When you choose an interior designer in Mallorca, check first whether the studio has finished projects on the island that it can show you, who handles the building permit with an architect registered with the Colegio, and who is on site while you are abroad. After that, look at whether fees and building costs are given in writing with figures, whether the studio speaks your language as well as Spanish, and whether it knows the local trades. The ten questions below cover this in a first meeting.

1. Which projects have you completed in Mallorca, and can I see them?

A portfolio shows how a studio designs. Whether it can build on the island shows in projects finished here, with a permit and with local firms.

A good answer lists completed projects in Mallorca with location and scope, is open about which ones were built elsewhere, and tells you whether you can see a house or speak to an owner.

2. Who handles the building permit, and which architect signs it?

Simple work without a project, such as new floors or a bathroom that keeps its layout, is notified to the town hall with a comunicación previa. Work on the structure, changes of volume or use and full renovations need a licencia urbanística based on a project. For a residential building, that project is written by an architect registered with the Colegio, and on site an aparejador directs the construction.

A good answer names the likely procedure, the architect who signs and who deals with the Ayuntamiento. More in building permits on Mallorca.

3. Who is on site while I am abroad, and how often?

If nobody local is responsible, every question from the trades lands with you, and by the time you reply they may have moved on to another site.

A good answer names one person with a fixed rhythm, such as a weekly site meeting, and reports with photos taken from the same viewpoints each time, including every wall before it is closed. More in renovating in Mallorca from abroad.

4. How is your fee calculated, and what does it include?

Fees are usually a share of the construction cost, an hourly rate or a fixed fee. Check above all whether the permit project and site supervision are included or charged separately.

A good answer comes in writing, with a percentage or figure and a list of what is included. “It depends on many factors” with no number after it is not enough. More in how much does an interior designer cost.

5. Who writes the specification, and who checks the builders’ quotes?

Quotes in Mallorca are often brief and rely more on verbal agreements. If you live abroad, every firm needs the same written basis with quantities, materials and construction details. Without it, the quotes cannot be compared.

A good answer: the studio writes the specification, collects several quotes and checks them for completeness before comparing totals. More in red flags in contractor quotes.

6. How do you handle changes and extra costs during the works?

Every renovation uncovers something nobody could have foreseen. What matters is who checks the price of a change and when you hear about it.

A good answer: each change is notified in writing with its price and approved by you before work goes ahead, and every extra appears in the budget report. When the building reveals a surprise, you get a recommendation with reasons so that you can decide the same day.

7. Have you worked on a finca or a townhouse like mine?

Both sit in the same cost range but bring different problems. A finca often has rubble stone walls without a damp-proof course, its own water and power supply and difficult access, and on rústico land extensions are heavily restricted. A townhouse has party walls with the neighbours, narrow streets and sometimes a protected façade.

A good answer names the cost drivers of your type of building unprompted and, for a finca, starts with its legal status. More in finca or townhouse in Mallorca.

8. Which materials do you choose for the island’s climate?

In Mallorca, materials have to cope with damp, salt air, heat and hard water. Old stone walls need to release moisture, and sealing them with the wrong materials pushes the damp into the new finishes.

A good answer explains, using your house, which material goes where and why, such as breathable materials in old walls or hardware that can handle salt air. Samples are approved in the room itself, in the island’s light.

9. Which local trades and joiners do you work with in Mallorca?

Good firms are booked up early in the season, and a team that has built together before needs fewer instructions. That counts most when you are not there.

A good answer names joiners, workshops and firms the studio has built with in Mallorca more than once, and says who selects them and who signs the contracts with them.

10. Which language will I get plans, reports and decisions in?

In Mallorca, quotes, letters from the authorities and site notes come in Spanish or Catalan. If you approve a document you cannot read, you have not really checked it.

A good answer: plans and documents in your language, Spanish documents with a summary, and a studio that speaks Spanish with the trades, the town hall and the neighbours.

How CARLO Design answers these questions

CARLO Design was founded in Berlin in 2015 and has had a studio for interior design on Mallorca in Palma, at Carrer de Can Sales 14, since 2022. The Mallorca project on this website is the Arabic Loft, a loft in the centre of Palma with ceilings almost five metres high, where the complete interior is ours. Most of the other projects shown here were built in Berlin.

We prepare the permit project with an architect registered with the Colegio, with whom we have worked for years. During construction we are on site every week and send you reports with photos. We work with joiners in Manacor, ceramicists in Pòrtol and stone yards in Felanitx, and we speak English, German and Spanish.

Our planning fee is 10 to 15 % of the construction cost, with project management and site supervision on top. Most of our residential projects in Mallorca come in at €1,200 to €2,500 per square metre.

FAQ

Do I need a local interior designer in Mallorca, or can my designer from home do it?

Your designer from home can do the design. If the work needs a project, though, the permit requires an architect registered with the Colegio, and during construction someone has to be on site regularly and talk to the builders in Spanish. Agree who covers these two jobs on the island before you hire anyone for the design.

Does an interior designer in Mallorca handle the building permit?

That depends on the studio and on the work. Simple work without a project only needs a comunicación previa to the town hall. If the work needs a licencia urbanística, an architect registered with the Colegio has to write the project, and many interior designers work with one for this. Ask who signs and who deals with the Ayuntamiento.

How much does an interior designer in Mallorca cost?

Fees are usually a share of the construction cost, an hourly rate or a fixed fee. At CARLO Design the planning fee is 10 to 15 % of the construction cost, with project management and site supervision on top. Building costs for most of our residential projects in Mallorca come in at €1,200 to €2,500 per square metre.

Should my interior designer in Mallorca speak English or German?

They should speak the language you make decisions in, and Spanish on site. Quotes, letters from the authorities and site notes come in Spanish or Catalan, and you need to understand what you approve. A studio that covers both sides translates between you and the people building your house.

How often do I need to travel to Mallorca during the project?

Usually two or three times: when the layout is built but nothing is finished, to approve samples in the house, and for the handover. The sample visit matters most, because stone, tiles, wood and plaster look different in the island’s light than on a screen. In between, regular reports with photos keep you up to date.

Your next step

Put these ten questions to us in the Project Check, on site or by video. Tell us where your property is and what you are planning, and we will reply within one working day.

You can work out roughly what your renovation costs in two minutes. Open the cost and timeline calculator.