FYI
Design Dollars
Design services may be more affordable-and more rewarding-than
you think.
By Valerie J. Nelson
While mulling over the cost of hiring an interior designer, you also might want to ponder the industry's unofficial mantra:
"We save you money in the long run."
Here's are three ways designers can save you big bucks:
1. You get it right the first time-instead of shelling
out good money for the wrong piece, wrong color or wrong size
2. You benefit from the designer's ability to save time by knowing
where to shop. "What would take you 12 hours to find will
take a good designer just two hours," says Melissa Galt of
Linea Interior Design Inc. in Atlanta, Ga. "What's your free
time worth?"
3. Designers have access to showrooms that are only open to the
trade -which means you often get goods at less than retail.
The difference between retail and your cost can end up paying
for a designer's fee.
But designers don't work for free. Here's what you should know when you're negotiating a price and contract with your designer.
How Designers Bill
Designers charge for residential work three basic ways, or a combination
of the three:
* Cost-plus: The designer is the middleman. That is,
the design buys merchandise at wholesale, then sells it at or
near retail to the client. A typical markup in a big city might
be 20 percent to 35 percent. This approach also applies to management
of subcontractors; if their cost is $50,000, the designer's fee
might be an additional 15 percent.
* Fee for service: Also called a design fee, it is a flat
rate. Based on an estimate of what it will take to do the job,
it includes an understanding that the fee will not exceed the
budgeted figure. It is less common the the cost-plus arrangement.
* Hourly: Common for smaller jobs, an hourly fee can be
charged for consultations, shopping or drafting. Interior designer
Geri Bruehl of Orlando, Fla., charges $85 an hour, but only $35
for travel time. Top designers can charge hundreds of dollars
an hour. If Bruehl is estimating the cost of a redecorating a
living room, for instance, she might say it will take between
10 and 15 hours of her time to measure it, design the draperies,
pick out fabrics and show the client furniture. "I can spend
30 hours in one room, or I can spend five," she says.
What to Look for in a Contract
A contract should outline the designer's fees, what services will
be provided and what the job encompasses. The bigger the job,
the more elaborate the contract to protect both parties,
says Lenore Levy, director of education, Harrington Institute
of Interior Design in Chicago.
Here are other key points that a contract should include:
How the job will be paid for: Designers often require a retainer, to give them money to work with while they are doing the job. The retainer will be a percentage of the estimated cost of the job. How the client will be billed, such as the completion of certain phases, also should be included.
Design changes: How much will you have to pay if you change your mind once the designs have been drawn? You might want a flat fee, for instance, to cover up to two designs.
What services are covered: The contract should clarify when the designer will be on site and if the designer, or someone else in the firm, will be overseeing the work.
A loose time line: The projected schedule and estimated completion date can be included, but don't make the designer swear by it. Some things are simply out of their control.
How disputes will be resolved, should they arise. For example, the contract may have an arbitration clause.
Valerie Nelson is a Los Angeles area writer who writes extensively about home design.
reprinted from www.homestore.com