How to Select the Right Designer (Before You Sign)

The three kinds of interior designer in Mumbai

The celebrity studio. Names you have seen in Architectural Digest. Lead designer rarely visits site, project handed to associates. Fees: ₹3,000–8,000/sqft of design and supervision. Right answer if you want a magazine-cover home, the budget is ₹2 crore+ all-in for furnishing, and you are willing to wait 12–18 months. Wrong answer if you want hands-on involvement or a ₹50–80 lakh budget.

The boutique studio. 4–10 person practices with a working principal. The principal designs, associates supervise, contractors execute. Fees: ₹800–2,500/sqft. Right answer for most premium projects in the ₹70 lakh – ₹1.5 crore furnishing budget range. Hands-on, design-led, but answerable.

The executor. A drafting-led firm that reads your Pinterest board, coordinates contractors, and runs the site. Fees: ₹300–800/sqft. Right answer for owners who already know what they want and need someone to coordinate the trades. Wrong answer if you expect original design thinking.

How to tell which one a designer actually is

The pitch is always sophisticated. The reality is in the questions you ask:

— "Who personally signs my drawings? The principal or an associate?" — "How many active projects does the principal lead this quarter?" — "Can I see your last three completed projects in person, with the actual owners?" — "Will my contract specify named brands and dimensions, or generic 'Italian leather' descriptions?"

A boutique studio pitching like a celebrity studio without the chops will dodge questions 2 and 3. An executor pitching as a boutique will dodge question 4. The dodges are diagnostic.

The portfolio test that filters out 80% of pitches

Most designers show you their best three projects. Ask to see the most recent three — not the curated three. A designer who can show you their last three projects, regardless of how spectacular, demonstrates a working pipeline. A designer who can only show you the same five Instagram-tile homes from 2022 is showing you their highlights, not their practice.

Better still: ask the designer to introduce you to two clients whose projects completed in the last twelve months. Speak to those clients without the designer in the room. The five questions to ask: Did the budget hold? Did the timeline hold? Were defects acknowledged or argued about? Did the designer disappear after final payment? Would you hire them again — and at what price?

Fee structures to understand

Three legitimate fee structures exist:

— Fixed fee: a single number for design + supervision. Works for clearly-scoped projects. Designer wears the risk of scope creep. — Per-sqft: design and supervision priced per carpet area. Most common in Mumbai. Predictable. — Cost-plus: designer's fee is a % of total project spend (typically 12–18%). Can work well when fixed at signing.

Discuss the fee structure openly with your designer at the first meeting. A good designer will be transparent about how they charge and what the fee covers. A clear fee discussion at the outset prevents misunderstandings later.

How to write a designer brief in 200 words

A good brief is short, specific, and unambiguous. Include:

— The project: address, layout, carpet area, possession status. — The household: who lives here, how the rooms get used, any vegetarian/cultural constraints. — Three reference homes you love (Pinterest links work). Three you would never live in. — Materials you have decided on (Italian leather, Italian marble, oak veneer) and materials you have ruled out. — Total furnishing budget — including civil, joinery, lighting, and furniture — as a single number, not a range. — Timeline for move-in. — What you are willing to compromise on (timeline, finish level, scope) and what you are not (budget, materials, key dimensions).

A designer who can present a meaningful response to this brief inside two weeks is taking your project seriously.

Where SOISU fits with your designer

SOISU works with interior designers and architects regularly — both as the appointed furniture supplier on their projects and as a furniture-only point of contact for clients without a designer. Designers are welcome to specify SOISU pieces in their schemes; we provide drawings, material samples, and technical data sheets to support their drawings. Trade discussions are handled directly between SOISU and the designer.

If you are mid-procurement and want a market read on a quote for Italian leather or fabric pieces, send it on WhatsApp. We will share comparable specifications and pricing from our catalogue.