We recently polled our DTS Files members and asked them to vote on the blog topics they wanted us to cover this month. The clear winner?

How to pay yourself as an interior designer.

This is a question we get all the time, and for good reason. Many designers aren’t paying themselves regularly, or they wait to see what’s “left over” at the end of the month (or year 😭) before cutting themselves a check. Not ideal.

If you want to show up as a real business owner (and feel confident doing it), paying yourself consistently and knowing how much to pay yourself is a big part of getting the back end of your business set up correctly.

France and French culture are known for many notable contributions, including cuisine, fashion, wine, art, and more. But a visit to France uncovers centuries of unique and beautiful architecture to behold. A full summary of architecture throughout the many centuries of French history would be extensive, so only the most notable are highlighted here.

Rather than going all the way back to the beginning of civilization in France, let’s begin with the Gothic style, which was very prevalent in France from about 1150 to 1500. This was the Middle Ages, when life expectancy was a mere 31 years; while most of the population lived in extreme hardship, poverty, and constant danger from foreign invaders.

How to price your interior design services is probably the NUMBER ONE question we get from interior designers. Now, I get that pricing can feel hard to do, but this particular question has a very (in my opinion) specific solution because of the circumstances. That circumstance being that this sweet designer is brand new. Here’s what they shared:

“I am struggling figuring out how much to charge using a flat fee. I am not sure how many hours to assume a service will take when creating a fee.”

I recorded my response to this designer in the video below, and I’m sharing a few tips for figuring out how to determine what to charge and how to charge as a new designer. I also reference my Pricing & Proposals Workshop, where I walk you through pricing and per-room fees across the United States based on my work with hundreds of interior designers since 2017.

Want to unlock the full post to get my advice? Subscribe to The DTS Files or log in to your account.

I’ve been working with interior designers for 8+ years, and before that, I owned a successful wedding and event planning business. 

Over the years, I’ve had many conversations with designers who’ve told me things like, “I’d never be able to afford myself,” or “I could never spend that much on a custom sofa,” or “I wish I could spend $X on a renovation like my clients do.” 

This resonates with me. As a former wedding planner, I was most often hired by the parents of the bride or groom. My clients (the parents who were hiring me) were significantly older and had far greater financial means than I did. (I was in my 20s and 30s and when I had my first company).

That gap can trigger feelings of inadequacy, or even imposter syndrome, where you experience self-doubt and low self-esteem despite your achievements and expertise. It’s easy to feel you can’t live up to your clients' expectations. And it’s a trap that’s easy to fall into.

So what happens when YOU’RE the service provider (the expert), and your client is older, wealthier, more successful, or is more accustomed to high-end, luxury experiences?

I’ll tell you: YOUR MONEY STORY COMES OUT.

Join me inside The DTS Files to find out how to level the playing field when your clients have more wealth, success, or experience with luxury services than you do. Get my insights based on my work with hundreds of interior design businesses, from those on their way to their first $100,000/year to those scaling past $4,000,000+/year in revenue.

It’s critical for interior designers to have a basic understanding of historic furniture styles. If your client wants a French Country look (and this style will probably come around again in popularity at some point), you want to make sure you aren’t including a Chippendale-style chair (oh no!!!, that would be British!). Or, if your client wants you to work with an antique Biedermeier secretary desk they inherited from their grandmother, you’ll want to know what stylistic qualities to look for in pieces that accompany it. 

So, we’ve got you covered. In the upcoming weeks, in this HISTORY SERIES, we will cover French, British, Italian, German, Spanish, and American furniture and architectural styles.