
HOW WE WORK
Thank you for inquiring about Artisan Design Studio!
Interior design is a very personal process. We strive to give you a one-of-a-kind concept and hands-on service to fit your personality and needs. The craftsmanship of the products and pieces we incorporate into our interiors are created to give you the high-end value and sustainable quality you desire for your home. These products, combined with our visions, make comfortable, functional, and luxurious living attainable.
Artisan Design Studio is a full-service organization. Along with our trade partners, we handle all aspects of the design process for commercial or residential clients. Our projects range from conception and specification of single room redesigns to the new construction or complete remodel of a home or location.
Most design projects fall into one of two design categories, and often, a consultation project leads into a full-service design project once construction is completed. That’s when the fun really begins.
GETTING STARTED:
When starting a new project, we start with an exploratory phone call to get to know each other, answer any questions prospective clients may have and to determine if we think Artisan Design Studio is a good fit for the project. We do maintain minimum project sizes to ensure we are able to offer the best service to all our clients. Exploratory phone calls are typically 15-30 minutes and are offered at no charge. We cover things like overall design style, brief conversation about scope of project and anticipated budget. If you’d like to proceed into the proposal portion of your project, we follow the phone call with an in-person consultation to further discuss your project so that we can collect enough data to customize your design agreement. This appointment will take place in your home (or office – wherever the project is to take place) and generally lasts 1.5- 2 hours. This is a very important step, as we use this time to dig deeper on the scope of work requested, the anticipated budget, and allows us to observe not only how our clients live, but also the conditions or restrictions of the space that may make your project more or less difficult to implement. Field measurements will not be done at this time. The cost for the on-site meeting & proposal is $500, which covers the time we spend at your home and the time back at the studio customizing your design proposal. If the project is for new construction, we can meet at your existing home or at our office to review your plans and scope of the project. This fee is nonrefundable, and it is not applied toward your design fee presented in your customized proposal.
Please understand that the design proposal is not a proposal for the total budget of the overall project, as this takes tremendously more time, but to put together a scope of work for the project and estimate budgets, minimum expenditures & anticipated design fees based on that scope. This is for the purpose of educating our clients on what we anticipate the project to cost at the level our clients expect. Once agreed upon, all parties will sign the agreement and payment of the design fee is required to secure a place for your project on our calendar.
OPTION 1: HOURLY DESIGN CONSULTATION CLIENTS:
For our clients who need only hourly consultation help (this is usually during the planning & construction stages for new builds and remodels), for things like:
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space planning & plan review (from architect)
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materials selections & associated documentation (tile, flooring, trim, countertops)
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fixtures selections & associated documentation (plumbing, lighting, hardware)
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kitchen and bath designs (can include cabinet design)
This option does not include the procurement/ selection/ supply of any furnishings, fixtures, art, accessories, etc. This option is DESIGN TIME ONLY. For out-of-town projects, travel time is billed at $87.50/ hour.
Projects are not one size fits all, but to give you an idea of what to expect for your project,
below are a few estimates of what to expect for typical projects based on size and scope.
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For smaller projects, an estimated fee is $5,500 and includes 30 hours of formal design time and includes a small number of hours for informal email and phone time, all at our standard rate of $175/hour. This includes projects like small kitchens, master baths, etc as this is the minimum amount of time we feel it takes to properly pull together a small to medium space.
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For larger projects, like multi-room remodeling projects, a typical fee is $7,500 and includes 40 hours of design time and a small block of miscellaneous time for things like short phone calls, emails, etc that aren’t easily tracked.
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For whole-home consultation projects, such as new build construction, where required hours are difficult to estimate, we work on retainer. Minimum retainer is $10,000 to be paid in advance and includes 50 hours of design time.
Once those hours are exhausted, additional time can be added, a la carte, in quantities TBD based on the scope of the project that is remaining. All design time must be used within a reasonable amount of time based on the scope of the project, normally one year.
OPTION 2: FULL-SERVICE INTERIOR DESIGN CLIENTS:
For our clients who wish to engage Artisan Design Studio in full-service design. This includes selection & procurement of ALL furnishings & fixtures for a space (including, but not limited to: rugs, furniture, fabrics, art, accessories, window treatments, lighting, plumbing etc.). Full-service projects include a design fee as well as a minimum expenditure on merchandise purchased through Artisan Design Studio.
We work off a minimum expenditure model for a couple of important reasons:
1. We typically do not source from typical “retail” vendors (Pottery Barn, RH, West Elm) for many reasons:
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Their quality is typically average and can vary greatly across their offerings. High retail markups make them overpriced and underbuilt in comparison to the lines offered strictly to the trade
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We strive to curate unique items that are not available to the mass retail market
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Our trade vendors relationships allow us to stay on top of lead times, customer service, damages, etc that you simply do not receive with retail brands
2. It helps us to keep our design fees reasonable. We know our clients need to buy all these items anyway, and with our competitive pricing, this allows us to streamline the process in a way that ensures we can provide our clients with only the best products and service. It’s a win-win!
To give you an idea of what to expect for your full-service project, see below for EXAMPLES of
typical design fees & minimum expenditures for various projects. Please note that minimum expenditures are in place so that our clients understand the starting point of what they should expect to spend to fully furnish most rooms. These are NOT budgets for the rooms and will not be assigned to your project until we are present a design proposal.
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Small room such as powder rooms, mud rooms, foyers: $3,500 design fee (capped at 20 hours of design time). Minimum merchandise expenditure is TBD based on the scope of the project.
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Medium rooms such as bedrooms & dining rooms: $5,250 initial design fee (capped at 30 hours of design time) with a minimum merchandise expenditure of $15,000. Most single room projects fall into this category.
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Large/ Multi-space projects such as large family or bonus rooms, basements, etc: Starting at $7,500 initial design fee (capped at 40 hours of design time) and minimum merchandise expenditure of $20,000. ***Since multi-space rooms can vary substantially, these fees will vary and will be defined in your design agreement
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Whole-house projects: Design fees & minimum merchandise expenditure are determined once project scope is determined
We do understand that sometimes our clients don’t need full rooms completed from start to finish. If you wish to combine partial rooms, an estimated design fee is $3,500 for up to 20 hours of time.