Working with budgets

Working with Budgets

Done is better than perfect.

Make sure you don't just allocate to the build: the decorating must be given a budget as well. Separate your budget room by room. When thinking about the money it's best to think of it as budget & purse money. Let the budget you've set aside buy the large, big-ticket items and the building works. Purse money should be thought of to buy lamps, cushions and wallpaper when you really want it. Smaller items can be bought as you go along.

Overestimate rather than underestimate your budget and always round up. Spend enough to lay a canvas for yourself. Prepare yourself so you have a few very good key pieces. After that buy little and often, build your story over time, this will allow your budget to stretch. Keep an eye out in antique and junk shops for small pieces that can be purchased here and there and at weekends – they are likely to be bought from your purse money rather than from your project budget which can be saved for big items like curtains, sofas and beds.

Notes:

• I use EstiMac when working with clients.
• Download our budget template to begin budgeting your new project.

Simple Tips to Reduce Your Cost

Done is better than perfect, you don't need to do your home perfectly all at once. If you are thinking about putting wallpaper in every room but are looking to save money, paint some of the rooms instead. You can wallpaper further down the line. Using roller blinds rather than expensive curtains in some rooms is a great way to save some money.

Spending money on a lampshade rather than the light itself is a brilliant way to save money. A simple stick lamp paired with a quality lampshade is a fantastic pairing.

Further Information

EstiMac is great for those pursuing a professional interior design career, it manages all aspects of your project, including descriptions, pictures, private details, costings, markups, and fees. It selectively employs this data to create client estimates, bills and statements, supplier orders, contractor listings, management reports and summaries. It's useful for recognising anything that hasn't been input correctly, which reduces human error style mistakes, and having a penny exact representation of how much you've spent and how much you have left makes projects go very smoothly.