A design investment on an entire home can cost $30k+ and take a couple years to finish installation.

We want to purchase furnishings that are high-quality and last for years. Typically, design investments are limiting as we tend to think what lump sum we can afford now; however, this ideology does not follow the integrative design process.

Limiting investments to what we can afford now leaves us with cheap and flimsy furnishings that do not fit our adult home. Then, we are left to “upgrade” elements in six months.

When budgets come to mind, it’s best to look at the entire cost and divide it by the number of years you’d like to keep the design.

For example, $30k total design (not including installation) divided by 10 years equals $3,000 per year; two of those years are spent implementing the design.

So let’s talk budget, or better yet, let’s not. It’s best not to have a budget for a healthy design as it impacts the mind, body, and soul. Experienced interior designers know which elements should be more expensive than others, which helps with sourcing luxury elements at affordable prices.

Furthermore, investment is different from the budget: Investment is the financial number you are comfortable spending on healthy design, and budget is the itemized list of where your investment dollars are going. Budgets tend to increase during the schematic design phase based on many factors such as quality of furnishing, the number of pieces needed, custom pieces, window treatments, sustainable features, and fabric durability. Then, there is the budget for installation.

This ideology is a part of the integrative design process; HBZs foundations come from this process.