Interior Designer in Miami: 2026 Fees, Florida Rules and Vetted Pros

What interior designers cost in Miami

The ranges below start from national cost data and apply the Miami construction cost factor of 0.93 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They cover design fees only; furniture is separate.

Estimates for 2026, including labor and standard parts. Miami prices use the metro's construction cost factor of 0.93 (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. A whole-home project is usually priced per square foot: at $4.5 to $16 per square foot, a 2,000 square foot home comes to $9,300 to $31,600 in design fees.

The cost estimator below asks about your rooms and scope and applies the rate for your ZIP code.

How Miami designers bill

Most firms pick one fee structure and sometimes combine two on the same project, for example hourly for the concept and cost plus for the furniture. The common structures are:

Charges that surprise people

A retainer is normally due at signing and is usually nonrefundable. Product deposits can reach half of the furniture the firm orders for you. A designer who manages trades during construction often adds a management fee on top of the design fee. Travel time between Miami Beach, Coral Gables and a job in Boca Raton is often billed, so ask whether it is. Drawings are sometimes billed separately from the design fee.

Florida sales tax on furnishings

Furniture and furnishings bought in Florida carry state and local sales tax, and the rate depends on the county where the sale happens. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach each set their own local surtax on top of the state rate. Ask the designer whether their markup is calculated before or after tax and whether tax appears as its own line on the invoice. A designer who buys on your behalf should show you the vendor invoice.

Does a designer need a license in Florida?

Florida registers interior designers, but registration is not required to practice. Under Chapter 481 of the Florida Statutes, a certificate of registration is not required for a person whose work is confined to interior decorator services. Interior decorator services are defined as selecting surface materials, window treatments, wallcoverings, paint, floor coverings, surface-mounted lighting and fixtures, and loose furnishings not regulated by building codes.

A designer who wants the registered title must pass the Council for Interior Design Qualification exam or an equivalent exam the state accepts. They then hold a certificate of registration and a seal. The initial fee may not exceed $75, and the biennial renewal may not exceed $75. The registration is a title and a seal. It does not gate the trade.

What the seal covers

Florida law defines interior design as work on nonstructural interior elements: reflected ceiling plans, space planning, furnishings and the fabrication of nonstructural elements. A nonstructural element is one that does not require structural bracing and is not a load-bearing wall, column or other load-bearing element.

The same statute excludes architectural and engineering work from interior design. That includes structural, mechanical, plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, ventilating, electrical and vertical transportation systems, and anything that materially affects life-safety systems such as fire-rated separations, smoke evacuation and emergency egress. A registered designer's seal does not reach any of that.

When you need an architect or engineer instead

The dividing line is the building's structure and its life-safety systems. If your project removes a wall, adds a beam, changes a window or door opening in an exterior wall, moves plumbing or adds square footage, the drawings need a Florida licensed architect or engineer.

Two local rules push projects over that line sooner than homeowners expect.

Hurricane-zone product approval

Miami-Dade and Broward are the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Every window, door, shutter and roofing product on the job needs a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance or an HVHZ-rated Florida Product Approval, and the permit inspector checks the number. Miami-Dade's Product Control Section publishes a searchable database of approved products, certificates and listings. You can search by file number, category, material, impact rating and maximum design pressure. A designer can specify the finish and the look, but the product still has to carry the approval.

Condo interior alteration rules

Miami Beach and the City of Miami are dense with large buildings. Buildings with 50 or more units hold 48.6% of homes in Miami Beach and 40.1% in the City of Miami. In a condo, the association's rules on alteration, insurance, work hours and contractor sign-in come before any design decision. Miami-Dade County tells homeowners to follow their Homeowner Association guidelines and zoning requirements before beginning any work.

For the structural side, GOLDGCP's structural coordination guide explains how the engineer fits in. The permit drawings guide covers what a submittal set has to contain. If your project grows into an addition, see additions and remodels.

Do you need a permit?

Interior design itself needs no permit, but the work it leads to often does. The answer depends on which city you are in.

In unincorporated Miami-Dade County, interior renovations like knocking down a wall or altering or repairing the electrical or plumbing system require a permit. You do not need a permit to paint or wallpaper the interior of your home, install a ceiling fan in an existing outlet, or resurface a floor or other interior surface treatments. Replacing kitchen cabinets or vanities in the same configuration is not regulated under the Florida Building Code and needs no building permit, but relocating plumbing, ventilation or electrical does.

Only licensed pros or owner-builders may obtain a building permit, and the permit is issued in the name of the person doing the work. Plan review may take 24 hours to 10 business days for the initial review. Reworks may take another 24 hours to 10 business days.

The 2026 exemption and why it rarely helps a design project

Beginning July 1, 2026, Florida House Bill 803 exempts some small home improvement projects valued under $7,500 from a building permit. It applies only to single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses up to three stories, plus accessory structures. Units in multifamily buildings do not qualify, and neither do properties partly or entirely in a flood hazard area. Electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical and gas work always need a permit, and a project cannot be split into phases to avoid the rules.

Fees and the other cities

Miami-Dade County adopted a revised building permit fee schedule effective October 1, 2025. It was the first increase in more than 17 years. Permit fees include charges assessed by other agencies, including DTPW, Development Services, DERM, Fire Rescue, WASD and the State of Florida. Refunds are not granted on permit fees of $130 or less. A full refund less $130 or 50% of the fee, whichever is greater, applies only when no work has started and the permit is still valid.

Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach each run their own building department, so the unincorporated-county list does not automatically apply inside them. In Palm Beach County, the Permit Center handles the unincorporated area and applications go through the ePZB portal. The Vista Center office is at 2300 N. Jog Road in West Palm Beach. Ask your designer which office will review your drawings before you sign the contract.

How long design takes in Miami

Schedules depend on scope and on how fast you make decisions. A furnishing-only project skips drawings and permits, so the wait is mostly furniture lead times. A kitchen or bath with the same layout moves once you make selections. A project that touches structure needs architect and engineer drawings, then plan review. Miami-Dade's review window alone can run 10 business days before any reworks.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and exterior work and deliveries can stall in a storm week. Build that into the schedule.

Areas we cover

GOLDGCP matches homeowners with interior designers across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, including:

• Miami and Miami Beach
• Coral Gables
• Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood
• Boca Raton
• West Palm Beach

Enter your ZIP code to see design prices for your area and to get matched with pros.