interior design

Services

custom REmodeling
New Construction
Full-Service Design
Our Specialty
Service

Custom Remodeling

Design Fees Starting at $2000
  • Contractor Partnership
  • Unification with Existing Spaces
  • Showroom Shopping with Designer
  • Construction Plans for the Team
For all remodeling projects, we begin by evaluating your home’s potential. Then, we go through schematic mood boards, floor plans and 3D views to help you and the construction team visualize and understand the design vision. Once construction begins, we’re there for you, on call - communicating directly with your contractor, solving design problems that arise, visiting the project site and ensuring that the design is executed with the highest aesthetic and quality standards.
Service

New Construction

Design Fees Starting at $10K
  • Builder Collaboration
  • Custom Floor Planning
  • Showroom Guidance
  • Ground-Up Design Vision
We’ll work with you and your custom home builder to design the home you’ve been dreaming of. We know you’ve invested years of hard work into becoming ready to build your new home, and we’re prepared to take that responsibility very seriously. Whether you’re starting from scratch or from a plan that your builder provided to start from, we’ll help you customize each detail to reflect your family and effortlessly serve your daily lifestyle.

We fit into existing A-teams just as often as we assemble them. If you have a builder selected already, Leu Interiors can still help build your dream home!
Service

Full-Service Design

Design Fees Starting at $5500
  • Move-in-Ready Design
  • Drafting + Decorating
  • Project Oversight
  • HGTV Experience
Full-Service Design is where we start with one of our other two services - New Construction or Custom Remodeling - and then take it to the next level of completion. We won't pass up an opportunity to bring our vision for your home to full reality by selecting all new furnishing and décor for your space. This service is best for those who wish to enjoy a professionally decorated home every single day.

Leu Interiors does not currently offer decorating-only services. Our Full-Service Design is an optional add-on to remodeling and new construction projects.

Full-Service Design is priced per room starting at $5500, which includes both the interior design and interior decorating of the space PLUS purchasing, delivery & installation coordination for furnishings & décor. However, hybrid "task-sharing" services are available for DIY-favoring clients.
HOW WE WORK

Our Design Process

Discovery Call
On your call, Becky will ask about your project to get a feel for your designer needs and determine if Leu Interiors is a good fit to help you. She’ll also be able to answer preliminary questions that you might have.
Initial Consultation
Every project begins with a design consultation, and sometimes it’s all you need to start you off in a confident direction. A single consultation can cover a myriad of things, depending on what your unique project and design needs are. Topics could include but are not limited to: actionable design feedback and/or direction, rough layout sketching, paint color selection, strategic analysis of your upcoming project and even showroom appointments with an expert by your side.
Design Fee Proposal & Agreement
After the design consultation, you have the option to either DIY or hire Leu Interiors for your project. If you're interested in further design services, she'll send a design fee proposal over to you! Upon accepting the fee amount and completing payment upfront, all parties will sign a design agreement to officiate the working relationship between you and Leu!
Site Measure & Ideation Meeting
This is the part where the creative juices really start flowing. Becky is a master at asking questions and will help you get down to the root needs, wants, and goals of your project through careful analysis and programming. At this point, it’s time to really get to know each other so that later, you’re coming home to a space that truly fits your family in every way.
Concept Development & Space Planning
Using all of the wonderful information that we’ve gathered thus far, we’ll work behind the scenes to begin creating the design’s overall direction in both function and aesthetic. Those two aspects are simultaneously crucial to quality design. This step results in preliminary floor plans and even preliminary 3D views that are ready for your feedback!

Leu Interiors is not a licensed architecture firm, and will always partner with qualified architects and/or engineers if a structural question arises. All of our highly detailed construction drawings are also stamped with notations to remind our contractors to confirm all dimensions prior to purchase and installation, to ensure the finished quality we expect from each project.
Construction Team Meeting
Next, we’ll set up a meeting with your contractor or builder to get everyone on the same page. Don’t have one yet? We can help you with that, too. In this meeting, we’ll discuss the project budget adjacent to your design goals, establish a rough timeline for the remainder of the project, and set up a comfortable stream of communication that will be quite helpful throughout the remainder of the process!
Finish & Fixture Selections
With a solid design direction, a contractor or builder secured, and allowances for all of the design selections in your new space, you’re ready to add some color to your canvas! Depending on how large your project is, we’ll spend ½ to a full day visiting showrooms together to select every surface finish and every permanent fixture that will eventually grace your space. Don’t worry, it’s fun! We’ll select flooring, cabinetry, countertops, tile, plumbing fixtures, lighting - even preliminary paint colors.
Furniture & Window Treatment Selections
With our full-service design, we also provide a second shopping day for furniture & window treatments! We’ll visit completely different showrooms together and build the remainder of your space’s design, from the walls inwards. This step is the main difference between full-service design and our other services, as we take leadership of every single design detail of your space. From special-ordered seating to custom Roman shades and designer pillows, we complete the design vision all for you.
3D Renderings of the Final Design
Have you seen on HGTV where they show digitally generated 3D views of what the finished space will look like - all with realistic color, scale and detail, as if you’re standing right there in the future? That’s this step! Well, actually, it starts right away at the concept phase, but the renderings get better and better as we go along and more decisions are finalized. And yes, it’s even more exciting when it’s YOUR future home that you're getting a glimpse of!
Team Meeting & Design Binder Delivery
Initiate happy dance! You’re in love with the design and you’re ready to put it into action! The construction team will gather again to see the design selections that we’ve made, examine the CAD floor plans, electrical plans, wall elevations, custom details and finalize the total project budget so that come demo day, everyone knows the plan. All the above will be provided in a handy project binder that both you and your contractor/builder will get a copy of to reference throughout the following phase.
Procurement & Installation Phase
At this point, you get to step back (really far back - maybe even take a vacation) and let the team bring the design to life. All of the ordering, purchasing, shipping, delivery, demolition, framing, roughing in, installation and finish carpentry happen during this phase. It can be overwhelming whether or not you choose to live in the construction zone, but it’ll be well worth the roller coaster once your project is complete and you space is ready to enjoy.
Final Styling & Photography
The most wonderful feeling of any project is when you get to reap the benefits of all the work that went into it. At the tail end of your project, when everything is installed to perfection and the construction team has bid farewell, there’s still more beauty yet to come; Becky will come in to style your space and bring a photographer to capture the wonderful transformation that has taken place. If you’d like, you’re welcome to purchase just about anything that we add to your space for photos and we will simply leave it behind for you after the photoshoot. Finally, sit back and enjoy your stunning home.
Services

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FAQ

Common Questions

What does an Interior Designer usually cost?
This depends on the designer's level of experience and involvement in the project. On average, hiring an Interior Designer will require about 10% of your total project investment. In some densely populated metro areas, an interior designer will cost 20-30% or more, especially for full-service design. In more rural areas, design fees may range as low as 5% of the total project investment.

It's more common in rural areas for designers to be less involved with the project once the design plan is complete. This is a cost-saving measure appropriate for do-it-yourself clientele, since the client is then responsible for implementing the design on their own.

At Leu Interiors, our default is somewhere in-between "design only" and "full-service"; over the years, we've refined such a complete and fool-proof Design Phase process that we're able to take a step back once construction has begun. However, we remain available on an as-needed basis for continued assistance with additional design or budgetary decisions or changes. Never fear - our contractors do a really nice job of taking care of you and managing your project while we're not around, and we're always just a call, email, or text away if you need us.
What is the difference between a Decorator and a Designer?
You may have occasionally heard the terms for interior decorator and interior designer interchanged. However, there is a difference between the two titles. An interior decorator generally refers to someone who deals with furniture and decor only. Education and training are not necessary to work as a decorator, which is why most start as hobbyists in a different career.

An interior designer is a specialized career field, requiring a certain combined level of education, work experience, and licensing. An interior designer may create spaces for the inside of a commercial office building, design the lighting for a restaurant, or design the entirety of a home from the layout and electrical plan all the way down to the rugs and accessories. Interior designers even work with builders and architects to ensure that the exterior complements the interior design of a commercial or residential structure. An interior designer may also deal with issues of health, safety and welfare; i.e. accessibility and building codes, especially in a commercial setting.
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Leu Interiors is not a licensed architecture firm, and will always partner with qualified architects and/or engineers if a structural question arises. All of our highly detailed construction drawings are also stamped with notations to remind our contractors to confirm all dimensions prior to purchase and installation, to ensure the finished quality we expect from each project.
Why do I need an Interior Designer?
Whether you need a little help or a lot, the advice and guidance of an Interior Designer is invaluable. Having a professional Interior Designer on your team who has the knowledge and experience of countless similar projects as well as the information, resources and expertise for finding the exact products and trades people you need to get the best result for your project is priceless. Working with an Interior Designer will help you to move seamlessly and efficiently through the project, as well as help you prevent costly mistakes or side-steps along the way.
Why should I pay for an Interior Designer when some retail stores offer “free design assistance?”
The knowledge and expertise that you benefit from when you hire a personal interior designer is the primary value that the designer studied thoroughly and spent years of time and effort to curate. Do you work for free? Neither do "free in-house designers". While it is true that many retail establishments may offer “free” advice and assistance, and that sometimes those consultants may be very good at what they do, it is also true that although the advice they offer you is “free,” they definitely are not working for “free” and their primary allegiance and obligation is to their employer.

On the contrary, a personal Interior Designer serves as your advocate. They will always be on your side, and working to get you the best services, prices, and experience as possible. They have no attachment to certain brands (other than through tried and true experience), so they have the entire world of products to choose from, rather than being required to stay within any one company's family of brands. Do you have favorites? Let your Designer know! Leu Interiors is always open to using our clients' preferred stores, brands, products or services.
When is the right time to hire an Interior Designer?
While a good designer can help you at any stage of the design, it is most advantageous for you to begin your work with a designer at the earliest stages of the project. As with almost any process, having a good plan in place as early as possible is the best route to success.

Leu Interiors can take your project from the initial point of gathering information on the requirements and needs for your space, through design development, purchasing and installation for every detail of your project – all the way to completion. A perfect final result is evidence of a plan well thought out and well executed from the initial ideas to the final details.

IMPORTANT: Hiring an Interior Designer several months prior to your project start date will not cost you any extra money, it will simply guarantee your spot on their calendar!
What is Leu Interiors' Design fee structure?
Our designs are billed as flat fees based on an hourly estimation of how long your space will take us to design. We'll send you a design fee proposal before your project begins, which will be custom-tailored to your project scope and amount of detail you're interested in. With a flat fee structure, you know exactly what you're going to get and for how much - no surprises.
Do you offer Decorating Services?
Yes and no. Leu Interiors does not offer stand-alone decorating. However, our Full-Service design offering means decorating is included with your home remodel or new construction design.

For clients who just need some advice and direction to tackle their own projects, we offer a few different levels of design consultations. Use our contact page to reach out and learn more.
What kinds of deliverables does your Design Process include?
  • The personalized curation of trusted fixtures, finishes & furnishings
  • CAD floor plan(s) & elevation(s) of your space to build from
  • 2D presentation mood board(s) showing design selections layered together
  • 3D view(s) of your space depicting what the finished design will look like
  • A complete design binder to document all the above
  • In-person meetings to exchange design ideas & feedback
  • Behind-the-scenes collaboration with local & national vendors
  • Actionable advice and expertise specific to your home needs & goals
  • Happiness guaranteed. Don’t love the design? Then it’s not finished!
What does Full-Service Design include?
  • Diligent project management, so you can go about your day worry-free
  • Concierge service for purchasing each approved item in the design plan
  • White glove shipping, storage, delivery & installation of each new piece
  • The careful scheduling and coordination of any trade services needed
  • Any warranty or special care info. - pertaining to the products purchased
  • Meticulous on-site styling of the final design during the installation
How often will I be billed for design services?
Only once! Leu Interiors bills upfront for 100% of Design fees. After the Design Phase is complete, your contractor/builder and you will both receive a design binder with all the juicy details. Not a bill!
What is the best way to communicate with my Designer?
We like emails, texts, and phone calls - in that order. It's best to have a paper trail so we can keep track of our many moving projects all at once without messing anything up. Obviously phone calls can be very efficient and sometimes the most clear way to communicate, so we just try to take really great notes during them.
How can I prepare for our first meeting for my project?
Share your Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz or other inspiration links with us. Collect clippings from magazines and/or photos that appeal to you.Be thinking about colors, styles and looks that you like or are drawn to.Know your own wants, needs, and what the space should do for you when finished.Think about your time frame - when do you want to start? Do you have finish date goals?

Have an all-in project budget in mind and be honest about it with your designer. Having at least a ballpark figure of what you’re willing to spend on your project is a good start.

Get excited! We can have that in common from the very beginning.
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Becky helped us with a difficult kitchen remodel and I cannot sing her praises loud enough! She helped us with every detail, is very easy/fun to work with, and her drawings were imperative to getting our dream kitchen. She makes you feel like you’re on Fixer Upper!

Molly | West Des Moines, IA

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