The Budget Friendly Interior Design Solution.
Unlike traditional interior design services, online interior design focuses on making designing your home more affordable. It's typical to offer flat-rate interior design package options priced per room and allow the client to choose what levels of service they need.
Online Interior design can vary from inspirational design mood boards, 3D renderings images (different companies offer varying levels of realism), 3D interior design video walkthroughs to full-service interior design implementation. For people who are okay with building furniture and can follow the 3D design plan, they can save a ton of money by not having to pay a designer's hourly rate to put it all together.
The benefit of the flat rate design fee is that you can easily budget for designing your home. Traditional interior designer costs are usually based on an hourly rate through a retainer model. Interior designer hourly rates can start at $70/hour to $250+ per hour depending on the city and their level of experience. With the retainer model, a designer's hourly rates can add up quickly and leave you having to spend more than you anticipated. Many interior designers also charge a percentage of your overall furniture or renovation budget. 10% of a renovation budget can equal a lot of money. However, sometimes they pass on a portion of their designer discounts from high-end furniture lines. Due to lower interior design fees with online interior design, trade discounts are usually not passed on unless the client has a high-end furniture budget.
Here is a chart summarizing the key differences between online interior design and traditional interior designers.
Stay In The Comfort of your home
A major benefit of online interior design is the time-saving factor where you can get your home designed without disrupting your daily life. It all happens in the comfort of your home with a few clicks of a mouse.
With traditional designers, you are still spending a lot of time in designer meetings and in-store shopping meetings. However, without professional help to design your home, you are likely spending endless hours scrolling online furniture stores with no real confidence to commit. You may also be spending your weekends in furniture stores buying and returning items on an endless loop. Have you ever stopped and noticed how many couples are awkwardly arguing in Ikea?
To begin an online interior design project, clients usually send photos and measurements of their room to the designer. Some designers have online client portals where you can drag and drop photos, videos and even chat with your designer. Important details about the design project are discussed over a telephone or video call, and inspiration photos are shared to narrow down the goal aesthetic. Here's a snapshot of our online interior design process at White Dahlia Design.
The Power of 3D Interior Design
All it takes is a few moments in your day to take photos and measurements of your room and have everything sourced for you by our professional interior design team. Our design team has a catalogue of trusted online furniture retailers that we source from who have a wide range of price points, a high standard of quality and offer efficient delivery.
Detailed furniture specs are used to create 3D renderings of the sourced furniture items chosen for your home design. Not only is everything shown in your style and budget but you get to see how it looks and fits in your room through full 3D interior design videos. It's like a glimpse into the could-be future! Then, the fun part is where you select the items you love from your design through your custom digital shopping list.
Online Furniture Shopping is the New Norm.
What was once considered a risky venture has now become the new norm. These days, people comfortably buy anything from baby food to gym equipment to puppies online, so why would buying furniture be any different? Thanks to technology and detailed product reviews, it is so much more efficient to have an online interior decorator create a plan and furnish your room without ever having to step foot in it. For the same reasons that you would order a phone case off Amazon, it's faster and easier to buy furniture and design your home online. You'll have more selection to choose from than local furniture stores with limited inventory and styles to choose from.
Our interior design team orders everything you select from your custom shopping list and has it delivered to your door. You don't have to deal with multiple furniture stores or 1-800 customer service lines, we arrange everything. Any furniture that you aren't 100% excited about we will have returned conveniently for you with in-home pickup. With everything shipped to your door and the 3D interior design as a setup guide, you don't even have to leave your house to completely transform it!
Interior Design can be as easy as 1, 2, 3.
As you've learned by now, nailing that modern master bedroom look doesn't have to be an overwhelming or bank-breaking experience. With online interior design services, you're able to get the full picture up front, get your home designed fast, and be a part of the process from the comfort of your home.
If you are a person that prefers many in-person meetings or enjoys hunting in stores, then maybe working with a traditional local interior design firm would be a good fit for you. But if you are someone with a busy lifestyle who prefers to spend weekends with family and friends, then explore online interior design! Take a look at our affordable online interior design packages or get to know our design team.