Interior design project management fees are billed hourly, as a flat fee, or inside a larger percentage-based or cost-plus design fee, and many firms blend these. The exact cost depends on your project’s scope and how much sourcing and contractor coordination the designer handles.
Pure Design of Naples, a boutique firm led by principal designer Laura Parsons, offers project management as a core service, along with a final styling and installation stage. Parsons has practiced in Naples since 2000. This guide explains how project management fees work so you can compare quotes between designers with confidence.
TL;DR
- Some designers bill project management as its own follow-on charge. Others build it into their main fee.
- The fee model decides how you pay: flat fee, percentage of project cost, cost-plus on purchases, or hourly.
- The published 10 to 30% fees and 15 to 35% furnishing markups describe total design and purchasing fees, not standalone project management charges.
- At Pure Design, builder coordination and construction-phase site visits are quoted separately from the design fee, and exact inclusions depend on your proposal.
- Before you sign, ask what the fee covers, what is quoted separately, and how scope changes are priced.
- Pure Design offers a complimentary initial consultation.
What Does Interior Design Project Management Cover, and What Does It Not?
Project management covers the work that turns an approved design into a finished home: placing orders, scheduling trades, and managing deliveries. It does not cover the furnishings themselves, the materials, or contractor labor, which are billed on top of the design fee.
Pure Design’s stage-by-stage Naples design process describes the split. Contractors build the approved plan, while the designer keeps the schedule, the trades, and the deliveries on track and acts as the client’s single point of contact.
Practice differs on how this work is billed. Designer Sara Hillery told Business of Home in 2020 that clients start projects excited but struggle with project management fees once their items are ordered, so she shows them the time spent each month. Pure Design’s pricing guide takes another route. It says studio rates reflect overhead, sourcing time, and project management.
How Do Interior Designers Charge for Project Management?
Designers bill project management through one of four fee models: a flat fee, a percentage of project cost, cost-plus on purchases, or an hourly rate. According to Design Manager, most designers combine two of these, most often an hourly fee with cost-plus.
| Model | How it works | Where project management fits | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat fee | One set price for a defined scope | Covered only for the scope you agree on, and extra work needs a new fee | Clearly defined scopes with few revisions |
| Percentage of project cost | A share of total spend or construction cost | Built into the percentage, which tracks the size of a job with heavy trade coordination | Larger remodels and renovations |
| Cost-plus | The designer buys at trade price and adds a markup | Ties the designer’s pay to sourcing and purchasing, so confirm that tracking and receiving are included | Furnishing-heavy projects |
| Hourly | You pay for time at an agreed rate | Project management hours appear as billed time | Open-ended or changing scopes, consultations, and ongoing support |
Sources: Haute Living, Spoak, BIID (a UK survey), HoneyBook, StudioDesigner, and Pure Design’s Naples interior designer pricing guide.
HoneyBook says flat fees work best when the scope is clearly defined from the start, while hourly billing suits consultations, smaller projects, and ongoing support. StudioDesigner adds that hourly billing fits open-ended projects whose final scope is not yet known, and it describes a hybrid in which the designer charges a flat fee for design and bills hourly for management. BIID points out that a fixed fee needs a new agreement whenever the project grows.
A project manager hired separately from your designer is a different arrangement from project management built into a designer’s fee. No source reviewed for this guide publishes a standalone price for a hired project manager, so compare any separate quote against what your designer already manages.
How Much Do Project Management Fees Cost?
Project management rarely has its own published price. The 10 to 30% and 15 to 35% figures in published guides describe a designer’s total fee and purchasing markups, not a standalone project management charge, so use them to compare overall proposals.
- Haute Living: percentage fees of 10 to 30% of total spend and cost-plus markups of 15 to 35%.
- Spoak: percentage fees of 10 to 30%, applied to total construction cost.
- Pure Design’s pricing guide: percentage fees of 10 to 30% and furnishing markups of 15 to 30% over trade price, with hourly rates of $100 to $250 in Florida.
Spoak applies its range to construction cost, while Haute Living applies it to total spend, so the same percentage can mean different dollars. Ask what the base includes.
Illustrative example: A homeowner is quoted a 10% overall design fee on a $100,000 project. The fee works out to $100,000 × 0.10 = $10,000. That $10,000 is the designer’s whole fee for the arrangement the proposal describes. It is not a separate project management charge, and the proposal shows whether project management sits inside it or is billed apart. This is a simplified example, not a Pure Design quote.
For ranges by project type, see Pure Design’s Naples interior designer pricing guide.
What Is Billed on Top of the Design Fee?
At Pure Design, the pricing guide says builder coordination and construction-phase site visits are quoted separately from the design fee. It lists them next to furnishings, freight, receiving, warehouse storage, white-glove delivery, and sales tax. The firm’s services page does not publish a fee schedule, so exact inclusions depend on your individual proposal.
Two charges can catch homeowners off guard. Builders may charge separately for coordination, while receiving warehouses may apply monthly storage fees based on their policies. Ask for these charges in writing before work starts.
What if You Already Have a Builder or Architect?
When a builder or architect is already on your project, your agreement should state who schedules each trade and who receives and inspects each delivery, so you do not pay two parties for the same coordination.
Pure Design’s process guide explains how its luxury interior design services in Naples can work alongside your existing contractor or its own contractor network. It also suggests asking any firm whether it manages contractors directly or leaves that to you.
Settle these points before work begins:
- Who schedules the trades, and who approves the schedule.
- Who receives, inspects, and stores deliveries.
- Who files damage claims and manages returns.
- Who attends site meetings, and whether those hours are billed.
Illustrative Naples scenario (not a Pure Design project): Suppose you own a high-rise condo in Naples and live out of state for part of the year. A kitchen update needs board approval, an elevator reservation for each delivery, and your sign-off on finishes before orders go in. For a luxury interior design project in Naples, ask who requests board approval, who books the elevator and accepts each delivery, and how decisions reach you while you are away. Pure Design’s pricing guide describes a single fee with a set number of video reviews for remote or seasonal clients, and it recommends writing condo board coordination into the fee’s scope instead of billing it later as an extra.
Construction professionals also weigh in on this overlap. The Lykos Group has worked with Pure Design on projects from condo remodels to new single-family homes. In its client testimonial, it says the Pure Design team understands both homeowners and the construction process.
How Can You Check What a Project Management Bill Covers?
Ask for a written scope that lists what is included, what is quoted separately, and how time or purchases appear on each invoice. Then ask for a time summary or the trade invoice behind any markup.
Four checks protect you:
Scope changes: With a fixed fee, expanding the project means negotiating a new fee for the added work, according to BIID. On gut renovations, Pure Design’s pricing guide advises capping a percentage fee at a stated dollar ceiling. Either way, agree in advance on how changes are priced and approved.
Time: Hillery shows clients the project management time spent each month so the bill makes sense, a practice worth requesting from any designer.
Trade invoice: Pure Design’s pricing guide advises asking to see the trade invoice so you can compare the trade price with the price you pay.
Discount structure: Houzz describes an arrangement in which the designer is paid through retailer discounts that are not passed on, while the client pays full retail. Ask which arrangement applies to you.
What Should You Ask Before You Sign?
Ask seven questions before you sign any design agreement, and get each answer in writing. For credentials, insurance, and portfolio checks, use Pure Design’s homeowner checklist for choosing a Naples designer.
- What does the percentage or flat fee apply to: construction, furnishings, or both?
- Is project management included in the fee, or billed as a separate charge?
- Which items are quoted separately: site visits, builder coordination, freight, receiving, storage, or delivery?
- Do invoices show the trade cost and the markup?
- How is a scope change quoted and approved?
- Is there a retainer, and what does it credit against? Design Manager notes that collecting a retainer at the start of a project is common.
- Will I receive a monthly summary of project management time?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Project Management Included in My Design Fee?
Sometimes. Some designers bill project management as its own follow-on charge, while others build it into their main design fee. Pure Design’s pricing guide notes that studio rates reflect overhead, sourcing time, and project management, so ask how your specific proposal treats it.
What Are the Four Ways Designers Bill Project Management?
Designers bill project management through a flat fee, a percentage of project cost, cost-plus on purchases, or an hourly rate, and Design Manager notes most designers combine two of these, most often an hourly fee with cost-plus. Each model fits a different kind of project.
Do the Published 10 to 30 Percent Fees Cover Project Management Separately?
No. The 10 to 30% fees and 15 to 35% furnishing markups published by sources like Haute Living and Spoak describe a designer’s total design and purchasing fees, not a standalone project management charge. Use them to compare whole proposals, not project management alone.
What Costs Are Billed Separately From the Design Fee at Pure Design?
At Pure Design, builder coordination and construction-phase site visits are quoted separately from the design fee, alongside furnishings, freight, receiving, warehouse storage, white-glove delivery, and sales tax. The firm’s services page does not publish a fee schedule, so exact inclusions depend on your individual proposal.
How Can I Check What a Project Management Bill Covers?
Ask for a written scope that lists what is included, what is quoted separately, and how time or purchases appear on each invoice, then ask for a time summary or the trade invoice behind any markup. Confirm in advance how scope changes are priced and approved.
What Should I Settle Before Work Begins If I Already Have a Builder?
Agree in writing on who schedules the trades and approves the schedule, who receives, inspects, and stores deliveries, who files damage claims and manages returns, and who attends site meetings and whether those hours are billed. Settling this early prevents paying two parties for the same work.
Project Management With Pure Design of Naples
Pure Design of Naples offers a complimentary initial consultation. Use it to ask how project management works for your project: what the fee covers, what is quoted separately, and how scope changes are priced. Exact inclusions depend on your proposal. Pure Design is a boutique firm led by principal designer Laura Parsons, who has practiced in Naples since 2000, with project management offered as a core service. Reach the firm through the contact page and bring the questions above today.
- Pure Design of Naples
- Location: Naples, Florida
- Phone: +1 239-775-4057
You can also find the firm on Google Business Profile to explore customer reviews, view business photos, check contact details, and learn more about its services before making a decision.