Reasons to work with a interior designer on an hourly basis
If you have been searching for a residential interior designer in San Diego, or anywhere in California for that matter, you will likely be confronted with their hourly rate during your first or second meeting. Hourly rates are often met with initial hesitation followed by a handful of questions, and rightly so. However, hourly fee structures have major upsides. With a clearly-communicated and responsible not-to-exceed number, hourly projects can be seen as an advantage to you as the client. Here are a few reasons why hourly rates can be to your benefit.
Hourly rates provide flexibility for the client. As an interior designer of over 10 years, I’ve worked closely with several clients who could see the vision we set for them and took part in sourcing furniture, fixtures and finishes accordingly. Others less inclined to help create the vision, chose to take on coordination and construction oversight, areas they felt much more suited for and enjoyed. In turn, this flexibility allowed for the client to have control over how many hours they use.
Secondarily, offering design services at an hourly rate allows for flexibility on the spot for the needs of the project. Small or large areas can get added to the scope that were not identified at the start, and can be done without a new contract and lump sum estimate. This happens often. As clients witness the positive progress being made in their home or commercial space, many decide to tag on adjacent areas at the same time.
Similarly, you may have gone through the design process and realize you have no idea what you are doing when it comes to construction planning. This is an easy area to add on at an hourly rate. As interior designers, it’s our desire and responsibility to ensure your vision is executed accurately and to a high standard. We routinely communicate with the contractor and subcontractors to ensure this. Many times, this can be one of the more overwhelming steps for our clients. Therefore, if your interior designer doesn't provide construction support as an option, it might be beneficial to consider finding another designer.
It is also important to consider how an interior designer will work within your budget and that starts with the initial design proposal. Open-ended hourly proposals can cause uncertainty and confusion for a homeowner that fixed fee proposals do not. Fixed fees create a sense of security that financially you know what to expect, but it doesn’t leave an opportunity for the home or business owner to see additional selections, revisions or increase the scope. Designers offering an estimated range of hours can provide more security around what to expect for your project while still keeping some flexibility. A step above this would be providing you with a not-to-exceed number of hours for the project scope. This number often provides the peace of mind and security that fixed fee proposals offer while allowing for accommodations to be made. It also requires the designer to communicate regularly on hours spent and identify if the project gets off track.
Even with the benefits an hourly contract can have for the client, interior designers have the responsibility to keep you well-informed and up-to-date on hours spent on your project. This can be done regularly at the cadence agreed upon together, or as the designer hits certain milestones in the project or the hours. Ultimately, communication throughout the project is the key to success.
We’d love to hear more about your project and work with you to bring it from idea to reality.
