Guide · ZAIA Design

How much does an interior designer cost in Bucharest

The price of an interior design project is almost always calculated per square metre. The difference between a low quote and a high one isn't the rate itself, but what you get for it: a furniture layout, a project with 3D renderings, or someone who sees the work through to handing over the keys.

How the price is calculated

In Bucharest, interior design studios usually work with one of three pricing models:

• Rate per square metre — the most common. You know from the start what you'll pay, and the price grows in proportion to the floor area.
• Fixed fee per project — a good fit for a single room or a one-off consultation.
• Hourly rate — rare for whole projects, useful for a consultation visit or a second opinion.

The area used in the calculation is the usable floor area of the space being designed. Balconies and terraces are discussed separately, depending on how much of the project they involve.

ZAIA Design prices, by package

Basic package — 15 €/sqm. We visit the property, take measurements and go through your requirements, budget and style in detail; you then receive a moodboard with the design concept and a 2D furniture layout. Includes 1–2 follow-up consultation sessions. It's the right choice if you want the direction and the plan, and prefer to do the shopping yourself.

Complete package — 25 €/sqm. Everything in the Basic package, plus 3D renderings, a purchasing plan with links and specifications for every item (furniture, lighting, rugs, curtains) and the technical documentation: materials for custom-made furniture, electrical plan, plumbing fixtures plan and finish schedules where needed. With this package, any contractor can build the project.

Premium package — 40 €/sqm. Everything in the Complete package, plus coordination of purchases and deliveries, joint showroom visits with tailored quotes, supervision of the build and the final handover of the space. In short, you don't have to deal with anything yourself.

Worked examples

These amounts are the design fee. Furniture, materials and labour are paid separately, directly to suppliers and contractors.

What the designer's fee doesn't cover

• Furniture, light fittings, textiles and decor.
• Labour: painting, plumbing and electrics, floor and wall tiling, doors and windows.
• Custom-made furniture (kitchen, walk-in wardrobe, bookcases), which the manufacturer quotes separately based on the project.

A good project helps you keep these costs under control: you know in advance what you're buying, how much of it and where it goes, so you avoid wrong orders and redoing work.

Is it worth the money?

The most expensive mistakes in a renovation are the ones you can't see on paper: a socket in the wrong place after the tiles are up, a sofa that won't fit through the door, a wardrobe ordered 10 cm too deep. 3D renderings and technical documentation exist precisely to catch these problems before they cost money. For many projects, the design fee is lower than the cost of a single piece of work that has to be redone.

ZAIA Design projects

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