Blog
Procurement insights, sourcing guides, and industry analysis for interior designers.
How Interior Designers Make Money
Designers are paid from two places, a fee for the work and margin on the goods, and almost nobody explains the second one to the person paying for it. What the rules actually require, what trade pricing does to your invoice, and what to ask before you sign.
Trade Discount Programs for Interior Designers: How They Work, What to Expect, and How to Maximise Them
Trade pricing ranges from 10 percent off retail to 60 percent off factory direct, but navigating the system and structuring your fees around it is where most studios either build healthy margins or quietly lose money.
Purchase Orders for Interior Designers: Templates, Best Practices, and Common Mistakes
A purchase order is the most boring document in your workflow until the wrong sofa shows up in the wrong fabric, and you need to prove to the vendor what you actually ordered.
How to Track FF&E Budgets: A Practical Guide for Interior Designers
The projected-to-actual gap is where margin disappears. Prices change between quote and order, clients add items, and shipping costs double. A budget tracking system that updates in real time is the fix.
Furniture Lead Time Management: A Practical Guide for Interior Designers
Custom upholstery: 8 to 16 weeks. European imports: 12 to 24. The gap between client expectation and manufacturing reality is where the most tension lives in every design project.
Procurement Agents for Interior Designers: Types, Fees, and How to Choose the Right Model
Brand reps, independent agencies, OS&E specialists, in-house managers, or procurement platforms. Every model explained with real fees, real UK examples, and a decision framework for your studio size.
How to Source Furniture Directly from European Manufacturers
European manufacturers sell to the trade at 30 to 60 percent below retail, but finding them, opening accounts, and managing cross-border logistics is genuinely difficult. A practical guide to how it actually works.
The Hidden Cost of FF&E Procurement in Interior Design
Most designers underestimate how much procurement costs them, not in frustration, but in real money that leaves the studio every month without anyone tracking it.