Hiring a designer can be expensive
Some charge as high as Dh90,000
Dubai: Hiring an interior designer will be the fastest route to creating a stylish home, but it's not necessarily the cheapest. Some designers in Dubai can charge from as low as Dh30,000 to as much as Dh90,000 for their services. The costs can vary depending on the size of your home, your desired style or how casual or personal the client-designer interaction will be. If the budget allows, you can also choose to pay a design expert on an hourly basis.
"There are many ways of pricing in Dubai. One would base the price on a set amount of cost per square foot, with exceptions such as additional changes, supervision of minor civil works with a contractor and external/garden design," explains Ola Alkaltakji of Hyder Consulting.
In cases where the design fee is fixed, according to the size of the apartment, the designer often has complete freedom in implementing what has been agreed upon and there will be minimal changes or liaison with the client. This arrangement works well for those whose design budget is fixed.
"This technique would be suitable if the client has complete faith in the designer and agreed to specific mood images that the designer would have shown the client on the first meeting. An approved tick list or shopping list of items would have also been agreed," she adds.
Hiring a designer on an hourly basis involves "complete immersion" with the homeowner. In this arrangement, the designer accompanies the client to shopping and visiting showrooms, to provide the necessary aesthetic guidance. "This is when the designer is expected to go hand-in-hand with the client and have meetings at the end of the day with the client and his family for the agreed strategy forward every day after a shopping spree. It would include visiting showrooms together, suggesting art galleries and photographers for personalised photo shoots, etc."
