The short answer – however much you want to!
Sorry, but I couldn’t resist typing that grating first sentence. I know that, if I were the reader, I’ll expect a straightforward calculation based on sqft area and so on, when I click a blog title such as this one. Worry not for that will follow, but we need to first wade through some essential aspects before getting to actual numbers.
How important is home interior design?
My biased and unbiased opinion is that good home design will elevate the quality of one’s life beyond expectation. All spaces can be made more efficient, wholesome, and just plain desirable. They elevate our sense of self-worth and value. Also, it’ll deliver an excellent return on your investment. Consider a situation where all your desired furniture does not fit perfectly in a bedroom leading to a wardrobe shutter that doesn’t open fully or a bedside lamp that is installed at the wrong height and causes glare. Your morning search for your office attire is uncomfortable and so is your nighttime routine.
How important is home interior design to YOU?
Buying a home is such an important milestone in one’s life. For a majority of people who incur large and long tenure loans with pretty high interest rates, the home EMI alone represents a large chunk of their monthly expenditure, and sometimes, income. Even for the few who are able to purchase property which is paid for up-front, unless it is purchased for an investment purpose (and we’ll discuss the significance of this in terms of calculations), a comfortable and desirable home ambience is essential to a happy and healthy life. Much is expected from this home that you have spent a bundle on. The emotional return on investment must also be validated through a happy life lived within this home. This is subjective and will vary from personality to personality. So assign a priority to this investment as a starting point which will be directly proportional to the amount you end up spending. In fact, this one factor will overrule most other factors.
Is the house for living in or renting?
Rented properties too need good interiors to increase their rental value. When done right, the interior elements also protect the property from misuse and permanent damage. This is mostly achieved by designing for flexibility and anticipated use. Another factor that’ll weigh in is whether you anticipate inhabiting the space in future.
Do you already own furniture?
This is a tricky one to gauge but does have some impact on how much the interiors cost. In our experience, pre-owned and loved furniture, when maintained well, adds a lot of personalisation and character to a space. But if the same furniture requires re-furbishment, then the bottom-line doesn’t change much. This in no way means that refurbishing existing furniture is the wrong thing to do. We support refurbishment whole-heartedly for it is a great move for the environment. But we also feel that pre-loved pieces bring with them a story which supports our motto – that your home design is a culmination of the stories you want to tell.
How easily do you get bored?
Self awareness if so important! And weirdly enough it applies to your home design. If you are a person who likes to shake things up frequently, a heavy investment into your interiors beyond the more important “fixed” portion of your home such as the quality of wiring or the architectural lights, is just ill-advised. Allow yourself the luxury of changing things up every few years. The key is to plan it well and in a sustainable manner, something an experienced designer can help you with. This will again impact the bottom line and you are in charge of how much that needs to be, with the help of your designer.
So it boils down to affordability, desire and requirement. In the sweet spot of these lies your dream home.
We have designed many homes and these range from ₹ to ₹₹₹₹. And we love all these homes and the journey we took with the home owners to arrive at the final design. From this experience, we have taken the average price of all our projects combined, and it lands at ₹1800/sqft of carpet area excluding design fee and appliances.
Does this mean that you cannot design your home in a smaller budget? Absolutely not! We at October Designs, believe that good design is democratic and price agnostic. We have found that, beyond a reasonable minimum amount, a higher price means just one thing – that you have more choices… be it materials, labels, workmanship, quality, quantity, design, finish, lead time and so on. A good designer will help you navigate through these options and help manage the project budget as they will the design of your home.
