How Online Interior Design Works — and What It Costs

Online interior design — also called e-design or virtual interior design — is a way to work with a designer without anyone visiting your home. You supply the information about the space; the designer does the design work in their studio and delivers it to you digitally. It suits furniture and styling projects especially well, because nothing about choosing a sofa, a rug, or a lighting plan requires a designer to be standing in the room, as long as they have accurate information about it.

This guide explains how the process runs at our studio, what you get at the end, and what it costs.

What online interior design covers

Our Virtual Design service covers furniture and styling: the pieces that go into a room and how they work together. It does not cover remodeling, construction drawings, or architecture. If you are moving walls or redoing a kitchen, you need a different service. If the room exists and you need it furnished well, e-design is built for that.

Two additions are available on top of furniture and styling: paint color selections and accent wall designs.

The process, step by step

1. You send us your home. Detailed measurements, photos, and a walk-through video come to us before we talk. Here is how to measure and photograph your home for e-design.
2. Kickoff call, 30 minutes on Zoom. We get familiar with you and the house, talk through how you live in it and what you want it to feel like, and discuss budget and process.
3. Concepts and boards. We develop the design concept, build boards for your rooms, and select furniture and styling pieces that fit your measurements and budget.
4. Selections review, 60 minutes on Zoom. We walk you through the concepts, boards, and selections, and take your reactions and requests.
5. Adjustments and your shopping list. We revise from your feedback and send the full shopping list within seven business days of the review.

What you receive

• A design concept for the home
• Boards for your rooms, so you can see the pieces together before anything is bought
• Furniture and styling selections chosen for your measurements and budget
• A full shopping list, revised after your review

What online interior design costs

Our Virtual Design packages start at $900 for design only, and $1,750 for design with procurement. The final fee depends on the size of the home and the rooms included.

The difference between the two is who places the orders.

Design only: you purchase

Your shopping list is built from our wider network of vendors, so every item is one you can order yourself, on your own schedule.

Design + procurement: we order

We send a full list with final pricing, you pay the invoice in full, and we place the order for every item within 24 hours. We order through trade-only vendors and pass our trade discount along wherever we can. From there, we either coordinate with a warehouser and installer local to you or have everything shipped directly to you. In the greater Seattle area, we can provide warehousing and installation ourselves.

Is e-design right for your project?

It tends to be a good fit if:

• You are furnishing rooms, not rebuilding them
• You are comfortable measuring your home carefully and filming a walk-through
• You want a designer’s eye and a complete plan, and you live somewhere a designer you like does not
• You are furnishing a second home or a rental you cannot easily get to — see online interior design for Airbnbs and short-term rentals

It is a poor fit if the project involves construction, or if you would rather have someone on site handling every detail in person. For homes in the Seattle area, our in-person design services and full furniture procurement and install cover that.