What Does It Really Cost to Hire an Interior Designer in the UK?

Hiring an interior designer is a big step — and understandably, one of the first questions people ask is “how much is this going to cost?”

It’s a fair question. The trouble is, the answer isn’t always easy to find. Most designers don’t publish prices, and when they do, you’ll often only see only those with low cost design services advertising their prices on their websites.  It is easy to assume every interior design service would be a similar price.  This is not the case.  Please read our post on what makes hiring a designer more expensive and what can make it cheaper.

So in this post, I’ll explain the key factors that affect interior design pricing in the UK — from how the scope of work is defined to how fees are structured — so you can go into the process informed, confident, and with your expectations in the right place.

Because when you know what to ask, you’re far less likely to waste time or money. And far more likely to find the right designer for your project.

Before we get into the numbers, it’s important to understand what you’re actually asking for when you ask, “How much does interior design cost?” Because in most cases, the design fee is only one part of the story.

A professionally delivered interior design service for homeowners isn’t just about creating a great concept — it usually also involves specifying the furniture, managing the ordering process, coordinating delivery and installation, and sometimes overseeing renovations too. Each of these stages carries its own cost and responsibility.

So before talking about specific figures, it helps to understand the building blocks that make up the overall investment. Whether you’re furnishing a single room or redesigning your whole home, getting clarity on what’s involved will help you plan more confidently and avoid surprises later on.

🧱 What Are You Actually Paying For when You Hire an interior designer?

When budgeting for a design and renovation project, it’s easy to focus on the design fee alone – but that’s only one part of the equation.  In reality, a well-delivered project has five distinct cost layers, and understanding each one helps set realistic expectations – whether you plan to do some of them yourself or hire a firm to take care of everything:

🖊️ 1. The Design Fee

For creative development, layouts drawings, material selections and overall vision.

This is what you pay for the creative thinking and development of the design. It covers the layout, colours, finishes, furniture choices, lighting, and all the decisions needed to pull your space together as well as communicating the design to you in an understandable way.  It’s not just about picking individual items — it’s about solving problems, working with how you live, and making sure everything fits and flows and whole comes together in a cohesive way.

🛋️ 2. The Cost of the Furnishings and Fittings

These are the things that go into the rooms — sofas, beds, tables, curtains, rugs, lamps, cabinetry and all the finishing touches.  The quality, quantity, and customisation of these items will have a big impact on the total project cost.

📦 3. Purchase Administration

Once everything’s designed and agreed, someone has be responsible for co-ordinating it all:
placing orders, tracking deliveries, inspecting goods, organising installation, disposing of packaging and handling any issues. 
 There is a good deal of behind-the-scenes administration, co-ordination and aftercare that goes into making sure everything turns up and gets installed properly and is fit for purpose.

🧱 4. Project Management

If you’re doing more than just furnishing — like changing layouts, updating electrics, decorating, or fitting new joinery — that work has to be scheduled and supervised. Project management means briefing and co-ordinating trades, managing schedules, resolving on-site questions and keeping everything moving.   It is imperative that someone is overseeing that the tradespeople are doing the right thing at the right time, so the space is ready when it needs to be. It takes time, experience, and good communication.

🔧 5. The Cost of the Trades People

These are the builders, decorators, electricians, plasterers, joiners and specialists like curtain fitters you might need to bring the design to life.  Their costs are usually billed separately and depend on the size and complexity of the job.

Some designers include these elements in one bundled fee, while others break them out to give a clearer picture of what’s involved and how the work is structured. The following section outlines how these layers typically appear across different service levels.

💡 Why this matters – and what’s often left out?

When people ask, “What’s your design fee?”, what they usually mean is: “What will your part of the project cost me?”   But the answer they get often only covers the first layer — the design work itself.

That’s a vital part of the process, but it’s just one piece of a much bigger picture. And more often than not, the other costs — for procurement, project management, trades, and furnishings — don’t get mentioned until much later, if at all.

Part of the reason is that the full scope often isn’t clear at the beginning.  Many designers can’t quote for the whole thing upfront because the details emerge as the design develops.  Some stop at the design stage and leave you to organise the rest. Others will source the furnishings, but leave you juggling the logistics.

A smaller number of firms — like ours — handle everything, from initial ideas to final styling. That means overseeing the design, coordinating trades, managing deliveries, troubleshooting issues, and making sure it all comes together as planned.

Understanding these layers helps you budget more clearly, compare different services on an equal footing, and choose the right level of support for your project — whether you’re just looking for creative input or want someone to take care of the whole thing.

What Services do Interior Designers Offer  – and how much does each cost?

Interior designers don’t all work in the same way. Some offer one-off advice sessions. Others provide layout plans and furniture suggestions or colour consultations but leave you to implement it.  Others may offer an inexpensive design service which selects items from a restricted selection of furnishings, which you can only buy through them. 

Some designers will design and supply mainly soft furnishings.  At the other end of the spectrum, more established studios (like ours) offer a fully-managed tailored service, from design development to final styling.

To help you get a clearer picture, we’ve outlined four typical levels of service — along with guidance on what’s usually included and a ballpark of what each might cost.  Please note: these are industry-wide examples, not a quote from us. But they should help you compare like-for-like.

1.  Advice Only

This is typically a one-off session, either in person or online, to talk through ideas, floor plans or specific dilemmas.  You’ll get professional input on your space, some suggestions and sense of the next steps but no layout plans, design documentation, or furniture selection.  Good for early-stage investigation and sounding-board questions, but you’ll be doing the leg-work yourself.

• ·What’s Included:One meeting (in person or remote), sometimes with follow up notes.
• Design Fee:  Around £300-£800
• Project budget: Not applicable – this is guidance only
• Best Suited to: Clients doing a self-managed renovation who need clarity or reassurance before making decisions.

2.  Room-Only (On-line or Light Touch)

This is where you get help designing a single room or small space, focusing on furnishing and limited styling  — usually with concept boards, a layout and shopping suggestions from a limited catalogue. There’s usually no consideration of lighting positions, joinery, or layout changes — and certainly no plans to move walls, renovate fireplaces, or rewire. The implementation is left to you.

• What’s included:
  Room layout, design ideas, furniture recommendations and basic mood boards
• Design fee: From £750–£2,500
• Project budget: Client-led. You source and manage everything yourself
• Best suited to: Those confident managing the process, but looking for expert input.  Good for smaller budgets.

3.  Design + Procurement (Selected rooms)

This is a step up from design-only services.

At this level, your designer creates the scheme and sources the furnishings and fittings on your behalf.   They’ll place orders, co-ordinate delivery and troubleshoot issues — though they may not oversee site works or manage trades directly.

• What’s typically included:
  Room-by-room design, selections, and visual presentations
• Sourcing, ordering and installation of furnishings, curtains, blinds and accessories.
• Design fee: From around £5,000+ depending on scope and number of rooms.
• Procurement fee: may be quoted separately or bundled in with occasional site visit fees.
• Typical overall Project budget: £20,000 – £40,000+
• Best suited to: Clients planning a straightforward refresh and are comfortable managing their own builder or individual trades and overseeing any structural or preparatory works themselves.

This type of service gives access to a wider range of furnishings, often with better quality and more customisation than off-the-shelf retail options.  In many cases, the designer will arrange delivery and oversee furniture installation – but it’s worth checking exactly what’s included and whether any site visits during the works phase are charged separately.

4.  Full-Service Design and Project Co-ordination

This is the most comprehensive level of service — ideal for homeowners who want a beautifully finished result without the stress of managing the process. The interior designer takes care of everything, from early spatial layouts and design concepts right through to final styling and handover.

That typically includes:

• Spatial planning and layout design
• Visuals to support decision-making
• Full sourcing, ordering and installation of furnishings and fittings
• Coordinating all trades and site works
• Managing every order, delivery and supplier issue
• Overseeing timelines and tracking budgets
• Acting as the single point of contact throughout

It’s a true turnkey service that gives peace of mind, avoids costly mistakes, and allows the homeowner to enjoy the transformation — without needing to chase trades, manage logistics or juggle decisions mid-build.

• Design fee: Typically £15,000–£50,000+
• Project management and procurement fees: Quoted separately based on scope
• Overall project budget: Usually well into six figures for full homes
• Best suited to: Busy professionals, second-home owners, or anyone seeking a fully managed, high-touch renovation experience

Comparison table for different Design Services

*Fees are indicative only and vary based on project scope, location, experience, and deliverables such as visuals or level of service.

11 Factors That Influence the Cost of Your Project

Once you understand the five cost layers of a design project — design, furnishings, procurement, project management, and trades — it’s worth looking at what causes the overall cost to rise or fall.  These are some of the biggest factors that influence the total investment required:

Factors Influencing Interior Design Pricing

a.  Quantity of Items in the Room

The more furniture and finishing touches you include — sofas, rugs, lamps, artwork, cushions — the higher the cost.  Every piece has to be chosen, sourced, purchased and coordinated.  It all adds to the richness of the space — but also the total spend.

b.  Scope of Work: Furnishings vs. Trades

Are you furnishing a finished space, or starting from bare plaster and wiring? The moment you bring in trades — decorators, electricians, joiners — the cost naturally increases due to labour, materials, and complexity.
👉 You can read more on this in our guide to the costs of an interior design project

c.  Project Management

Want someone to take care of the builder, the electrician, and all the logistics? Handing over that responsibility means a smoother experience for you and a lot less hassle — but it also means paying for the time and expertise to manage it all properly.

d.  Project Scope: One Room or the Whole House?

The more rooms involved, the higher the level of co-ordination, procurement, and design detail required.  Some designers work only on full homes; others are happy with one or two spaces.  Naturally, the overall cost grows with the scope.

e.  Firm Size and Continuity

A solo designer may offer a more boutique experience — but if they go on holiday or fall ill, things may pause. A larger studio usually comes with more reliability, systems, and team support, which may also be reflected in their pricing.

f.  Comparing Design Firms and Retailers

High street brands like Neptune or John Lewis often bundle the cost of design into the price of the products.  Independent design studios charge separately for their expertise, sourcing, and project delivery. You’re paying for a very different level of service and flexibility.

We’ve written more on this here: the differences between high street design services and independent design firms.

g.  Pricing Transparency in the Industry

Pricing in the interior design industry is notoriously opaque.

Because costs vary so much between projects, most design firms don’t publish set fees online.  You’ll often only find pricing from entry-level or online-only services — which can give the impression that all interior design should cost the same. It doesn’t.

👉 You can read more about what influences design fees here: what makes hiring a designer more expensive and what can make it cheaper.

h.  How Long the Project Lasts

Good design takes time. A full-home renovation can take anywhere from 8 to 18 months (or longer), with many moving parts. That ongoing involvement from your designer adds to the fee — but also ensures the result is cohesive and well-executed.

i.  Designer Experience and Expertise

Designers with years of experience, a skilled team and strong supplier networks often charge more — but they also tend to deliver a better, more reliable outcome. You’re paying for a smoother process, sharper ideas, and fewer surprises.

j. Taking a Chance on Inexperience

Less experienced designers might offer lower rates — and sometimes that works out brilliantly, especially on simpler projects.   But it can also lead to missed details, delays, or a design that never quite comes together.  A cheaper fee upfront might cost you more in the long run.

k.  Paying in One Go

Unlike buying a house or sofa on finance, most interior design projects require a lump-sum investment over a shorter timeframe.  That can make the cost feel more intense — but remember, this is an investment in how you live, every single day which should benefit you for 15-20 years and brings a level of finish it is hard to achieve on your own.

💡 Understanding the Bigger Picture

Knowing what drives the cost of a design project helps you make better decisions — not just about what to spend, but where to spend it.  Whether you’re furnishing one room or rethinking your whole home, having a clear breakdown of the moving parts makes it easier to compare services, budget realistically and avoid surprises down the line.

🎯 Final Thoughts

Hiring an interior designer is an investment in your home — and in how you want to live. Done well, it adds value not just in property terms, but in the day-to-day enjoyment and ease of your space.

There’s no one-size-fits-all cost, because every home, client, and project is different. But understanding what goes into the fee — and how design works behind the scenes — helps you plan with confidence and find a designer who’s the right fit for your goals, budget, and expectations.

Julia Murray

Founder & Senior Design Designer, The House Ministry