A furniture store is enough when you are looking for individual pieces, know what you like and need furniture quickly or within a fixed budget. An interior designer is worth it when a whole apartment or house is being furnished, when bespoke pieces, lighting and colours have to work together, or when you are not there yourself, for example with a holiday home in Mallorca. The two can be combined: the designer plans the rooms, some of the furniture comes from a store and other pieces are made by a joiner.

How a furniture store works

In a furniture store you see sofas, tables and lamps for real, can try them out and take many things home straight away or order them from stock. Many stores offer advice, and some plan individual rooms on screen. That advice usually covers the store’s own range. Delivery and assembly can often be booked on top.

For many jobs this works well: a new sofa, a dining table, a child’s room, or a rented apartment that needs to be liveable fast. If you know what you are looking for and keep track of sizes and style yourself, you get there faster and usually for less.

It gets harder when the pieces are meant to add up to a whole. The store generally never sees your rooms. Whether the sofa fits through the door and up the stairs, whether the rug is the right size and whether the lights suit the ceiling connections is for you to check. If you order from several stores, you also coordinate the delivery dates and receive the deliveries yourself.

How an interior designer furnishes a home

An interior designer starts with the rooms and with what is staying. They walk through the home with you, take measurements and prepare a concept for each room with a mood board, colours, materials and a furniture layout on the floor plan. Only then are pieces chosen: sofas, tables, beds, lamps, rugs and curtains, with fabric and wood samples you can see in the room’s own light.

Where nothing ready-made fits, the designer draws bespoke pieces such as built-in wardrobes, bookcases or benches and has them made by joiners and upholsterers. The other pieces can come from a furniture store, from manufacturers, from vintage dealers or from what you already own. Orders, delivery dates, assembly and complaints all run through the studio.

In Berlin’s period apartments this often pays off. High ceilings, double doors, enfilades and herringbone parquet do not suit wardrobes that stop halfway up the wall, and furniture in standard sizes can quickly look too small there.

What is different in Mallorca

In Mallorca you can buy a lot quickly. Whether it suits the house is another matter. A townhouse in Palma can have ceilings of almost five metres, a finca very thick walls. The light is harsher than in Berlin and fades fabrics faster, and salt in the air attacks metal. Whatever is not made on the island has to come across the sea, so made-to-order sofas and imported fabrics need lead time.

Many owners live abroad and have their house furnished remotely. That needs someone who receives deliveries, reports transport damage, stores pieces and assembles them. If the house is let to guests, you also need hard-wearing surfaces, washable covers, storage for luggage, a lockable cupboard for your own things and linen for full occupancy. Holiday letting also needs its own tourist licence, which owners arrange with their advisers.

What each route costs

At a furniture store you pay the price of the furniture, plus delivery and assembly as quoted. With an interior designer there are two items: the fee and the pieces themselves. The budget for the pieces should be set before anything is chosen.

At CARLO Design we discuss the fee for furnishing in the Project Check, based on scope and floor area. We agree the budget for furniture, lighting and textiles with you and track it in the furniture schedule, so you know where you stand before every order. For the design of a renovation our fee is 10 to 15 % of the construction cost, with project management and site supervision on top. More in How much does an interior designer cost.

Questions to settle before you decide

  • Is this about individual pieces, or a whole home including lighting, curtains and rugs?
  • Which furniture is staying, and how will the new pieces go with it?
  • Who measures up and checks that large pieces fit through doors, stairwells or the lift?
  • Who receives the deliveries, assembles everything and claims for transport damage when you are not there?
  • When do you want to move in or start letting, and which pieces have the longest lead time?
  • For a holiday home: will the materials stand up to guests, sun and salt air, and can worn items be reordered later?

How CARLO Design furnishes homes

CARLO Design furnishes apartments and houses in Berlin and Mallorca, as part of a renovation or on its own, for example after a purchase. We start with what stays: heirlooms, vintage furniture and pictures you are attached to are part of the plan. Each room gets a concept with a furniture layout on the floor plan, then we put together specific pieces and bring samples to you. We source furniture and fabrics from makers across Europe, new editions as well as vintage pieces. Bespoke pieces are made by joiners and upholsterers we have worked with for years, in Mallorca among them carpenters in Manacor.

Every piece is listed with maker, size and status in a furniture schedule. We bundle deliveries, check each piece on unpacking and finish by styling the rooms with lamps, curtains and bed linen. You do not need to be there for any delivery. In Mallorca we coordinate transport, storage and assembly on the island, and we plan the schedule backwards from your move-in date. More on our Interior furnishing in Berlin, Interior furnishing on Mallorca and Holiday home interiors on Mallorca pages.

FAQ

Can an interior designer use furniture from a furniture store?

Yes. An interior designer is not tied to any range and can combine stock pieces with the furniture you already own, vintage finds and made-to-measure pieces. What matters is the plan behind it: dimensions, colours and light are set for the room first, and then the search starts for pieces that fit. At CARLO Design every piece is listed with maker, size and status in one schedule.

Is an interior designer worth it for furnishing alone, without building work?

Yes, especially for a whole apartment after a purchase, a house standing empty after renovation, or a second home you want furnished from a distance. The designer plans layout, lighting, colours and textiles together and handles ordering, delivery and assembly. For a single sofa or dining table, a furniture store is usually the simpler route.

How much does an interior designer charge to furnish an apartment?

There are two items: the fee and the budget for furniture, lighting and textiles. The fee depends on scope and floor area. At CARLO Design we discuss it in the Project Check, agree the budget for the pieces with you before anything is chosen and track it in the furniture schedule.

Can I have a holiday home in Mallorca furnished without being there?

Yes. Concept and selection can be agreed online or at meetings in Palma or Berlin, with samples sent to you. Delivery, storage and assembly are then coordinated on the island. Two visits make sense: one for the samples in the house itself, because fabrics and woods look different in the island’s light, and one for the handover.

How long does it take to furnish an apartment?

That depends on the lead times of the pieces you choose. Stock furniture arrives fastest, while made-to-order sofas, imported fabrics and bespoke pieces take longest. That is why it pays to plan backwards from your move-in date and order early.

Your next step

Tell us which rooms you want to furnish, what is staying and when you plan to move in or start letting. In the Project Check we look at floor plans and photos and tell you how much design your project needs.

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