Cost for an interior designer for a 1BR apartment

[Anonymous]

I will be renting, under my business, a one bedroom apartment in a high-rise building in North Bethesda. It is only about 750 ft.² so the main things that need to be furnished are the living room and bedroom. However, I don’t want to have to do any work so I would ideally like the kitchen fully stocked (plates, blender, etc.). I don’t believe I can change window treatments so that’s not a consideration, but I would like the designer to cover TV, towels, bedsheets and other accessories.

I would like this designed in a contemporary style and want the final product to be Pinterest-ready or magazine-ready. Do you have any idea how much I can expect to pay for something like this? Also, can anyone recommend any designers that work with contemporary styles? I find much of the furniture in this area to be staid and old-fashioned. Last time I had to furnish a place, I ended up buying things online from stores in New York City or Los Angeles because their styles were more suited to my taste.

[Anonymous]

Are you a troll? All the furniture is available everywhere. There’s nothing in NYC or LA that isn’t available here. And it’s all made somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

I would budget $20k for the designer and $75k for the furnishings. $100k+ if you actually mean “magazine-ready.”

[Anonymous]

What? You want to pay someone to buy you a TV, towels, bedding and plates in addition to furnishing and designing such a small space? Just go to room and board and order a few things, and ask for towel/dishes recs here. We won’t charge you

[EyeCandyOP]

A full-service designer can do that, but perhaps you should look for someone who specializes in corporate apartments or AirBnBs since this is a rental "under" your business?

When you say "contemporary," do you mean trendy or do you mean modern? What brands do you prefer? Just so you know, we have a Ligne Roset in Glover Park. Design Within Reach, Baker (check out the Baker Luxe and Kara Mann lines), and BoConcept in Georgetown. Roche BoBois in town and in Tysons. Michell Gold & Bob Williams near Logan Circle (and maybe also in Tysons, but I haven't been out there in a bit). There's an RH at Tysons and they have the RH Modern line, of course. Those are the national brands...we also have local places like Theodore's, Hudson & Crane, and more. If your reference point for design is Pinterest, some of the places I'm going to recommend might be more high end than you are expecting.

[Anonymous]

EyeCandyOP wrote:A full-service designer can do that, but perhaps you should look for someone who specializes in corporate apartments or AirBnBs since this is a rental "under" your business?

When you say "contemporary," do you mean trendy or do you mean modern? What brands do you prefer? Just so you know, we have a Ligne Roset in Glover Park. Design Within Reach, Baker (check out the Baker Luxe and Kara Mann lines), and BoConcept in Georgetown. Roche BoBois in town and in Tysons. Michell Gold & Bob Williams near Logan Circle (and maybe also in Tysons, but I haven't been out there in a bit). There's an RH at Tysons and they have the RH Modern line, of course. Those are the national brands...we also have local places like Theodore's, Hudson & Crane, and more. If your reference point for design is Pinterest, some of the places I'm going to recommend might be more high end than you are expecting.

I love you for putting this person in their place, EyeCandy!

[Anonymous]

EyeCandyOP wrote:A full-service designer can do that, but perhaps you should look for someone who specializes in corporate apartments or AirBnBs since this is a rental "under" your business?

When you say "contemporary," do you mean trendy or do you mean modern? What brands do you prefer? Just so you know, we have a Ligne Roset in Glover Park. Design Within Reach, Baker (check out the Baker Luxe and Kara Mann lines), and BoConcept in Georgetown. Roche BoBois in town and in Tysons. Michell Gold & Bob Williams near Logan Circle (and maybe also in Tysons, but I haven't been out there in a bit). There's an RH at Tysons and they have the RH Modern line, of course. Those are the national brands...we also have local places like Theodore's, Hudson & Crane, and more. If your reference point for design is Pinterest, some of the places I'm going to recommend might be more high end than you are expecting.

OP here. I may not have the lingo exactly down but I guess “modern“ would describe the look I’m going for. And I should clarify, my business will be paying the rent but it’s not for Airbnb – it will be for my personal use. Thank you for the list of brands – that will be a good reference. However, I am more interested in having somebody do everything from start to finish.

I’ve done something like this once before (it was a bigger space, though, and there was a renovation in addition to just furnishing the place), and I was absolutely astonished at how much time and money I spent. I am a little bit of a perfectionist and I got caught up in tremendous number of decisions and details. I actually stopped focusing on my business for like a year and really set myself back financially. I don’t want to do that again so I would like to outsource the project.

Can anyone else provide an estimate for what I’m looking for? I have to say that I was surprised to read the prior PP’s response suggesting that it would cost $100,000 for a 750 square-foot place, but on the other hand, I know firsthand that everything can be costly and time-consuming if you want a really put-together space. (FWIW, I do want something kind of high-end so if Pinterest was not the correct reference, let’s scratch that.)

[Anonymous]

You have to factor in the massive inflation we've been having, OP. Labor and materials costs have skyrocketed.

No one can estimate exactly what the total cost will be, you need to hire a designer with a modern vibe, sit with them and go through examples of what you love, and they will give you a ballpark figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What? You want to pay someone to buy you a TV, towels, bedding and plates in addition to furnishing and designing such a small space? Just go to room and board and order a few things, and ask for towel/dishes recs here. We won’t charge you

OP here again. Clarification why I don’t just want to go out and buy a TV on my own. I’m still going to have to hire somebody to mount it. Additionally, I don’t like a bunch of cables hanging out all over the place. So I will probably need someone to wall mount a small media cabinet as well. Last time I did a remodel and did this, I thought it would also be a nice touch to put some LED accent lighting under the media cabinet. Since it’s a rental, I would be limited in my ability to do that type of thing (which required electrical work), but in my experience, to get a really well-put together place, it’s not as simple as it seems at first, i.e. just going out and buying a TV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What? You want to pay someone to buy you a TV, towels, bedding and plates in addition to furnishing and designing such a small space? Just go to room and board and order a few things, and ask for towel/dishes recs here. We won’t charge you

OP here again. Clarification why I don’t just want to go out and buy a TV on my own. I’m still going to have to hire somebody to mount it. Additionally, I don’t like a bunch of cables hanging out all over the place. So I will probably need someone to wall mount a small media cabinet as well. Last time I did a remodel and did this, I thought it would also be a nice touch to put some LED accent lighting under the media cabinet. Since it’s a rental, I would be limited in my ability to do that type of thing (which required electrical work), but in my experience, to get a really well-put together place, it’s not as simple as it seems at first, i.e. just going out and buying a TV.

Correct. You either need to figure it out yourself, which takes time and thought, or hire someone.

[Anonymous]

Understood, you're not looking for an AirBnB, but what you want to do is exactly what a new AirBnB owner needs to do. There are decorators who do this, it's just unusual that you're doing it this way for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

EyeCandyOP wrote:A full-service designer can do that, but perhaps you should look for someone who specializes in corporate apartments or AirBnBs since this is a rental "under" your business?

When you say "contemporary," do you mean trendy or do you mean modern? What brands do you prefer? Just so you know, we have a Ligne Roset in Glover Park. Design Within Reach, Baker (check out the Baker Luxe and Kara Mann lines), and BoConcept in Georgetown. Roche BoBois in town and in Tysons. Michell Gold & Bob Williams near Logan Circle (and maybe also in Tysons, but I haven't been out there in a bit). There's an RH at Tysons and they have the RH Modern line, of course. Those are the national brands...we also have local places like Theodore's, Hudson & Crane, and more. If your reference point for design is Pinterest, some of the places I'm going to recommend might be more high end than you are expecting.

OP here. I may not have the lingo exactly down but I guess “modern“ would describe the look I’m going for. And I should clarify, my business will be paying the rent but it’s not for Airbnb – it will be for my personal use. Thank you for the list of brands – that will be a good reference. However, I am more interested in having somebody do everything from start to finish.

I’ve done something like this once before (it was a bigger space, though, and there was a renovation in addition to just furnishing the place), and I was absolutely astonished at how much time and money I spent. I am a little bit of a perfectionist and I got caught up in tremendous number of decisions and details. I actually stopped focusing on my business for like a year and really set myself back financially. I don’t want to do that again so I would like to outsource the project.

Can anyone else provide an estimate for what I’m looking for? I have to say that I was surprised to read the prior PP’s response suggesting that it would cost $100,000 for a 750 square-foot place, but on the other hand, I know firsthand that everything can be costly and time-consuming if you want a really put-together space. (FWIW, I do want something kind of high-end so if Pinterest was not the correct reference, let’s scratch that.)

So you mean, tax evasion? Right?

[Anonymous]

OP find the designer you want to use and ask them for an estimate.

[Anonymous]

OMG wait, is this apartment going to be a brothel?

[Anonymous]

Can’t name a brand and isn’t aware of what interior designers do, but claims to have high end taste and that they’ve done this all before.

I was going to say $100-150k when the thread started, but you can get a cheap deserter to fill your place with West Elm and Blue Dot for less. That’s not high end.