When deciding your payment structure, there are 3 methods you can use. One is hourly, the next is a flat rate fee for the project as a whole, and the third is a payment plan. For the third payment structure, I would only recommend a payment plan in instances of large scale projects, and be sure you are paid before the next stage of the process begins, so you don't put in 100% of the work before you get 100% of the pay. For example, if you are doing a project for 3 rooms, you can get one third of the pay when you complete one room, the other third for the second room, and the final bill when you are ready to complete the last room. This protects you and ensures you get paid for the work you do, and helps the client if it's a large scale project within a budget.

If you decide to charge an hourly rate, the rates can vary significantly from $50/hour to $500/hour. When setting up your rates, you want to set a realistic expectation for the demographics you are going to primarily target. Of course your rates can change per client, if their requests range from smaller to bigger requests, but having a base hourly rate (that does not include the cost of furniture) will help you focus on what your payout will be. If you choose to work a luxury market, you can have the room to charge extra, but if you plan to work small residential homes, you want to base your cost on what is realistic for your market and region. Be sure you are getting paid fairly for your time and effort, but have realistic expectations of what your market will pay for your services.

The same is to be considered in a flat rate fee. For a flat rate fee, you will want to look at the project as a whole and come up with a price that is going to make sense for you. Keep in mind your cost should take into consideration not only the day you go in to do the work, but the amount of effort it takes for you to go shopping (both online and off), hiring the necessary people to come in and do tasks you aren’t able to handle, and the cost of furniture and decor.

Now, if you are just starting off in the industry, you may be put in instances of doing pro-bono work, to help build your resume and experience. Higher paying clients are not going to want to hire someone who has no experience. Pro-bono work means your client is charged for the furniture and project costs, but they are not paying you an hourly fee, flat rate fee, or a consult fee. No one likes to work for free, but even if you are given the opportunity to work with a family member, doing so and then taking pictures of the work you did can really help you land paying jobs much faster. You need to have proof of your design capabilities. If you have the space and funds, you can even completely transform your own house, and take professional before and after photos, to showcase your capabilities. 

Your consult fee is for the meeting, in which you will tour the home, and write down your client's wants and needs. By charging a consult fee, you are compensated for your time, in case your client decides not to use you for your services. Some designers, based on the their consult fee, and project cost, have run promotions where the consult fee is added to the final project bill as a credit to the homeowner if they go through with the staging/decorating. That will be something you would have to decide if you want to do or not.

If you don't plan to rotate and pay storage for your own collection of furniture pieces, you can see if there are local warehouses that have furniture rentals. All major cities should have a warehouse that offers furniture rental for your properties. You will definitely be paying for convenience, because furniture rental does not come cheap. You can be paying around $500 for a month for a couple of pieces for ONE room. Do your research for the warehouses in your market, and get a strong idea of what the rates are for monthly rentals. 

You should also look around to see if any local furniture stores will be willing to work with you on a business discount. If you have a local store that you plan to shop at frequently, they may be able to give you an exclusive discount on furnishings. You can use this discount to make a little extra money, or you can pass the savings on to your clients.

Once you and your client have agreed on a price, be sure to get paid BEFORE the project begins. If you plan to use the payment structure that includes installments, you can get your first initial payment as a deposit to get started on the first room. Never start the work, or buy any pieces of furniture (unless it’s for your own storage collection), until you have been compensated per the terms of the contract/agreement.