We are an interior design firm. As such, we charge for our professional services by the hour.  We bill our clients for hours worked on their behalf.  This is the standard practice of design firms.

If it is pre-determined that you need general color, fabric, window treatments or other by-the-hour recommendations, one of our designers will come out to your home (or business) and immediately begin working with you on your needs.  You will be billed for the time spent, including travel time.  Work and billable time will progress as needed, and will be determined by you.  If this by-the-hour process requires the designer to further search for fabrics, furniture, accessories, paint colors, wall coverings or other necessary elements to achieve the desired effect for your space, this is also billable time.  We will try to verbally estimate the required hours for such searches, and if more hours are necessary than estimated, we will clear this with you before proceeding further, so you will know (as closely as possible) what to expect to pay.  If an appointment is set up anywhere other than at your home (or business) this is also billable time, including travel. 

If it is pre-determined that you need a more complete design, one of our designers will visit your home to determine the scope of the project.  No recommendations or ideas will be given at this time.  This visit is for gathering information about the project only and is complimentary.  Then, we’ll come back within the week with an estimate of hours, including design hours and rendering hours (see fee schedule below) to present you with a complete design.  This is the first step of the process.  This presentation consists of color perspective CAD drawings showing furniture arrangement, colors, fabrics, wall and window treatments, everything.  Every conceivable angle of the room will be included.  In addition, fabric swatches, wall covering samples, color chips, furniture ideas and specific window treatment examples will be included.  This way, you’ll have a clear vision of what the room will look like, after the new design is implemented.  If you opt for just a floor plan, you will receive a presentation including all of the above, except the 3-dimensional portion.  The floor plan will only show a 2-dimensional placement of elements in the space. 

Once the estimate of hours to create your design is presented and approved, we ask for a retainer for half of that estimate.  Once we receive the retainer, your space will be measured and photographed.  The second half will be due at the presentation.  At this point, you will own the design.  You will then decide to either employ NWID or your own resources to execute the design.  Clients usually choose to go with NWID because we have a team of professionals who are regularly working together and the management of the job progression is more efficient this way.  In this case, a project management fee will be determined, and this fee precludes hourly billing.  All of our hours pertaining to the specific project are included in this project management fee.  Further, NWID submits a bid for each element of the job, for your approval, before going ahead with the work. 

Some additional things we do are: negotiation with contractors, administration of orders, troubleshooting (issues always come up), and communication with all, including clients.  We will do as little or as much as you wish.   Any hours worked on your behalf (except under project management) will be billed at the end of each month.

If your specific design needs are not clearly covered here, please call us and we’ll define how we can work together.  Thank you for your interest in NWID!