Fees & Payments

Home owners are often unclear how to work with an interior designer or decorator. This explanation should answer some of your questions:

Retainer
After we have completed our initial meeting and decided to work together we will discuss the budget. Based on your project’s budget, we secure a retainer. The retainer is a show of good faith and covers the planning, drawings and selections for your project. The retainer will be applied to the final payment on completion of your project. The retainer is non-refundable if we do not continue with the purchasing part of the project; however, it covers the design time that’s been invested in your project up to that point in time.

Retail based fees
Unlike the majority of interior designers and decorators we do not charge hourly fees. Our compensation is derived from the difference of the suggested retail prices established by the manufacturer and the cost of their goods. The franchise organization Decorating Den Interiors allows us to purchase directly from manufacturers which is why we can offer our services without the hourly fee, thus saving you considerably. We select and purchase products for your design — we do not go shopping online or at stores. If our preferred vendors don’t have that special piece for your space, Barbara has many other outside resources to pull from.

Project pricing
Each decorating project we undertake, whether a single room or the whole home, is based on a budget that is agreed on before the design process starts. This way you always know how much you are spending. You may want to start with updating your home with wallpaper, some new pillows and art. You may want to redecorate a complete room or home. Whatever the project, we will work with you on a realistic budget.

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 choices that are involved with a new build. You are normally 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 they are locked in by your builder let us be there at your side as a sounding board and to help you with your choices. At an hourly rate we will guide you with:

• choosing cabinetry for kitchen and bathrooms
• discussing the benefits of quartz or granite countertops
• helping with choices for tile, faucets and lighting
• assist with flooring choices
• help with paint choices

During the building process, we can work from plan selecting the furniture so that every piece is stored at our facility ready for your move-in date.

Paint consultations
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 paint kits. We will discuss what you are trying to achieve and help you achieve a coordinated color palette for interior or exterior paint. the paint consultation will be charged hourly, with a one hour minimum. A travel allowance may be charged for longer distances and will be discussed at the time.

If you still have questions, please call Barbara at 407-819-5841.