How much does an interior design project cost: prices, packages and what's included

How much does a design project cost?

The interior design project has three packages: they differ in depth of detail and scope of work.

The rate in the table is a benchmark calculated for an apartment of around 100 m². Multiplying the rate by the floor area gives the right order of magnitude only close to that figure; for smaller apartments the real total is higher, for larger ones it's lower. We explain why below. One more caveat: like individual services, the packages have a minimum project fee of €3,500, and small apartments are charged at that minimum rather than at the rate. If a property needs work beyond a package's standard scope, it is set out separately in the proposal and the contract. You can get a preliminary estimate based on your details through a short questionnaire. In return you'll receive a proposal setting out the scope of work and the timeline.

Why the cost is calculated per square metre

The per-metre rate reflects how the studio's work is organised. The workload of a project grows with its floor area, or rather with what the extra metres bring: additional space usually means more rooms, and therefore more layout decisions, electrical and lighting work, elevations, specifications and approvals. Floor area isn't a precise measure of the work involved, but it is the clearest one.

This approach makes the calculation verifiable: the client sees the approximate sum before the first meeting and understands what it's made of, while the studio doesn't understate the estimate at the start only to “adjust” it later. Comparing studios by rate alone is almost always meaningless: the same figure usually hides a different scope of work. A comparison only makes sense by scope, and that's a separate conversation: what makes up the price of a design project.

There's an exception: on small areas, the per-metre rate stops covering the real costs. Measurements, concept work, approvals with the client and issuing the documentation take barely less time on 40 m² than on 80: the volume of work is nowhere near halved. That's why individual services have a minimum project cost: for example, for space planning it's €800, and for technical documentation, €3,800. For design project packages there's a shared minimum of €3,500 per project.

What's behind each package

In practice, the difference between packages isn't only about price. The main question is how many decisions the client wants to make in advance together with the studio, and how many can be left for the construction stage.

The concept is the same across all three packages; what differs is how far it's developed on paper. The same interior can be worked out to different levels of detail, and that determines how many decisions you'll make at the table and how many on site.

This is what's worth comparing them by:

• Basic — the overall framework of decisions is fixed, and some details are chosen during construction.
• Standard — the main visual and technical decisions are made before construction begins.
• Extended — procurement, custom and lighting decisions are worked out in advance; almost no design questions are left for the site.

Basic — €50/m²

Concept and technical brief, a measured survey with photographs, one layout option, collages instead of photorealistic visualisation, technical documentation for the project's key decisions, and a basic selection of materials, furniture and equipment.

This is the format with the least upfront development. It suits clients who know clearly what they want and are happy to choose some details as they go: the layout and building services are fixed in drawings, while finishing and furnishing decisions are largely made on site.

Standard — €80/m²

Everything in Basic, but with 2–3 layout options instead of one; photorealistic 3D visualisation (2–3 views per room) instead of collages; and technical documentation issued as a full set of interior drawings matching the package scope.

For most apartments, this scope turns out to be enough. Visualisation here isn't decoration: it's exactly where the client signs off on materials and proportions before they're purchased, and the full set of drawings turns construction into the execution of decisions, not their making.

Extended — €110/m²

Everything in Standard, but with 3–5 layout options and 3–5 visualisation views per room; plus drawings for custom pieces, a full selection of materials, furniture and lighting, lighting design with calculations, a procurement package (schedules, specifications, supplier quotes and a cost estimate), furnishing and procurement, decor, and a month of design supervision.

This scope is chosen when the interior includes a lot of custom work: bespoke furniture, complex ceiling and wall details, an elaborate lighting scenario. Such solutions need more detailed drawings and specifications. Without them, the maker will do it their own way.

A detailed breakdown of what makes up the price within each package, and how much time goes into measurements, layout, visualisation and documentation, is in the article “What makes up the price of a design project”.

How much individual services cost

A project doesn't have to be taken as a whole. Part of the work can be ordered as a standalone service, once the question has narrowed down to something specific: just a layout, just visualisation, or just the working drawings, the standalone service we call technical documentation.

Most often, layout is ordered separately: before buying an apartment, or when it's still too early to think about style. Technical documentation is requested in the opposite situation, when the concept has already been done elsewhere but it's impossible to build from it.

Work whose scope doesn't depend on area is priced separately:

• Design supervision — €700/month. Charged monthly: the scope of supervision is set by the duration of construction, not the floor area.
• Furnishing and procurement — a base rate of €500/month plus a commission of 10% of the procurement budget.
• Architectural design — €800 per project, if the property needs more than just interior work.
• Design consultation — €100 per hour; a consultation with the Chief Designer costs €200.

Commercial properties: a separate rate structure

Public interiors differ from residential ones in regulatory requirements: fire safety, sanitary standards, accessibility, evacuation scenarios. That's why they have their own rates:

• Offices — concept €30/m², full project €60/m² for properties up to 150 m²; for 150–500 m² the rate is €50/m², and above 500 m² it is €40/m².
• Restaurants and cafés — concept €45/m², full project €75/m².
• Common areas of residential buildings — concept €25/m², full design project €45/m².

On large properties, an economy of scale kicks in: some design tasks and approvals don't grow linearly with area. That's why office rates are tiered, higher for smaller properties than for larger ones.

What's not included in the project cost

The cost of design is the studio's work. It doesn't include what the interior will be built from: finishing materials, furniture, lighting, plumbing fixtures, equipment and the construction crew's labour. That's a separate renovation budget, and it usually exceeds the cost of the design itself many times over.

The two shouldn't be confused: the fee for the agreed scope of design work is fixed in the contract before work starts, while the renovation budget depends on the materials chosen and can vary several-fold for the same floor area. What it's made up of, and what drives it most, is covered in the article “How much does an apartment renovation cost”.

How to work out your own cost

The total isn't made up of area alone. Part of the calculation is fixed, covering work that doesn't depend on the floor area: understanding the brief, measurements, approvals, issuing and checking documentation. That's why the price per metre isn't linear: the larger the area, the smaller the weight of the fixed part within each metre. The rates in the tables above are calculated for an apartment of around 100 m², where simple multiplication matches the calculation; either side of that mark, the two diverge.

The figures in the table don't account for property-specific factors. The exact sum for a specific apartment, factoring in the number of rooms, the property's condition and the required scope of documentation, is put together after you submit a request.

If you need a calculation for a specific property, factoring in the number of rooms, the apartment's condition and the required scope of documentation, submit a request for a calculation: the studio will put together a proposal based on your details.

If you haven't decided on a format yet, it makes sense to start with a consultation: within an hour, the designer goes through the layout and the property's constraints with you, making it clear what scope of project the task actually needs. It often turns out that the Extended package is more than the job needs, or, conversely, that the project won't come together without drawings for custom pieces.