How Much Does An Interior Designer Cost? (Florida Breakdown 2026)

What You’re Paying For When You Hire An Interior Designer

A lot of people think interior design is picking finishes. And while that’s part of it, it’s not what makes design valuable or expensive.

On a renovation, design is the work of turning a vision into something that can be built cleanly, priced honestly, and executed without constant improvisation.

Design fees tend to track with two things:

1. How many decisions need to be made (and documented)

2. How much risk is sitting inside those decisions (custom work, lead times, coordination)

That’s why a two-hour consult is one price, and a full-home renovation design with procurement and oversight is a completely different category.

How Much Does An Interior Designer Cost In Florida?

Florida interior design pricing is usually delivered through one of three models.

Hourly Interior Designer Rates

Hourly pricing is common for:

• Initial consultations

• Limited scope design help

• “We need a designer, but we are not sure yet” situations

• Extra revisions beyond a base agreement

In Florida, it’s normal to see $50 to $200 per hour for general residential work, with many designers clustering around $100 to $225 per hour for consultation-heavy time.

Luxury Interior Designer Cost

For luxury work, especially with senior or principal designers, hourly rates often land higher:

• Junior designers: $100 to $200 per hour

• Senior or principal designers: $150 to $400 per hour

A realistic starting phase for a high-end project can easily be 10 to 20 hours just to get through consultation, mood direction, initial space planning, and preliminary selections. 

That alone can put early-stage design time into the $1,500 to $8,000 range depending on who is doing the work.

Flat-Fee Interior Design Pricing

Flat fees are common when scope is reasonably predictable. 

In Florida, you may see:

• A fixed fee for a single room design package

• A fixed fee for “full-home concepting” (without deep construction documentation)

• A fixed fee for a defined renovation scope, sometimes paired with hourly for overruns

Luxury Interior Designer Cost

For luxury homes in Florida, initial project fees often start around $5,000 to $15,000 for the early phase (consultation, mood direction, preliminary plans). 

A more developed flat-fee engagement for a room or concept package often begins around $8,000 to $12,000 and escalates quickly with complexity.

Flat fees sound comforting because they feel like certainty. The catch is in the contract language:

• what is included

• how many revisions

• whether site visits are included

• whether drawings are part of the fee

Percentage-Based Interior Design Fees

This is the model you’ll see most often on large renovations and luxury projects. A percentage-based fee typically falls in the 10% to 30% range of the total project budget.

A common “luxury band” is 15% to 25%, and in high-end markets (Palm Beach, waterfront estates, full-home work with custom elements) it can skew toward 20% to 30%.

How It Is Usually Calculated:

1. A total renovation budget is established. This may include construction, design-related materials, furnishings, and sometimes permitting or soft costs.

2. The fee is set as a fixed percentage of that total.

3. Billing is typically staged across milestones (schematic design, design development, procurement, installation).

One Important Nuance: 

Percentage-based design fees often do not include product markups. Those are separate and apply to purchases.

Interior Designer Minimums, Budget Requirements & The “Fit” Problem

This surprises people, but it should not: many luxury firms have minimums.

It is common to see minimum overall budgets in the $30,000 to $100,000+ range for acceptance. In some South Florida luxury firms, that minimum can be $250,000+, and some ultra-high-end studios set thresholds far beyond that depending on scope.

Minimums exist because:

• High-end work requires principal time (and they protect their calendar)

• Procurement and coordination are resource-heavy

• Custom sourcing and trade relationships only make sense at scale

Interior Decorator Cost vs Interior Designer Cost

This is where a lot of pricing confusion comes from.

Rule of thumb:

• If you are renovating, you likely need design.

• If you are furnishing a completed home, you may only need decorating.

Room-By-Room Cost Examples

Numbers are not helpful unless you can picture what they attach to. Here are realistic Florida luxury renovation ranges you may see discussed in the market:

• Luxury kitchen redesigns: Roughly $85,000 to $200,000+ (custom cabinets, premium appliances, high-end finishes)

• Primary spa bathroom: Roughly $60,000 to $150,000 (custom vanity, large-format tile, steam, freestanding tub)

• Full condo or estate scope: Often $150,000 to $500,000+, and can reach $1M+ depending on the level of custom work, furnishings, and execution standards

Now, Tie That Back To Fees:

If a project budget is $300,000 and the design fee is 20%, the design fee is $60,000. That may be billed across phases.

What Is Usually Not Included In Interior Design Fees?

Product Markups & Commissions

Many designers apply a markup on purchased goods (FF&E). Ranges vary, but it’s common to see 15%–25% in many models, and higher in some cases.

Some agreements reference broader ranges on purchases, sometimes 10%–40% depending on category, vendor programs, and how procurement is handled.

Procurement Logistics Costs

Shipping, freight, receiving, inspection, storage, and re-delivery can become meaningful line items. 

In high-end projects, it is not unusual for warehousing or receiving services to exist because installs are staged and timing matters.

Revisions Beyond The Contract

Many agreements include 2 to 4 structured revision rounds. Beyond that, additional time is often billed hourly, commonly $100 to $300 per hour depending on the firm.

Travel & Site Time

Local site visits may be included up to a point. Longer travel or frequent site requirements can be billed separately.

Renderings & Mockups

Some firms include a limited set of renderings. Others treat them as add-ons.

On complex renovations, visuals can help, but they are not always necessary if documentation is strong.

Why Working With Palm Club Is Different Than Hiring A Designer Alone

Here’s the honest truth: a designer can be excellent, and you can still end up with a messy build. That’s because most risk in renovations lives in the space between design and construction:

• Scope that is not written tightly

• Contractor proposals that hide vague allowances

• A design that looks great but is not fully buildable

• Materials ordered across ten vendors with no quality control

• Field questions answered inconsistently, leading to on-site improvisation

We Exist Specifically To Close That Gap

Our role is to act as your owner’s representative and designer construction concierge, so the project runs with clarity.

What that looks like in practice:

• Scope and budget alignment early. We tell the truth about numbers up front, before you design yourself into a corner.

• Vetted general contractors. We invite proven GCs to bid the same scope and we review proposals line by line.

• Build-ready design. Drawings and selections are developed with execution in mind, not just aesthetics.

• Palm Club Logistics. We manage procurement for design-related materials: ordering, receiving, inspection, replacements, documentation. This protects warranties and reduces install-day surprises.

Oversight through the finish. We stay involved through construction and punch list completion to safeguard the design you approved.