INTERIOR DESIGN COST IN SYDNEY

Updated October 2026

How Much Does an Interior Designer Cost in Sydney?

Interior design fees in Sydney vary more than almost any other renovation cost. The same “whole house” job can be quoted at $15,000 by one studio and $150,000 by another, and both can be fair prices. This guide sets out the typical rates in 2026, explains how designers charge and what sits outside a design fee, and covers the NSW rules worth knowing before you hire anyone.

Typical Sydney Interior Design Fees in 2026

Hourly rates

Hourly rates depend mostly on who is doing the work. In a studio, a junior designer might handle drawings and schedules while a principal leads the concept and the client meetings, and each is charged at a different rate.

Marketplace data points the same way. Bark, a site that matches customers with designers, puts the Sydney average at $275 an hour, against $200 nationally and $210 in Melbourne. Treat that as a rough guide rather than survey data, because Bark doesn't publish how it was worked out.

Initial consultations

Most established studios charge for the first meeting. Published fees from Sydney studios range from about $400 to $850 including GST, usually for a session of one and a half to two hours. Some credit the fee against the design work if you go ahead.

A paid consultation should leave you with something you can use, such as a written brief, recommendations or a fee proposal, even if you don't go ahead with that designer. If a consultation is free, it is usually a sales meeting.

Design fees by project

The ranges below are drawn from fee guides published by Sydney studios in 2025 and 2026. They cover the design fee only.

Why the whole-house range is so wide. The numbers at each end aren't pricing the same service. At the low end you get a design direction: a concept, mood boards and a furniture plan, and you and your builder work out the rest. At the high end you get full documentation, joinery and lighting drawings, finish schedules and a designer on site through construction. When you compare quotes, ask each designer which of these their fee covers.

How Interior Designers Charge

The Design Institute of Australia (DIA), the industry body for designers, leaves fees to be agreed between designer and client. In practice, most Sydney studios use one of the models below, or a mix.

Hourly

You pay for the time spent. This suits small jobs and projects where the scope isn't settled yet. Some studios sell hours in blocks. Ask for an estimate of the total hours and how you'll be told if the estimate is going to be exceeded.

Fixed fee

A set price for a defined scope, often split into stages such as concept, design development and documentation. You know the cost up front. The catch is that a fixed fee only covers the brief it was quoted on, and changes to the brief are usually charged on top at hourly rates.

Percentage of the project cost

Common on larger renovations and new builds. Current Sydney guides quote 10% to 20% of the construction and furnishing budget, with some as low as 8%. The percentage tends to fall as the budget rises. The DIA's own fee guideline, last published in 2010, sets out a sliding scale for full-service residential work:

The figures are old, but the pattern still holds: on a bigger project you pay a larger fee, but a smaller share of the total.

Per square metre

Less common in Sydney. Where it is used, published rates sit around $80 to $150 per square metre for established studios. It is a simple way to price a fit-out, but a poor fit for homes where one kitchen can take more design time than four bedrooms.

Furniture and procurement

Designers handle the buying of furniture and finishes in different ways, and it can change the total cost of a project as much as the design fee. The DIA Code of Ethics asks designers to tell clients in advance about any benefit they receive from their recommendations, so ask how purchasing works before you sign.

What You're Paying For

A full-service project moves through stages, and the fee is usually split across them. The DIA guideline gives this rough split:

Documentation is the biggest share, and it is the stage a cheaper quote is most likely to leave out. Without it, your builder makes the detailed decisions on site, and the result can drift a long way from the design you signed off.

What a Design Fee Doesn't Include

When you set a budget, allow separately for:

• Building work and trades
• Furniture, lighting, fixtures, finishes and art
• Other consultants, such as a structural engineer, certifier or hydraulic, electrical or acoustic engineer
• Council or certifier approvals and authority fees
• Strata approvals if you live in an apartment
• Costs passed on at cost, such as printing, samples, 3D renders and travel
• Extra design rounds or changes to the brief

For a sense of the total spend, one Sydney studio's 2025 guide suggests about $100,000 or more to refresh an apartment without structural work, $200,000 or more for an apartment renovation, and $500,000 or more for a full renovation of a terrace or freestanding house.

Interior Design Costs in the Eastern Suburbs

Sydney rates sit above the national average, but nobody publishes reliable fee data for individual suburbs, so be wary of any “Eastern Suburbs rate” you see quoted. What changes the fee here is the type of house.

Heritage terraces

Terraces in Paddington and Woollahra are narrow and tall, and often have original details worth keeping. Fitting a modern kitchen and bathrooms into that footprint takes careful planning. If the house is a heritage item or sits in a heritage conservation area, some changes need council approval, which adds time for the designer and other consultants.

Apartments

Apartment renovations in suburbs such as Bondi, Bellevue Hill and Rose Bay usually need owners corporation approval for anything beyond cosmetic work. In NSW, residential apartment buildings are also covered by the Design and Building Practitioners Act. Where a renovation touches waterproofing, fire safety, structure or building services, a registered design practitioner may need to declare that the design complies, though some smaller and exempt works are excluded. That can mean another consultant, and more coordination for your designer.

Larger family homes

Bigger houses in suburbs such as Vaucluse mean more rooms, more joinery, more lighting and a longer build, so the designer spends longer on documentation and on site. The fee is higher in dollars, but as a percentage of the project it is often lower.

NSW Rules Worth Knowing Before You Hire

Interior designers aren't licensed in NSW

Anyone can call themselves an interior designer in NSW. In early 2026 the NSW Government declined to set up a registration scheme, despite a parliamentary committee recommending one. Victoria, by contrast, registers interior building designers. So check qualifications, a portfolio of completed work and references. Membership of the DIA, which has an accredited designer program and a code of ethics, is a useful sign.

Building work has its own rules

The design fee isn't regulated, but the building work is. Under NSW rules:

• Residential building work over $5,000, including labour and materials, needs a licensed contractor and a written contract. Kitchen and bathroom renovations are a licensed category of work.
• Electrical work and plumbing need a licence at any value.
• For contracts over $20,000, the builder must provide Home Building Compensation insurance, and you get a cooling-off period of 5 clear business days.
• A builder can't ask for a deposit of more than 10%.

How to Compare Interior Design Quotes

The DIA Code of Ethics asks designers to set out the scope of work and their fees, or how fees will be calculated, before starting. A good fee proposal should tell you:

• Which stages are included, and which aren't
• What documentation you'll get, and whether it is enough for a builder to price from
• How many site visits are included during construction
• How changes to the brief are charged
• Whether the fee includes GST
• When payments are due, usually at the end of each stage
• How furniture purchasing works

If one quote is far cheaper than the others, compare it line by line. More often than not, it covers less.

How Conway + Wise Charges

Every project with us starts with a Discovery Session, which costs $850 including GST. It is a two-hour session, in person or over Zoom. We review your property or project and talk through your goals, style, timeline and budget.

Within three business days you receive a written session summary, our recommendations and a detailed design brief. If you would like one, we also prepare a fee proposal based on the scope we discussed, so you know what the design work will cost before you commit to it.

For interior decoration, we agree the pricing structure during the Discovery Session. It can be an hourly rate bought in 20-hour blocks, a fixed fee, or priced room by room, depending on the size and scope of the project.

You can read more about each stage of our process on our approach page, or see the results in our selected projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an interior designer cost per hour in Sydney?

Most Sydney interior designers charge between $150 and $400 an hour excluding GST. Junior and associate designers sit at the lower end, and senior designers and studio principals at the upper end.

Do interior designers charge for the first consultation?

Most established studios do. Published fees in Sydney run from about $400 to $850 including GST. A paid consultation should give you something you can use afterwards, such as a written brief or recommendations.

Is an interior decorator cheaper than an interior designer?

Usually, yes. Decorators work on furniture, lighting, colour, soft furnishings and styling, and typically charge $80 to $300 an hour. Interior designers also plan layouts, joinery and building work, and produce drawings for builders, which takes more time.

Can I hire an interior designer for one room?

Yes. Fees for a single room run from about $2,000 for furniture and styling, and from about $4,000 for a kitchen and $3,000 for a bathroom.

What percentage of my renovation budget should go on interior design?

Full-service design fees usually work out at 10% to 20% of the construction and furnishing budget. The percentage tends to fall as the project gets bigger.

Does the design fee include furniture?

No. The design fee pays for the designer's time and expertise. Furniture, lighting, fixtures and finishes are paid for separately, as are building work and other consultants.

Are interior designers licensed in NSW?

No. There is no registration or licensing scheme for interior designers in NSW. Building work over $5,000 does need a licensed contractor, and electrical and plumbing work needs a licence at any value.

Sources and How We Compiled These Figures

There is no current independent survey of interior design fees in Australia. The ranges in this guide combine fee guides published by Sydney interior design studios in 2025 and 2026, marketplace data, Design Institute of Australia guidance and NSW Government information. Where sources disagreed, we have shown the full range. The figures were checked in October 2026, and fees change, so confirm current rates with any designer you are considering.

• Fee guides published by Sydney interior design and decoration studios, May 2025 to July 2026
• Bark, interior designer cost guide, April 2026 (marketplace data)
• Design Institute of Australia, Practice Note PN 006 Fee Guidelines (2010) and Code of Ethics
• Design Institute of Australia, NSW Government response on interior designer recognition, February 2026
• NSW Government, Guide to providing home building contracts
• NSW Government, Categories of building work
• NSW Government, Design obligations for regulated buildings