What Is an Interior Design Proposal?
Hi friends! Today I wanted to discuss something that is very common in the interior design industry. I don’t believe it is as common in other industries, at least not that I have seen. Because interior design involves a more complex process than most people might think, you will most likely not be able to call up your local designer and ask for an exact price for your project. There’s a lot of different ways a design service can go and there’s a lot of information that is needed upfront to be able to set a price.
I know when I first heard of a design proposal, I was definitely confused. But it is a crucial piece of the interior design process and can’t be avoided if you’re interested in working with an interior design firm. Design proposals may slightly differ from company to company, so we will share our process and what that looks like for us. So let’s get started!
01. What is a design proposal?
A design proposal is a document that the studio creates for a prospective project according to the project’s unique scope of work. Among many things that are included in this document are information about the studio’s service and, most importantly, the design fee to execute the design for a project. Think of it as an unofficial contract. Once the client agrees to proceed, the proposal is updated to include the legal wording that is important to the studio and that becomes the design agreement (legal contract).
02. What is included in the design proposal?
Our design proposals are very detailed, as we want to make sure our clients have all of the needed information to make a confident decision and know that they’re in good hands. In the proposal you will find contact information (name, email, address), scope of work broken out by phase, what is included in each phase (tasks and deliverables), project timeline, design fee per room, payment break down, and terms and conditions.
03. How does each project get a unique design proposal?
All projects start with a discovery call, then an in-home (or virtual) design consultation is held to gather all information on the project. This includes taking preliminary measurements, taking photos, discussing services and deliverables, reviewing examples of our work, discussing directional pricing, and answering any questions. This is all the information needed to create a design proposal for a project.
04. What is the turnaround time to receive a design proposal?
Once we collect all of the needed information, we work to create the design proposal for the project and send out via email within 3-5 business days, with options to review the proposal in person (if the project is local) or virtually (if the project is remote).
I hope this information is helpful to bring clarity regarding what an interior design proposal is and what you can expect. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our process, please reach out via the contact page.
Until next time!
