Questions to Ask Interior Designer
Questions for a first meeting with an interior designer, covering fees and markups, what the scope does and does not include, sourcing, revisions, timelines, and who fixes things after installation.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Can you walk me through a recent project that was close to mine in size and budget?
Why ask it
Portfolios are curated toward the biggest jobs. Asking for a comparable project shows whether they have worked at your scale, in a similar building, with things the client kept rather than replaced.
How would you describe your own style, and what happens when a client wants something outside it?
Why ask it
The useful part of the answer is what they say they do not do. A designer who claims every style equally suits them usually reproduces whatever they last saw published.
What does your process look like, from first meeting to final install?
Why ask it
Listen for named phases with decisions locked at the end of each. If concept, specification, ordering and install blur together, scope tends to drift and costs surface late.
How do you charge: flat fee, hourly, a percentage of what I spend, or a mix?
Why ask it
Each structure pulls in a different direction. A percentage of spend rewards expensive specifications, hourly rewards deliberation, and a flat fee rewards speed but can make a designer resist changes.
What is covered by that fee, and what gets billed on top of it?
Why ask it
The gap between the design fee and the final invoice is where the surprises live: extra site visits, drawings, delivery, receiving and storage, install labour, and returns.
Having seen the space, what budget range would you say is realistic?
Why ask it
A designer who will not name a figure, or who repeats yours back without comment, has not costed the job. A useful answer says what your number will and will not buy.
What did you do the last time a project started running over budget?
Why ask it
Ask about the last time, not the policy. What matters is whether overruns were raised as they appeared or presented at invoicing, and who absorbed them.
How long would a project like this normally take, and what usually causes the delays?
Why ask it
Schedules break on lead times, permits and trades, rarely on design. If every delay in their answer is the client's fault, they are not tracking their own bottlenecks.
How do you work out what I actually like before you start designing?
Why ask it
Strong answers involve looking at what you already own, how you use each room, and what you have rejected before. A designer who only wants a mood board tends to produce a room that photographs well and lives badly.
Which parts of this will you handle, and what stays with me?
Why ask it
Receiving deliveries, storing furniture, being home for trades and chasing warranty claims default to the client unless someone says otherwise. Getting the split in writing prevents an argument in week six.
Where do you buy furniture and materials, and do you mark up what you buy?
Why ask it
Trade discounts and markups are normal, but they need to be stated. If the answer stays vague, you cannot tell what any single item actually costs you.
Do you bring your own contractors and trades, or do I hire them?
Why ask it
Their own trades usually mean faster scheduling and one point of accountability. Yours means coordination lands on you. Either can work, but the answer changes how much of your time this takes.
How many rounds of revisions are included before changes cost extra?
Why ask it
Revisions are the most common source of disputes on residential work. A number written into the agreement settles later arguments about whether your third change was billable.
If I tell you a scheme is not right, what happens next?
Why ask it
Look for a described process: a second direction, a partial rework, a credit against fees. "That has not happened before" is a warning rather than a reassurance.
Will I see renderings or drawings, or should I expect to judge from samples?
Why ask it
Renderings cost time and are not always worth it, but you need some way to see a room before committing to purchases. Establish what you get, at what stage, and whether it costs extra.
What happens when something arrives late, damaged, or in the wrong finish?
Why ask it
Every project has a wrong sofa. The question is who chases the vendor, who pays restocking and return freight, and how long you live without the piece.
Who will I be dealing with day to day?
Why ask it
In a larger studio the person selling the job is often not the person running it. Ask who attends site visits, answers your emails, and has authority to approve a change.
How often will I hear from you, and how do you prefer to be contacted?
Why ask it
Mismatched communication expectations cause more friction than disagreements about taste. Agree on a rhythm and a single channel now, rather than discovering they never answer the phone.
What support is there after installation if something fails or looks wrong?
Why ask it
Paint failures, sagging upholstery and settling joinery appear months later. Find out whether they will press the vendor on your behalf or simply hand over the receipts.
Can I speak to two or three past clients, including one whose project ran into trouble?
Why ask it
Anyone can produce three delighted references. Asking for a difficult project tells you how they behave when things go wrong, and how candid they are willing to be with you now.
Working with Interior Designers
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the first meeting
Decide your number before you hear theirs
Work out the total you are willing to spend, including furniture, trades and the design fee, and hold one fifth of it back for overruns. Designers price against the figure you give them, so an inflated one buys you a scheme you cannot afford to finish.
Bring the constraints, not just the inspiration
Photos help, but measurements, a floor plan, the list of pieces you refuse to part with, and any building rules on noise, work hours or structural changes tell a designer more in five minutes than an hour of description.
Interview more than one
Fee structures, markups and scope vary widely between studios of similar quality. Two or three conversations give you a sense of what is standard in your area and where a quote is unusual.
How to read what you hear
- Specifics beat enthusiasm. A designer who names lead times, vendors and unit costs has run projects; one who talks only about vision may not have.
- Watch what they ask you. A good designer spends much of a first meeting asking how you live, not presenting their portfolio.
- Ask any pricing question twice, worded differently. Markups and billable extras often surface on the second pass.
- Note whether they push back on you. Someone who agrees with every idea will not protect you from your own worst one.
- Get scope, fee basis, revision rounds and who handles deliveries into a written agreement before any money moves.
Warning signs
No written scope
If a designer resists putting deliverables, fee basis and revision limits in writing, you will be negotiating each of them mid project, when you have already committed money.
Large deposits with no schedule
Deposits are standard. A large one with no stated milestones attached to it leaves you with no leverage if the work stalls.
Undisclosed markups
A designer who will not say whether they take a margin on purchases makes it impossible to compare their quote with anyone else's, or to tell whether a specification serves you or them.