One of the most important questions I ask clients during the consultation is, “what’s your budget”? The responses I often receive are, “I don’t know” or I’m generally given a random number that the client blurts out on the spot.
The budget is always a factor when it comes to furnishing a room. Most clients aren’t shopping for furniture on a regular basis so they really have no idea of the costs associated with creating the magic.
As a result, the client gets sticker shock once you begin to tally up the costs associated with their project. An undefined budget is truly a disaster waiting to happen. Creating a clearly defined budget will help manage the client’s expectations and is essential to the success of your decorating project.
So, how do you create a clearly defined budget based on real numbers?
There are 3 important things to consider when developing a realistic budget.
PRIORITIES
Which room in your home will you tackle first? How much should you spend in that first room to achieve completion while leaving money for subsequent rooms?
These are questions you will have to ask yourself and be honest with your responses! You definitely don’t want to run into a situation where you run out of money before you cross the finish line.
EXPECTATIONS
It’s all about managing your expectations. This will be determined by the level of quality you expect from each item in your project. This consideration will also require you to be honest with yourself.
If your budget dictates that most of your furnishings are from retail and mass produced; that’s fine. However; the expectations should match the level of quality of the products. In essence, you can’t expect the same level of detail and quality from a Pottery Barn sofa that you would receive from a custom, to the trade sofa.
BUDGET PLANNING TOOL
The final consideration is to develop a budget planning tool that will assist you with creating a realistic budget. Establishing a budget will help you create realistic numbers for furnishing your space and will allow you to be strategic and purposeful throughout your decorating project.
Before you can establish your budget, you need to have an idea of how much things cost. Lucky for you, I’ve created a Pricing Guide that covers furniture costs of the most common rooms I see clients wanting to furnish.
Be sure to sign up to receive your free copy!
