A luxury interior designer in London does not sell a single product with a single price. One studio quotes by the hour, the next quotes a fixed fee per room, and a third charges a percentage of everything spent on the project. All three can be describing the same living room, and the totals can differ by tens of thousands of pounds. That is why the first question to ask is not “what do you charge”, but “how do you charge, and what is included”.
This guide explains the three fee models used by prime London studios independently, without promoting any individual studio. It gives planning bands for each model, explains what the design fee does not include, and covers the turnkey route that matters most to owners who live abroad and cannot attend site meetings in person. The figures below are planning bands for budgeting, not quotes. Every real fee turns on the scope, the property, the specification level and the studio, and a written, itemised proposal always governs your own project.
In brief: Expect a luxury interior design fee in London to be charged in one of three ways: hourly, typically £100 to £300 per hour for senior designers at prime studios; per room, typically £5,000 to £25,000 or more for a full-service room scheme depending on size and specification; or as a percentage of the project cost, typically 10% to 20% of the furniture, fittings and works budget. The design fee is almost never the whole bill. Furniture, fittings and equipment, trades, and procurement charges sit on top of it, and on a whole prime home those can be several times the fee itself.
The Three Fee Models: Hourly, Per Room and Percentage of Project
Hourly fees
Hourly charging is the most transparent model and the most common for smaller commissions: a consultation, a single room refresh, a colour and layout scheme without full project management, or advice on a property you are about to buy. The client pays for the designer’s time, usually billed in hours or half days, and can stop when the advice is complete.
At prime London studios, planning bands for senior designer time are typically £100 to £200 per hour, rising to £250 to £300 per hour for a principal or founder-led service. Junior time, for drawings, sourcing lists and administration, is usually charged lower. An initial consultation of two to three hours therefore costs a few hundred pounds to around £1,000, while a full room scheme billed hourly can reach £5,000 to £15,000 depending on how many revisions and sourcing rounds it takes.
Hourly charging suits a client who knows what they want and wants control of the total. Its risk is open-endedness. Without a capped estimate in writing, hours accumulate, especially where the client changes direction mid-scheme. Always ask for an estimated hour range for each stage, and for the studio to warn you before exceeding it.
Per room fees
Per room, or fixed fee, charging is the package model. The studio quotes one fee for one room, covering a defined scope: concept, layout, mood boards, furniture and fabric selection, and a sourcing list, sometimes including installation supervision. It is the model most often advertised on studio websites, because a fixed number is easier to sell than an hourly range.
For a prime London home, planning bands for a full-service single room are typically £5,000 to £10,000 for a bedroom or study, £8,000 to £15,000 for a principal living room, and £15,000 to £25,000 or more for a large reception room, principal bedroom suite or kitchen scheme where joinery and lighting design are involved. A whole flat or townhouse quoted room by room can therefore total £40,000 to £100,000 or more in design fees alone, before a single item of furniture is bought.
The fixed fee only means what its scope says. Ask exactly what is included: how many design concepts, how many revisions, whether site visits and installation days are included, and what happens if you add a room or change the specification. A fixed fee that excludes installation supervision looks cheaper until you pay for that supervision separately.
Percentage of project fees
Percentage charging is the standard model for full-home and whole-floor commissions, where the designer manages the entire project from concept to installation. The fee is a percentage of the total project spend, usually the furniture, fittings and equipment budget plus, in some studios, the joinery and works budget.
Typical prime London percentages are 10% to 15% for a large project, and 15% to 20% for a smaller or more bespoke project where the fixed workload is spread over a smaller spend. On a £300,000 furniture and fittings budget, a 15% fee is £45,000. On a £1 million turnkey budget, the same percentage is £150,000. That scaling is the point of the model: the fee grows with the complexity and value of what is being procured, and it aligns the designer’s incentive with the quality of the finished home rather than with the clock.
Percentage fees must be read with the procurement terms beside them, explained below. Some studios charge a percentage and pass trade discounts to the client in full. Others charge a percentage and retain part or all of the trade discount as well, which is effectively a second fee. Neither is wrong in itself, but a client who does not ask which applies cannot compare two percentage quotes fairly.
| Fee model | Typical prime London band | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | £100 to £300 per hour, senior time | Advice, one room, a defined question | Open-ended hours without a cap |
| Per room (fixed fee) | £5,000 to £25,000 or more per room | A room or two, a clear scope | What the fixed scope excludes |
| Percentage of project | 10% to 20% of project spend | Whole home, full service, turnkey | Procurement markup and retained discounts |
What Prime Studios Actually Charge at Each Level
The bands above describe the model, not the level. A “luxury” project in London spans a wide range, and the fee follows the specification, not the postcode alone.
At the lower end of the prime market, a well-finished flat in a good central London building, using quality off-the-shelf furniture with some bespoke joinery, might carry a total furniture and fittings budget of £100,000 to £250,000 for a two or three bedroom home. The design fee on that project, on a percentage basis, would typically be £15,000 to £40,000.
In the middle of the prime market, a large flat or townhouse in prime central London, with bespoke joinery, stone and brass details, commissioned art and lighting design, might carry a furniture and fittings budget of £250,000 to £600,000. The design fee would typically be £40,000 to £100,000.
At the top end, a super-prime home, a penthouse or a large stucco townhouse finished to a fully bespoke standard with specialist craftspeople, might carry a furniture and fittings budget of £600,000 to well over £1 million. The design fee follows the same percentages and can exceed £150,000, before works costs such as structural changes, rewiring or replastering, which are usually priced separately by contractors.
These are planning bands, not market statistics. No published dataset tracks prime designer fees, and any article that quotes a single “average” designer fee for London is inventing precision. The honest way to budget is to fix your furniture and fittings budget first, then apply the fee model to it, and then get two or three itemised proposals on the same scope.
What the Fee Does Not Include: FF&E, Trades and Procurement
The most expensive misunderstanding in interior design is treating the design fee as the project cost. It is not. Three further costs sit beside it, and on a prime project they are usually larger than the fee.
FF&E: furniture, fittings and equipment. This is the largest cost: sofas, beds, tables, lighting, curtains, rugs, art and accessories. The designer specifies them, the client pays for them, usually at retail prices unless a trade discount is passed on. A prime living room alone can absorb £30,000 to £100,000 in FF&E at a high specification, and a whole home multiplies that.
Trades and works. Joinery, painting and decorating, electrical work for new lighting schemes, plumbing for a reconfigured bathroom, and any structural work are contractor costs, not design costs. A designer may manage the trades, but the trades are paid separately, and their quotes should be itemised independently of the design fee.
Procurement and project management. Ordering, delivery, warehousing, installation and snagging all take time and carry charges. Some studios include procurement in their percentage fee. Others charge a separate procurement fee, typically 5% to 15% of the value of goods procured, or retain the trade discount, typically 10% to 30% off retail on furniture and fabrics, as their procurement income. Ask for this in writing, in one sentence: “Do you pass trade discounts to me in full, and if not, what do you retain?” The answer changes the true cost of every quote you compare.
For the full purchase picture that sits before any interiors budget, read our guide to total cost of buying a luxury property in the UK, which totals stamp duty, legal fees and surveys on top of the price itself. Interiors are the next budget after that purchase budget, not part of it.
Turnkey Design for Owners Who Live Abroad
Turnkey design is the service most relevant to the overseas owner, and it is where the London prime market differs most from ordinary interior design. The owner buys a property they may visit only a few times a year, and wants it finished, furnished, stocked and ready to live in on arrival, without managing trades or deliveries from another country.
A turnkey commission typically covers everything: design, FF&E procurement, trades, installation, art hanging, linen and tableware, and a final styling and snagging visit before handover. The owner approves schemes remotely, by video call, rendered visuals and sample boxes sent abroad, and attends only for key decisions or for handover itself. The fee is usually on a percentage basis, because the workload is whole-home, and the total budget is agreed in advance as a single turnkey figure, for example £400,000 all in for a two bedroom prime flat, or £800,000 or more for a large townhouse.
Three points matter more for an absentee owner than for a London-based client. First, the approval process must be agreed in advance: how schemes are presented, how many revision rounds are included, and how decisions are recorded, because a misunderstood fabric choice cannot be fixed by popping into the studio. Second, the payment schedule must match the procurement schedule, with deposits for bespoke joinery and furniture paid when ordered, not all up front. Third, the handover standard must be written down: what “finished” means, who snags defects, and how long after handover the studio remains responsible for them.
An owner who has just extended a short lease, or who is furnishing a flat bought as a project, should sequence the work in the right order. Structural and lease-related works come first, interiors second. Our guide to lease extension cost on a prime London flat explains why extending before a major interiors spend protects the value that spend creates.
Owners living abroad should also keep the purchase and furnishing budgets separate from tax and compliance budgets. The stamp duty position on the purchase itself, explained in our guide to stamp duty for overseas buyers, is unaffected by what you spend on interiors, but the source of funds evidence for a large furnishing spend follows the same discipline as for the purchase: keep invoices, transfer records and supplier contracts in one file.
How to Compare Quotes Fairly
Two designer quotes are only comparable if they describe the same scope, the same fee model and the same procurement terms. Before choosing, put every proposal through the same five questions.
- What exactly is included, room by room? Concept, drawings, sourcing, site visits, installation days and snagging should each be listed as included or excluded, not assumed.
- Which fee model applies, and is it capped? An hourly quote needs an hour estimate and a cap. A per room quote needs its revision limit. A percentage quote needs the base it is calculated on: FF&E only, or FF&E plus works.
- What happens to trade discounts? Passed in full, shared, or retained by the studio. Get the answer in writing, because it is worth thousands on a prime project.
- What is excluded, in pounds? FF&E, trades, delivery, warehousing and installation should each have a budget line, even if only as an allowance, so the design fee is never mistaken for the project total.
- Who manages the project day to day, and who is liable if it slips? A principal-led studio, a project manager, or a junior team member will give a different experience at the same fee. Ask who attends site, how often, and what happens if a supplier fails.
A studio that answers all five clearly, in writing, is usually the safer choice even if its headline fee is higher. A studio that will not itemise its fee, its procurement terms or its exclusions is not cheaper. It is unpriced.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a luxury interior designer cost in London per room?
As a planning band, £5,000 to £25,000 or more per room for a full-service scheme at prime level, depending on room size, specification and whether joinery and lighting design are included. That is the design fee only. Furniture and fittings for the room are additional.
Is a percentage fee or an hourly fee cheaper?
It depends on the project size. Hourly is usually cheaper for a small, well-defined commission. Percentage is usually the model for a whole home, where the designer manages procurement and installation as well as design. Compare them on the same scope, including procurement terms, not on the headline number alone.
What is FF&E in interior design?
Furniture, fittings and equipment: everything that furnishes and equips the home, from sofas and beds to lighting, curtains, rugs and accessories. It is the largest cost in most interior projects and is paid in addition to the design fee.
Do interior designers keep trade discounts?
Some do, some pass them to the client in full, and some share them. There is no single rule. Ask directly, get the answer in writing, and compare quotes on a like for like basis including the discount treatment.
Can a luxury interior designer work for an owner who lives abroad?
Yes. Turnkey design is built for absentee owners: remote approvals by video and samples, a single agreed budget, procurement and installation managed by the studio, and handover of a finished home. Agree the approval process, the payment schedule and the handover standard in writing before work starts.
Should I furnish before or after extending a short lease?
Extend first, or at least agree the extension terms first. A major interiors spend on a flat with a short lease adds value to an asset whose term is still shortening, and any structural or layout works may need the freeholder’s consent in any case. Sequence the legal work before the design work.
Written and reviewed by the My Luxury Property editorial team. This article is general information on interior design fees in London and does not constitute financial or professional advice. Fee figures are planning bands for budgeting, not quotes or market statistics, and you should obtain written, itemised proposals for your own project.