Design Inside | Chicago Interior Designer & Decorator

Q: How much do you charge?

For a detailed list of our rates, please refer to our pricing page. You’ll find that we’re below what other business in the interior design industry charges, especially for smaller projects less than 40 hours. Most firms won’t even touch projects of that size, which is the main reason we formed Design Inside. We believe that everyone deserves a well designed interior space.

Q: What is a typical project like?

We are commonly asked this question; however there is not an easy answer. Once a project begins, you will be in constant communication with us. We do a lot of work by email and phone since it is an incredibly efficient form of communication, and allows quicker turn-around time. Typically, we send project plans, product selections, and bounce ideas off of each other by email. We will also have periodic conference calls. Often times, about once or twice during a project, both designers will come to your project site and review the project. It is amazing how much can be accomplished in an hour on-site meeting.

If you are not a huge fan of email, don’t fret. We can easily work with you over the phone and send faxes or drop off samples when appropriate. Turn-around time is a little longer with this method; however the end design is just as amazing.

Q: Can you help me pick paint colors, and nothing else?

Yes, we definitely can. We believe that wall color (and lighting) is one of the most important aspects of a beautiful space; however picking paint colors is a task that is more difficult than many would like to admit. During the paint selection process, both Kathryn and Bill will arrive at your home, for an intense paint selection session that typically lasts 1 – 2 hours (2 – 4 billable hours). At the end, your home will have a bunch of sticky notes on the walls indicating the appropriate paint color for that surface/wall. We work with all of the major brands of paints, so you can either hire a painter to perform the actual painting, or roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.

Q: How is a designer assigned to my project?

One of the company’s best attributes is that you get Kathryn and Bill to work on your project. For all projects, you will have one lead designer who is your main point of contact; however both of us are heavily involved in the final design of your project, leading to a more creative solution with faster turn-around times.

Q: If both of you are working on my project, won’t that cost twice as much?

There are only a handful of tasks that require more than one designer to be involved at the same time, in which case you will still pay the normal hourly rate for each designer. Typically these tasks are the: initial consultation, intense shopping sessions, the paint selection process, the final installation/configuration of the rooms or any other time that you would like to have both designers on site. The reason we involve multiple designers during particular phases is because we have found that better results are obtained in a shorter amount of time due to the instant collaboration between the designers.

Q: How do you make your money?

We make our money by charging a flat hourly rate for any work that a designer performs on your project. Unlike other firms in the industry, we do not charge for minor expenses like postage, phone calls, mileage, faxes, etc. mainly because it is a pain to track all of these small incidentals, and nobody likes to feel like they are being nickel and dimed.

Q: Other firms mark up merchandise, do you?

Merchandise markup is a common way for design firms to make money; this is a common practice because many firms have exclusive relationships with furniture vendors that grant them access to pieces that you could not get on your own because you are not in the industry. Because of this exclusive access, many design firms get a discounted price from the vendor which allows room to mark-up the product. The amount of markup, like many things in life, depends on the product and its exclusivity.

Similar to other firms in the industry, we may mark-up merchandise that we purchase for you; however this is typically only done if we can get a better price for you than you could get by going to the vendor and purchasing the item yourself. For instance, if you find an ottoman you love; a vendor may charge you $500 for that item (or may not even let you know the price because you are not in the industry). By having us work with the vendor directly, we may be able to purchase the same ottoman for slightly less, and pass along some of the savings to you. Where possible, we will discount products off retail. Because vendors do not provide a uniform discount to the design industry, it is impossible to provide a standard discount rate.

Q: What is the process for purchasing merchandise?

After the design process is complete we will begin the merchandise purchase process.  For most projects, merchandise will be purchased by you, Design Inside and Contractors depending on the type of item.  For items purchasable through Design Inside, the following prices will be listed for you:

• Total Product Price - The total price of the product plus freight necessary to get the item to the offices or warehouse of Design Inside for inspection, receiving and storage until it is ready for delivery to your home.
• Tax - Total sales tax due on the product.  We hate this as much as you do.
• Receiving - Any receiving costs associated with receiving the product.
• Delivery - Let us take care of hauling the heavy boxes up 3 flights of stairs in 6” of snow and drop the items off in your home in the appropriate room.
• Assembly - The price for Design Inside to assemble various items like tables, cabinets, benches, etc. If you cringe at the idea of using hex wrenches, tightening cam bolts and following visual diagrams, this service is for you.  We can assemble most furniture; however we are unable to provide assembly services for items that require the expertise of a licensed professional.  We can do a lot of things, but wiring up a 3-way dimmer switch is not one of them.

After you have reviewed the list, simply sign the form, provide payment (cash, check or credit card), and let us take care of the rest!

Q: What if I want to take advantage of your shopping services, but I don’t want it delivered or assembled?

If you are looking to save some money on purchasing items and aren’t afraid to dig in and get your hands dirty you are more than welcome to rent a truck, bribe some friends with pizza and beer and pick up the merchandise from our warehouse location.  We will setup a time that works for everyone and make sure to have all of your items ready.

Q: What if I have a really tight budget and want to purchase most of the items on my own?

After the design is complete, we are more than happy to provide you a shopping list of the items you wish to purchase.  This list will have the product name, model and description.  Please note that if you purchase items on your own, many times things will end up costing more since you will not be able to take advantage of any trade discounts.

Q: Can you get me a discount at Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Target, etc.?

Typically, we are not able to obtain merchandise purchased the big brick and mortar stores like Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Target, Room & Board, etc. at a wholesale price (aka: a discounted price), which means that we pay what you pay.

Q: Why do you make so many references to “the industry”?

Our goal as a firm is to make sure that you make a well informed decision when looking for help with designing that interior that you deserve. There are great interior design firms out there that do great work, and there are other firms that are not so great. As much as we want to work on your project, we want to make sure that you are making an informed decision. Why do we do this you ask? Well, we do it this way because we like it when other companies are straightforward and treat us like this, and since we (Kathryn and Bill) are the bosses of this company, we can run the business however what we want (hehehe). It also helps foster a closer relationship with our clients, making what we do a whole lot more fun for everyone involved.

Q: What are the next steps?

Give us a call at: 1-800-776-3609, and tell us a little bit about who you are, and what you’re trying to accomplish. At that point, we will typically set up an initial consultation. We hope that this Q&A page helped to answer some of your questions. Now go ahead, pick up the phone and give us a call.