The short answer
An interior designer in Los Angeles usually charges $57 to $515 an hour, and most projects come to about $2,150 to $12,750 in design fees. California does not license interior designers. Before you hire, check whether the designer is certified and who will draw anything structural.
What interior designers cost in Los Angeles
The ranges below start from national cost data and apply the Los Angeles construction cost factor of 1.14 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They cover design fees, not the furniture itself.
| Job | Los Angeles (typical range) | US average |
|---|---|---|
| Interior designer, per hour | $57–$515/hr | $50–$450/hr |
| In-home consultation | $57–$515 | $50–$450 |
| One room, design only | $515–$1,700 | $450–$1,500 |
| One room, design and furnishing | $1,150–$13,700 | $1,000–$12,000 |
| Whole home, per sq ft | $5.5–$19.5/sq ft | $5–$17/sq ft |
| Whole home, 2,000 sq ft | $11,400–$38,750 | $10,000–$34,000 |
Estimates for 2026, including labor and standard parts. Los Angeles prices use the metro's construction cost factor of 1.14 (US average = 1.00) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area Cost Factors. Your quote depends on access, materials and the condition of the home.
Fees move with the size of the job, the designer's experience and how much buying they do for you. A firm principal bills near the top of the hourly range and a junior designer near the bottom. HomeGuide's national average for a whole project is about $5,400, which works out to roughly $6,150 at the LA factor.
The calculator below asks about your rooms and scope and applies the rate for your ZIP code.
How LA designers bill
Most firms pick one of six fee structures, and many combine two on the same project, for example hourly for the concept and cost plus for the furniture. HomeGuide's national figures:
| Fee structure | National range | What you are paying for |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $50 to $450, average $150 | Time, logged and billed |
| Flat fee per room | $1,000 to $12,000, most $1,500 to $4,900 | A fixed scope for one room |
| Per square foot | $5 to $17, average $9 | Whole-home or large remodel work |
| Percent of construction cost | 10% to 30%, average 20% | Design on a remodel priced as a share of the build |
| Cost plus | 17% to 45% added to product and trade costs, average 30% | The designer buys and marks up |
| Markup on retail | 10% to 35%, average 22% | A markup on furnishings at retail price |
Charges that surprise people
A retainer is normally due at signing. HomeGuide puts it at about 10% of the project, nonrefundable, though some firms ask for 10% to 50% up front. Product deposits can reach 50% of the furniture the firm orders for you. A designer who manages trades during construction usually adds a management fee of about 25%. Travel time is often billed at half the hourly rate, which adds up when the designer drives from Santa Monica to a job in Pasadena. CAD drawings are often billed separately too.
A cost-plus example: on a $15,000 package of furniture and trade work with a 30% markup, the fee is $4,500.
Sales tax on furnishings
In the City of Los Angeles the combined sales tax rate has been 9.75% since April 1, 2025, when the county's Measure A replaced Measure H. Other cities in LA and Orange County have their own rates. On a furnishing budget of $40,000, tax alone is close to $3,900 in the city. Ask the designer whether their markup is calculated before or after tax and whether tax appears as its own line.
California's rules for interior designers
California has no license requirement to practice interior design. Section 5806 of the Business and Professions Code says nothing in the state's interior design chapter stops anyone from offering interior design or decorating services.
The "Certified Interior Designer" title
What California does protect is a title. Business and Professions Code sections 5800 to 5812 created the "Certified Interior Designer" (CID) title, administered by the California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC), a nonprofit. To earn it, a designer must pass a council-approved exam and meet education and experience requirements, such as an accredited four- or five-year degree plus two years of experience, or eight years of combined education and experience. Certification renews every two years.
Only certified people may use "Certified Interior Designer," "CID," "licensed" or "registered" in a way that suggests state certification. Nobody may advertise as "state certified." Certification is voluntary, so most designers working in California do not hold it: the state's 2026 sunset review counted 1,722 active CIDs at the end of 2025, against roughly 8,360 interior designers working in California according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Los Angeles metro alone employed about 3,870 interior designers in May 2023.
The law that created the title was set to expire on January 1, 2027. Assembly Bill 2772, signed into law in September 2026, extends it to January 1, 2031.
What a CID contract has to include
A Certified Interior Designer must sign a written contract with you before work starts. Under section 5807 it has to describe the services, how you will be charged and paid, the designer's certification number, how extra services and termination are handled, a three-day right to cancel, and whether the designer carries errors and omissions insurance. Designers without the title are not bound by that section, but the list is a good standard to ask any designer to meet.
When you need an architect or engineer instead
The line between a designer's drawings and an architect's is the building's structure. Under section 5538, as city plan-preparer handouts summarize it, anyone can design nonstructural interior work such as finishes and casework, but an unlicensed person cannot prepare plans for alterations that affect the structural system or the safety of the occupants. Section 5537 lets an unlicensed person draw a single-family wood-frame home of up to two stories plus a basement, yet any part that departs from conventional framing must be designed and stamped by a licensed architect or registered engineer. Even a CID's stamped drawings must be labeled as interior design documents, not architectural or engineering documents.
In practice, if your LA project removes a bearing wall, adds a beam, opens a large window in an exterior wall or adds square footage, bring in an architect or structural engineer. GOLDGCP's Los Angeles architecture team handles that side, and the structural coordination guide explains how the engineer fits in.
Do you need a permit?
Interior design itself needs no permit, but the work it leads to often does. In the City of Los Angeles, the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) offers a combined electronic permit for replacing cabinets, flooring, wall finishes, tile, counters, and plumbing or electrical fixtures, as long as no walls or openings change and no new fixtures go into existing walls. Usually one inspection at the end is enough.
Moving a wall, adding a door or window opening, or adding new plumbing and electrical fixtures takes you to an LADBS Construction Services Center. Wall and opening changes go through counter plan check with two sets of plans: an existing and a proposed floor plan at a quarter inch to the foot, showing the room and the rooms next to it. Once you submit for plan check, the application expires after 18 months if the permit is not issued.
Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Santa Monica, Long Beach and the Orange County cities run their own building departments with their own forms. For build costs once the design is set, see the Los Angeles kitchen remodeling guide.
How long design takes in LA
Schedules depend on the scope and on how fast you make decisions. HomeGuide's architect guide gives a useful yardstick for projects that need drawings: first concept drafts arrive 2 weeks to 1 month after the first meeting, and a full set of plans ready for permits takes 2 to 6 months. A furnishing-only project skips the drawings and the city, so the wait is mostly furniture lead times.
| Project | What sets the pace |
|---|---|
| Furnish or restyle a room | Your decisions, then order and delivery times |
| Kitchen or bath, same layout | Selections, then the LADBS combined permit |
| Kitchen or bath with wall changes | Floor plans, then counter plan check |
| Remodel touching structure | Architect and engineer drawings, then plan check |
Changes after drawings are finished cost the most time, because plans may need to go back through review.
How to check an interior designer before you hire
- Ask whether they are a Certified Interior Designer. If yes, ask for the certification number and confirm it with CCIDC.
- Look at completed LA projects of a similar size and budget.
- Get the fee structure in writing, including any markup, retainer and deposit.
- Ask who draws anything structural and who pulls permits.
- Ask whether they carry errors and omissions insurance.
- Make sure the contract lists the number of revision rounds.
Section 5803 exempts a CID from the state contractor law only when they design work that a licensed contractor will build. If a designer offers to build the project too, look up their contractor license on the CSLB site before you sign. For milestone payment practices, see how payment protection works.
Areas we cover
GOLDGCP matches homeowners with interior designers across Los Angeles and Orange County, including:
- Los Angeles, Santa Monica and the Westside
- Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank
- The San Fernando Valley
- Long Beach and Torrance
- Orange County, including Irvine and Anaheim
Enter your ZIP code to see design prices for your area and get matched.
How GOLDGCP works
- Tell us about the room or project through the form, a call or WhatsApp.
- You see prices for your ZIP code before anyone visits, and we match you with 3 vetted pros.
- Our in-house architects take over the parts that touch structure, permits or an addition.
- You approve each stage and release each milestone payment, and you follow the project in the client portal.
Pros pass six-step vetting before they get a job: state license verification, an insurance check, a background and business check, portfolio review, client reference calls, and onboarding with a quality score. For plumbing on a kitchen or bath redesign, see our Los Angeles plumbing guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an interior designer cost in Los Angeles?
Most Los Angeles projects come to about $2,150 to $12,750 in design fees, based on HomeGuide's national range adjusted by the LA cost factor of 1.14. Hourly rates run $57 to $515. Furniture, sales tax and any markup are on top.
Do interior designers need a license in California?
No. Anyone can offer interior design in California. The state protects only the title "Certified Interior Designer," which the CCIDC awards after an exam plus education and experience. Structural work needs a licensed architect or engineer.
What is a CID in California?
A Certified Interior Designer, certified by the California Council for Interior Design Certification under Business and Professions Code 5800 to 5812. CIDs can stamp nonstructural interior plans and must use a written contract with a three-day cancellation clause.
Can an interior designer remove a wall in my LA home?
They can plan it, but the structural part needs an architect or engineer if the wall is load bearing. LADBS requires counter plan check with existing and proposed floor plans for wall changes.
Do I need a permit to redo my kitchen in Los Angeles?
Usually yes. LADBS issues a combined permit for replacing cabinets, counters, finishes and fixtures with no wall changes. Moving walls or adding new plumbing or electrical fixtures needs plan check at a city service center.
How do Los Angeles designers charge for furniture?
Usually through cost plus (17% to 45% on top of the net price) or a markup on retail (10% to 35%). Product deposits of up to 50% are common. Ask how the 9.75% city sales tax is billed.
How many Certified Interior Designers are there in California?
The state's 2026 sunset review counted 1,722 active CIDs in December 2025, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts about 8,360 interior designers working in California. Most Los Angeles designers are not certified, which is legal. Ask, and confirm a number with CCIDC.
How we calculate these prices
GOLDGCP starts from national price ranges for each job, taken from published 2026 cost guides and checked against local price guides where they exist. To get a local price, we multiply the national range by the construction cost factor for the metro from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area Cost Factors (US average = 1.00). For ZIP codes outside the 50 largest metros, the calculator uses the state's price level from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities. Ranges include labor and standard materials but not unusual site conditions, so a written quote after an inspection is always the final price.
Sources
- How much does an interior designer or decorator cost? · HomeGuide
- Business and Professions Code, Chapter 3.9: Interior Designers (5800 to 5812) · California Legislative Information
- AB 2772: Interior designers · California Legislative Information
- Background paper for the California Council for Interior Design Certification (2026) · California Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee
- Occupational Employment and Wages: Interior Designers (May 2023) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Kitchen remodel permit · LADBS
- Sales tax in Los Angeles County increases to 9.75% · CBS Los Angeles
- Business and Professions Code section 5537 · FindLaw
- Area Cost Factors, PAX Newsletter 3.2.1 (2024) · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Regional Price Parities by State · U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
About this guide
Written by the GOLDGCP editorial team. Prices come from national cost guides adjusted with official construction cost factors for Los Angeles; rules and statistics come from the agencies and reports linked in the text. We update this page when prices or codes change.