Interior Decorators: Do you Pay Hourly PLUS Commission?

[Anonymous]

Need an interior decorator. The one I like best charges $175/hour + 20% commission on furniture. What confuses me is that she charges hourly for the time she spends to source the furniture, place the order, deal with follow up, etc -- so it seems like she's charging twice for her work. I get you have to compensate her for her time, but then why also a commission. Is this typical?

I do want to be fair, but I just don't understand this pricing model.

[Anonymous]

Maybe 20% from their wholesale prices, but you should just see the price for the lamp or couch.
$175/hour seems like a lot.

[Anonymous]

I've never had a decorator, but I think this is a rip off. Charge hourly OR charge commission. NOT BOTH.

[Anonymous]

Mine charges both but he only charges commission for trade-only items.

[Anonymous]

Mine charges both but does not charge her time for ordering etc on commission items. She would charge for fabric selection since that's a separate transaction.

[Anonymous]

anyone know of someone who does just hourly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:anyone know of someone who does just hourly?

I do! Elizabeth Cooper - she is great! [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:anyone know of someone who does just hourly?

I do! Elizabeth Cooper - she is great! [e-mail]

What are her rates like?

[Anonymous]

17:20 PP, why not just email her?

Can anyone shed some light on how the "discount" system works? I have one option who charges 30% over her net price. And another who charges a big hourly but says she doesn't charge anything over her cost. (So if sofa is 100, designer 1 charges me 130, number 2 charges 100.)

HOWEVER, I wonder if all designer discounts are the same? The one who charges 30% is very established, and I wonder if her discounts are larger since she does more business with the design houses. The one who doesn't charge is brand new to the DC scene.

Both are vague about what their discount is. So, it's hard to compare apples to apples. Plus, I get the feeling they are thinking, "well, if you have to ask, then you can't afford it." (By the way, this attitude befuddles me. How in the world do people afford to have decorators if they don't care how much stuff costs? I can afford it because I run a business and run it well, plus lots of luck, of course. I'm not about to start being stupid about money now.)