consultations for free, we would be spending all our time on these consultations, and never get any actual work done :). We understand that the consumer/potential client will want to make sure we’re a good fit – that’s great because we want that too! Our 20 minute discovery call is usually enough to determine if we are sympatico. Still not sure? We’re located in downtown Milwaukee, a stone’s throw from the Third Ward. We invite you to stop in (appointment please, as we’re not always in the studio), see our creative and cool work space, meet face to face and chat some more. We want to work with someone who is a good fit for how we work as much as you want to work with someone you can relate to, understands you and offers top notch interior design services.
Investment
After we have completed our initial consultation and we have decided to work together, we will discuss the investment and secure a retainer. This allows us time to accurately determine the design fees for your specific project. Determining the design fee is not usually done by the end of the consultation as it may, depending on the scope of the project, take some research. Each project we take on is a one-of-a-kind project; the design and project management fees need to be geared accordingly.
Design-based fees when product is needed
We select and purchase products for your design — we do not go shopping at local or big box stores for items like furniture, accessories, lighting; rather, with over 125 suppliers’ accounts for all things related to the interior of the home (and thousands of fabric and finish samples in our studio), we curate a design specifically for you. This assures that there is no cookie-cutter look to your home; we want it to be as unique as you are! The fees for design research, selection, procurement and delivery is determined on a case by case basis. No two projects, or clients, are exactly alike. Some clients may make decisions quickly, while others need to think about it, or want to see more than the 2-3 options we show on any given portion of the project. We will discuss and answer questions on the initial discovery call, and go more in-depth at our design consultation.
Design-based fees when no product is needed
There are times when the service needed for your project is design advice, opinions, space planning or layouts, but no purchases. The fees for this are determined on a case by case basis, but generally is sold as a block of time. We call this Designer By Your Side, and the minimum number of hours for this service is 20 hours. There are many variables in any given project and no two projects are exactly alike, just as no two clients are exactly alike.
Project pricing
Each decorating or design project we undertake, whether a single room or the whole home, is based on a furnishings and surfaces budget that is discussed before the design process starts. You may want to redecorate a complete room, renovate the kitchen and bathrooms, or maybe it’s time to do something with that extra space in the basement. Whatever the project, we will work with you on a realistic budget. Not sure how much things cost? We go over wants and needs for your project and give you a ballpark of good-better-best. Note that, since we are not general contractors, renovations will need our tradespeople brought in to assess and evaluate the project before an investment amount can be determined.
Design is a process and can’t be rushed.
If you are building a new home
If you are considering building a new home, we can work with you to help you make the myriad of decisions that are involved with a new build. Oftentimes you are given one day to view your options, then one day to make final choices for your new home. This can be quite daunting, so before your choices are locked in with your builder, let us be there at your side as a sounding board and to help you with your choices. At an hourly rate sold as a block of time we will guide you with:
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| • choosing cabinetry for kitchens and bathrooms • discussing the benefits of quartz or granite countertops and aid in selection • help with choices for tile, faucets and lighting • assist with flooring choices • help with paint choices and wood finishes |
Paint consultations
Interior house painters seldom want the responsibility of choosing paint colors with you. If you need help choosing color we will come to your home with Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams paint kits. We will discuss what you are trying to achieve and help develop a coordinated color palette. Paint consultations will be charged the same as our initial design consultation: $450, and it includes up to six rooms, and up to 2.5 hours. A travel allowance may be charged for longer distances and will be discussed at the time of our initial phone conversation.
Are you ready to take the next step? Contact us today!