Working with interior designers and architects: a guide for makers

This guide is for makers who want to work with interior designers, architects and other trade buyers: furniture makers, but also ceramicists making lighting or tiles, glassmakers, weavers, upholsterers, leatherworkers and metalworkers making balustrades, handles or fittings.

We cover how trade clients buy, where makers fit in a project, how to think about trade pricing, what to put in a specification sheet, samples, lead times, the documents designers expect, and the payment risks to manage.

Trade work can bring larger, repeat commissions. It also brings longer timelines, more paperwork and someone in the middle. Go in knowing both.

Key takeaways

• The Crafts Council's "Market for Craft" report found trade buyers such as interior designers and architects cannot easily find trusted, professional makers. Being easy to specify is an advantage.
• Designers tend to specify in an order: architectural elements first, then lighting, then furniture, textiles, and finally décor and artworks.
• Trade discounts vary by supplier and are a choice. Decide your terms before you are asked and put them in writing.
• A clear specification sheet, labelled samples and a lead time you can keep matter as much as the piece itself.
• Professional codes, such as the BIID's, require members to avoid conflicts of interest and to disclose them in writing if they arise.
• Protect cash flow with deposits and staged payments. UK guidance and Polish law both treat 60 days as the usual upper limit for agreed business payment terms.

How trade clients buy

A private client buys for themselves. A designer or architect buys for a client, to a budget and a programme, and their reputation depends on what you deliver.

The Market for Craft, a 2020 report by Morris Hargreaves McIntyre for the Crafts Council, describes intermediaries that connect makers with interior designers, architects and commissioners, because makers often lack the time or tools to approach them and trade buyers cannot easily find trusted, professional makers. The report notes that these intermediaries expect consistent quality, productivity and self-discipline from the makers they represent.

One intermediary interviewed for the report described the usual order of an interior design project: architectural elements such as floors, walls and cladding first, then lighting once socket positions are planned, then furniture as the biggest investment pieces, then textiles, and finally décor and artworks. Their approach was to engage the designer at each of these points with suitable makers and materials.

For a maker, this means timing. A lighting maker needs to be in the conversation earlier than a ceramicist selling vases. A furniture maker who hears about a project after the furniture budget is set has usually missed it.

Where you fit in an architect's project

Architects in the UK commonly use the RIBA Plan of Work 2020, which divides a project into eight stages: 0 Strategic Definition, 1 Preparation and Briefing, 2 Concept Design, 3 Spatial Coordination, 4 Technical Design, 5 Manufacturing and Construction, 6 Handover and 7 Use.

RIBA's overview says Stage 4 is about developing the information needed to manufacture and construct the building, including design work by specialist subcontractors, and recommends that specialist design work sits in Stage 4 rather than Stage 5. If you make fitted joinery, staircases, metalwork or architectural glass, expect to supply drawings and details during technical design, and expect them to be reviewed before you make anything.

Other countries use different stage names. In practice, ask the architect at the start: what stage are we at, when do you need drawings from me, who approves them, and when is the site ready for installation?

Trade pricing

Trade pricing is the part makers most often get wrong, by giving discounts they cannot afford or by having no policy at all.

What the sources say:

• Terms vary. There is no standard trade discount, and a bespoke maker is not a retailer with a showroom margin to share.
• Professional bodies take different views on passing discounts to clients. The Society of British and International Interior Design (SBID) said in its 2012 fair trading policy that trade discount is for trade, not retail, and that it does not recommend passing trade discounts on to the public. The Interior Designers Hub, a UK training provider, discusses both keeping and sharing discounts and advises designers to be upfront with clients about their pricing model.
• Conflicts of interest must be handled. The British Institute of Interior Design's Code of Conduct (April 2026) says members must not accept payments or benefits that may impair their impartiality, and if a conflict arises they must disclose it in writing and get written consent, remove the conflict or step back. It also requires a written agreement with the client that explains how the designer's fee is calculated.

What that means for you:

1. Know your full price first. Work out what a piece costs you and what you need to earn. See how to price handmade work. A trade discount comes out of that, not out of thin air.
2. Choose a model and write it down. Common options are a percentage off your published price for registered trade accounts, a separate trade price list, or no discount but added service such as free samples and drawings.
3. Do not pay hidden commissions. If a designer asks for a fee for recommending you, ask how it will be disclosed to their client. Under the BIID code, members must handle such conflicts openly. A transparent arrangement protects you too.
4. Keep it consistent. Designers talk to each other. Different terms for the same work cause problems.

Specification sheets

A designer needs to put your piece into a schedule, often alongside dozens of other items. Make that easy.

Section	What to include
Product	Name, reference code, one clear photo
Dimensions	Overall size, key internal sizes, tolerances, weight
Materials	Species, metal, clay body, glass type, leather type, fibre
Finishes	Finish name, sheen, colour options, how samples relate to the final piece
Options	Sizes, finishes, hardware, made-to-measure possible or not
Lead time	Weeks from approved drawings and deposit to dispatch
Price basis	Ex works or delivered, VAT, what is included
Care and use	Short care notes, indoor or outdoor use, any limits
Certificates	Only those you actually hold, with the standard named
Contact	Your name, email, phone, website

For hospitality, offices or public buildings, ask early which performance requirements apply, for example fire performance of upholstery or durability of seating. These differ from domestic rules and between countries. Do not claim a standard you have not tested to.

Samples

Samples let a designer win their client's approval. They are also how designers judge whether you are organised.

• Keep a set of standard samples ready: timber species with each finish, glaze tiles, metal finishes, leather swatches, yarn and weave samples.
• Label every sample with your name, the material, the finish and a reference that matches your specification sheet.
• Record what you sent, to whom and for which project.
• Decide which samples are free and which are charged, and whether a charge is credited against an order.
• Tell the designer that natural materials vary. A sample of oak, a glaze or a hand-dyed textile shows the range, not an exact match.

Lead times you can keep

For trade clients, a reliable date is often worth more than a fast one. An installation date may be tied to other trades, a hotel opening or a client moving in.

• Quote lead time from a clear trigger, such as "eight weeks from approved drawings and deposit".
• Include time for drawing approval, material supply and finishing, not just bench time.
• Build in a margin for your own illness or a supplier delay.
• If a date is at risk, say so early, with the reason and a new date. See client updates during a build.

Documentation designers expect

Beyond the specification sheet, expect to provide:

• A written quote with scope, price, lead time, validity and payment terms. See how to write a quote for a commission.
• Drawings for approval, with a revision number and date, and a written sign-off before you cut material.
• Confirmation of who the contracting party is: the design practice or the end client.
• Delivery and installation details: access, lifts, site contact, who unwraps and who disposes of packaging.
• Care instructions and any warranty terms for the end client.
• Insurance details, if the designer or main contractor asks for them.

Payment terms and risk

Trade work often means waiting longer to be paid, and sometimes depending on a designer who is waiting for their own client.

What the official guidance says:

• UK. GOV.UK guidance says that if no date is agreed, payment is late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or the goods or service, whichever is later. Agreed terms are usually no more than 60 days for transactions between businesses, and longer terms must be fair to both sides.
• Poland. According to biznes.gov.pl, the payment term between businesses generally may not exceed 60 days, The parties may expressly agree a longer term if it is not grossly unfair to the creditor, but not where the debtor is a large enterprise and the creditor a micro, small or medium enterprise (art. 7(2) and 7(2a) of the late payment act). After the due date the creditor is entitled to statutory interest for late payment in commercial transactions and to fixed compensation for recovery costs of 40, 70 or 100 euro depending on the amount owed.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Check the current rules with the official sources or an adviser before relying on them in a contract.

Practical protection:

1. Ask for a deposit before you buy materials, even from trade clients. See deposits for custom furniture and payment schedules for commissions.
2. Tie further payments to clear stages, such as drawing approval or completion before dispatch.
3. Keep ownership of the piece until it is paid for, if your terms and local law allow it.
4. Check a new trade client before extending credit: company registration, how long they have traded, and whether other makers have worked with them.
5. Put the due date and the late payment terms on every invoice.

A first-project checklist

• Contracting party, approver and payer agreed in writing.
• Trade terms and any discount written down.
• Specification sheet and labelled samples sent.
• Drawings approved and signed off with a revision number.
• Lead time quoted from a clear trigger, with margin.
• Deposit received before materials are bought.
• Delivery and installation details confirmed.
• Care and warranty information ready for the end client.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case. Before a decision about your own contract, product or business, check the current text with the relevant authority or ask a lawyer.

Sources

• The Market for Craft, Crafts Council and Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (May 2020): trade buyers struggle to find trusted makers, intermediaries and their expectations, the order in which interior design projects are specified
• RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Overview, Royal Institute of British Architects: stage names 0 to 7, Stage 4 covering specialist subcontractor design
• BIID Code of Conduct (1 April 2026), British Institute of Interior Design: conflicts of interest, payments and benefits, written disclosure, written client agreement
• SBID's policy on fair trading in interior design (27 March 2012), SBID: trade discount for trade, not retail, and not passing it on to the public
• Trade discount: share or keep, The Interior Designers Hub: arguments for keeping or sharing discounts, transparency with clients
• Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery, GOV.UK: 30-day default, 60-day usual limit for agreed business terms
• Terminy zapłaty w transakcjach handlowych, biznes.gov.pl: 60-day limit between businesses, SME creditor protection, statutory interest, 40, 70 or 100 euro compensation
• Ustawa o przeciwdziałaniu nadmiernym opóźnieniom w transakcjach handlowych, consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1790, Sejm RP: art. 7(2) and 7(2a) on payment terms, art. 10 on fixed compensation