In our last blog, I shared what it costs to work with interior designers in the GTA. This time, I’ll walk you through how we narrowed down our options and ultimately decided who to work with for our Oakville renovation.
Spoiler alert: it’s all about the budget.
Setting a Budget
The very first thing we did was determine a budget. As a realtor, I always look at renovations as an investment. We asked ourselves two key questions:
- What is the house worth today, without renovations?
- What will it be worth fully renovated?
The difference is essentially what we’re willing to spend. For us, that number came to about 350K.
Comparing Estimates
When we met with designers, we asked for their estimates on what it would take to bring our vision to life.
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The highest quote we got was $841K with everything in — an automatic no.
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Most others fell into the range of $20–45K for design fees plus $250–400K for construction.
But here’s the catch: those estimates didn’t include appliances, permits, or 3D renderings.
A Note on 3D Renderings
Now that we’re deeper into the design phase, I can’t tell you how much the renderings help. Most designers only provide 3D views of the kitchen and primary ensuite, with design boards (flat lays of materials/finishes) for the rest of the spaces. You then have to use your imagination to picture how it all comes together.
If it’s your first time, like us, it’s very challenging to visualize the finished product. 3D renderings take the guesswork out.
Making Tough Cuts
There were two designers whose style matched ours perfectly (we’re going with a modern French country vibe), but the cost was simply too high.
- Hamilton-based firm: Quoted $50K in design fees, plus $150/hour for site management during construction. They believed construction would likely run around $400K, bringing the total to $460K+.
- Toronto-based international firm: Quoted $45,675 (435 hours @ $105/hr) plus $39,690 for 3D renderings. They estimated construction at $450K, bringing the total to $535K+.
As much as we admired their work, going $100–200K above budget just wasn’t possible.
To bring our numbers closer to where we needed them to be, we also had to make some tough cuts from our original wish list. For us, that meant:
- Skylights, cut.
- Built-in closets, cut.
- Basement custom kitchen, cut.
- Bathroom custom vanities, cut.
- Canadian-made hardwood flooring, cut.
- … and more
At the end of the day, you really have to decide what’s most important to you.
Making the Decision
We ended up choosing our current company for four main reasons:
1. Design & Construction Under One Roof
They handle both in-house. That means smoother communication and a better chance that the final product matches the design. I’ve learned that without this overlap, the final product can sometimes only be 50% of what you originally designed.
It also means cost savings. Since it’s one team, we save on project management fees. And they include 3D renderings at no extra charge!
2. Multilingual Team
A large portion of our clients are Chinese-speaking, and this company offers services in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. This adds huge value and comfort, and it’s one of the reasons we feel we can confidently recommend them to clients in the future.
Transparent Pricing on Materials
Any designer discounts on finishes and fixtures (flooring, tile, plumbing, lighting, millwork) are passed directly to us, with full supplier invoices shared openly.
Keep in mind: it’s common practice among most other designers and contractors for these discounts to make up a big portion of their compensation. Many won’t share the discounts at all, or they’ll only pass along a small portion. That means you never really know what they’re making on your project, because it’s happening behind the scenes.
Best practice: always ask whether a designer passes along supplier discounts and provides copies of invoices.
Final Thoughts
Of course, the overall estimate can still change depending on design choices, finishes, and the level of detail — especially in a space like the kitchen where it’s easy to add “bells and whistles.” (For example, a kitchen faucet can range anywhere from $200 to $15,000!)
For now, everything is a rough figure until we move into a full project scope and detailed budget. But the key is that both our designer and contractor feel confident that our budget is healthy enough to accomplish our vision.
This was not an easy decision, but with budget in mind and these four factors, we felt confident moving forward.
If you’ve ever wondered what working with a designer is really like — we’re right there with you, learning as we go.
- We are documenting our whole process along the way, so make sure you follow us on Instagram @mister_sauga where we post the latest progress.
- If you have renovation questions or need recommendations, feel free to message us there.
👉 Next in this series: What is the process of designing and what should you expect?