What it costs
Interior design fees and services
Fixed fees for design, agreed before the work starts and never a percentage of your construction budget. The exact fee for your room is set in writing after the first visit. Bigger rooms and built-ins, like cabinets and shelving, are what move it above the starting price. Most people start with a first visit, then design one room. If you’ll do more than one room over the years, start with the plan for the house.
Who this is for
This is for a house you already live in or just bought, usually in Solano or Napa County and often built from the 1970s through the 2000s, where the rooms were remodeled at different times or not at all. You have a contractor, or I can refer you to one. If you’ve already signed with one, it’s not too late: the finishes and fixtures can still be decided and priced before anything is ordered. It’s probably not for you if you want someone to run the construction, or you’d rather pick things as the job goes.
First visit $350
Ninety minutes at your house. We walk through your ideas, and before I leave you’ll know what should change, what can stay, what to decide first and roughly what the finishes and fixtures will cost. If you don’t have a price range for your room when I leave, you don’t pay for the visit. You can stop there and run the project yourself. The $350 is credited toward the first thing you book within 30 days.
For example: book a $3,200 kitchen design within 30 days of your first visit, and the $350 comes off the design. You pay $3,200 in all, first visit included.
A plan for the house $850
You don’t have to do the whole house now, but you do need a plan for it. Most people remodel one room at a time, years apart, and end up with rooms that don’t go together. I give you a direction for the whole house, decided once: which rooms, in what order, and what carries through all of them, from floor and wall color to metal finish and tile. It’s written down, so the bathroom you do in 2030 isn’t chosen from memory of a kitchen you did in 2026. It also gives you the option to buy extra material, like tile or flooring, before it’s discontinued.
If you’re moving in five years, the plan will look different than if you’re staying twenty. That’s the first question I’ll ask. The plan covers up to four rooms, plus $175 for each room after that. Book four or more room designs at once and the plan is included at no charge.
Primary bath or kitchen from $3,200
The whole room decided and drawn before your contractor prices it: cabinets, counters, tile, plumbing fixtures, appliances, lighting, hardware and paint. You get drawings of each cabinet wall, the tile layout, and a priced list of every item I choose, with the price you’ll likely pay and how long each one takes to arrive, all added up. You or your contractor order from it. Your contractor prices the construction materials and labor. See a real one: my primary bath, with every item priced.
Any other room from $1,800
A hall bath, laundry, bedroom, living room, family room, hallway or entry, designed the same way as above: finishes, lighting and paint chosen, plus where things go, what stays, what moves and what size the furniture needs to be. You get a drawing your contractor can bid and build from, and the same priced list. See a real one: a client’s house in Long Beach.
Hourly work $175 an hour
Every room design includes two rounds of selections. After you sign off, changes are $175 an hour. Checking in with your contractor on the design during construction is also $175 an hour. That’s to keep the design on track, not project management.
Whole house at each room’s rate
Each room at its own rate above, with the plan for the house included.
Furnishings below retail
Optional. I buy through trade accounts, which are open only to design professionals, to get you things that aren’t sold in ordinary stores or online: furniture and accessories, custom sizes and finishes, upholstery in your own fabric. I split my trade discount with you, half and half, so you always pay less than list price. On a $3,000 sofa with a 30% trade discount ($900), you get half, so you pay $2,550. My half covers placing the order, tracking it and dealing with the vendor when something arrives wrong. Nothing is ordered until it’s paid for, either to me or directly to the vendor. You see the vendor invoice. Freight and delivery are billed at cost, plus sales tax. Anything you can buy at retail, you buy directly, and I’ll send the link.
My part and your contractor’s part
My part:
design: finishes and fixtures selected, priced and drawn
Your contractor’s part:
construction: materials and labor, priced and built
You hire your own licensed contractor, or I can refer you to one, and you contract with them directly. I don’t manage construction, hire workers or set schedules, and anything structural needs an architect or engineer. I can check in with your contractor on the design during construction, at $175 an hour.
Questions people ask
How much does an interior designer cost in Vacaville?
My fees are fixed: $350 for the first visit, $850 for a plan for the house, from $3,200 for a primary bath or kitchen, and from $1,800 for any other room. The exact fee for your room is set in writing after the first visit, and it’s never a percentage of your construction budget.
How much does a bathroom remodel cost in Vacaville?
My own two baths, done in 2024, came to about $34,000 for the hall bath and about $49,300 for the primary bath, counting what I paid the contractor and the finishes, fixtures and furniture I bought. Every number is on the Projects page, and the primary bath’s priced list is on the Sample page. For your room, your contractor prices the construction materials and labor. The point of the design is that you know what the finishes and fixtures add up to before they price it.
Why hire a designer before the contractor?
So every contractor prices the same job. With the layout, finishes, fixtures, lighting and paint decided and drawn first, you see what your choices add up to while you can still change them. It won’t rule out every change order (an extra charge once work has started), but it helps keep them to a minimum.
Do I need an interior designer for a bathroom remodel?
Not always. If you already know every finish and fixture and how they go together, a contractor can build it. A designer is worth it when you want the room decided and priced before the contractor prices it. On my own primary bath, I picked things as the job went, before I’d added it all up, and spent about $17,000 in addition to the contractor’s price. If the first visit shows you don’t need more from me, I’ll say so.
How is this different from a cabinet shop or showroom designer?
I don’t sell tile or cabinets. At a showroom, design is paid for in the markup on what you buy, and a cabinet shop’s designer draws your kitchen around the cabinets they sell. What I choose can come from any store or brand, and it has to work with the rest of your house.
I’ve already signed with a contractor. Is it too late?
No. Bring the contractor’s price. I’ll go through what it includes, what it leaves to you and where your choices would change it, then decide and price everything before anything is ordered.
Do you manage construction or hire the contractor?
No. My part is design: finishes and fixtures selected, priced and drawn. Your contractor’s part is construction: materials and labor, priced and built. You hire your own licensed contractor, or I can refer you to one, and you contract with them directly. I don’t manage construction, hire workers or set schedules, and anything structural needs an architect or engineer. During construction, I can check in with your contractor on the design for $175 an hour.
What areas do you serve?
Vacaville, Fairfield and Napa, across Solano and Napa counties, and farther out with travel added.
Do you offer virtual or online design?
No. The work is in person, starting at your house, in Solano and Napa counties, and farther out with travel added.
What happens at the first visit, and what if it’s not useful?
I spend 90 minutes at your house. Before I leave, you’ll know what should change, what can stay, what to decide first and roughly what the finishes and fixtures will cost. If you don’t have a price range for your room when I leave, you don’t pay for the visit. If you do, the $350 is credited toward the first thing you book within 30 days.
How long does a room design take?
About three to four weeks for a bath and four to six for a kitchen, counted from the day I measure. That assumes you get back to me on each round of selections within a week. Two rounds are included, and each one needs you to look, maybe visit a showroom, and decide.
How does buying furniture through you work?
I buy through trade accounts and split my trade discount with you, half and half, so you always pay less than list price. On a $3,000 sofa with a 30% trade discount, you pay $2,550. Nothing is ordered until it’s paid for, either to me or directly to the vendor. You see the vendor invoice. Freight and delivery are billed at cost, plus sales tax. Anything you can buy at retail, you buy directly.