Understanding Interior Designer Markups
When working with a designer, the mention of markups can make even the most enthusiastic homeowner pause. Why am I paying more than they paid for something they're simply ordering on my behalf? It's a completely fair question, and a misunderstood part of the entire design and procurement process. Before you let it sway you from working with a designer, here's what's actually going on.
A Note on How We Got Here
When Nubuor Designs first opened, we passed our full trade pricing directly to clients. It felt like the right thing to do. It was transparent, demonstrated the value of our industry relationships, and felt like a generous way to start building trust with the people who were trusting us with their homes.
It was also entirely unsustainable, and it took financial pain to understand why.
When items got lost, arrived damaged, incorrect, or incomplete, and they do, more often than any designer admits, we were responsible for making it right. If a vendor accepted the claim and replaced the piece, the outcome was fine. But when they did not, what followed was often a circular conversation between the vendor, the shipper, the receiving warehouse, and sometimes the contractor, each pointing to the other as responsible. In those situations we absorbed the cost ourselves to preserve the client relationship and keep the project moving. We had built no margin into our pricing to cover those situations, which meant we were paying out of our own business for products we did not own and had not damaged. We were also spending many uncompensated hours coordinating replacements, scheduling additional site visits, and managing the logistics of problems no one could have predicted. That time was real and so were the costs. We had no way to cover it without either going back to our client to charge for something that felt unfair to charge for, or absorbing it ourselves and hurting the business.
What we did not fully understand early on was how much it costs to simply run a business — especially one that also handles products. The accountant, bookkeeper, attorney, business insurance, design software, marketing, professional photoshoots, project management software, sample libraries, all of it. Not to mention the travel to trade shows and markets to maintain vendor relationships and learn of the new offerings that make the sourcing possible in the first place. None of that is visible to a client and none of it is free.
It was also in those early times that we understood, in the most practical terms, why every industry marks up its products. Because they are businesses, and to keep operating, they have to budget like one. Every business deserves to make a profit, and design is no different. Profit allows a studio to grow, to invest in the relationships and resources that make the work better, and to maintain the kind of financial stability that protects clients as much as it protects the business. A designer operating without margin is a designer one difficult project away from being unable to absorb a problem that should never become the client's to solve.
The markup is what pays for all of it. When something goes wrong on a project, and something always does, the markup is what allows us to fix it without it becoming your problem.
What Is a Markup?
Cost-plus, or markup pricing, is when an interior designer quotes their trade cost and then adds a percentage, typically 20% to 35%, to that cost when billing you. For example, if a designer purchases a chair at their trade price of $1,000 and applies a 30% markup, you would pay $1,300. This markup compensates the designer for their time spent sourcing, researching, ordering, tracking, inspecting, and coordinating delivery of that product, as well as the liability they assume by purchasing under their business account.
Some designers show you exactly what they pay and what they are marking it up to. Others prefer the retail pricing model, where the designer quotes the manufacturer's suggested retail price and you pay that amount, the same price you would pay if you walked into a showroom yourself. This is how Nubuor Designs structures our pricing. The price you are quoted is the fair price the manufacturer sets for their product.
Why Designers Have Trade Pricing in the First Place
Trade pricing is not something manufacturers extend to designers simply for existing. It is a professional benefit earned through business relationships, industry participation, and the real value designers bring to the vendor's operation.
Trade pricing exists because it makes financial sense for the vendor, not just the designer. A designer who walks into a showroom or calls a rep already knows what they want, understands the product specifications, speaks the industry language, and is almost certainly going to place an order, if not today then on the next project. The vendor does not need to educate them, market to them, or spend hours navigating a buyer who has not yet finalized their design or decided what they want. The difference between trade and retail pricing is partly how vendors compensate designers for the back end work they absorb on the vendor's behalf, and partly how vendors protect their retail price integrity with the general public.
It is a rational business arrangement, not a favor.
Designers also earn this access through continued investment in the industry. They spend thousands of dollars annually at their own expense traveling to trade shows and market weeks in High Point, Paris, New York, and Milan. They invest countless hours researching manufacturers, vetting product quality, and staying current on their new releases and customizations. They maintain ongoing relationships with vendors and often commit to minimum order volumes to qualify for preferred pricing. All of this happens outside of billable project work and is part of running a design business.
You Already Pay Markups Every Day
When you purchase a car or shop at a large retailer like Restoration Hardware or Target, you pay the price on the tag. That price includes a significant markup over what the store paid wholesale, often two to four times their cost, covering overhead, staff, logistics, and profit. Now, here's the interesting part. Large retailers negotiate far steeper discounts than individual designers ever could. They're placing orders worth tens of millions of dollars, which gives them enormous leverage. Their per-item cost is often much lower than what a designer can access.
So when you buy from a big retailer, they're keeping a substantial markup you never see. You do not see their wholesale cost. You just pay retail price.
Designers handle sourcing, quality control, ordering, and tracking, and going further by receiving, inspecting, coordinating delivery, and managing installation. When you buy through your designer, you are paying comparable or sometimes better pricing than retail, getting personalized service, and supporting a small business rather than a large corporation.
What You're Really Paying For
By the time a designer presents you with options, they have already eliminated dozens that were not right based on your criteria and years of their own research. They have spent years building relationships with vendors, earning better pricing, priority service, and the ability to problem-solve when issues arise. They manage order accuracy, customization details, lead times, and detailed records across every vendor. They coordinate deliveries, manage warehouse storage, schedule installations, and handle returns, replacements, and vendor back and forth when something goes wrong.
The markup compensates the designer for all of these services, not just for placing the order.
What's a Fair Markup?
Markups typically range from 20% to 35% in the industry. Newer designers or those on high-volume projects often work at the lower end. Experienced designers in major markets doing full-service work typically fall in the 25% to 35% range. Very high-end studios offering white-glove concierge service may go higher. The number varies by designer, market, and project type, but the range above covers the vast majority of residential work.
Is the Markup Percentage Negotiable?
Sometimes, but not usually. Designers set their markup based on what they need to run a sustainable business. It covers overhead, insurance, software, salaries, and profit. Asking a designer to reduce their markup is asking them to take a pay cut. Some might negotiate on very large projects where volume makes it worthwhile, but for most projects the markup is what it is.
If the pricing does not work for your budget, the most productive conversation is about scope, service model, or fit rather than asking a designer to work for less than their business requires.
The Bottom Line
When working with a designer, a markup means you are working with someone who has built a sustainable business, earned genuine vendor relationships, and invested in the infrastructure that makes a complex process run well. The markup covers the expertise, coordination, and professional accountability that comes with having someone truly in your corner. When something goes wrong, and something always does, it is what allows your designer to make it right without it ever becoming your burden to carry.
The question isn't whether you should pay it but whether the designer's overall service represents good value for what you are investing in your home. And that's something only you can answer.
At Nubuor Designs, we believe the business side of design should feel just as good as the creative side. That means a fee structure that's explained clearly before we ever get started. If you're curious about how it all works for your specific project, we'd love to hear more about you and your home. Let's Talk.
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