The interior design glossary

20terms from the business side of design — purchasing, pricing, documentation and closeout. Each one is a full page with worked examples, because “a sidemark identifies an order” has never once been enough to answer the question someone actually had.

C

Change order: A change order is a written amendment to an already-approved scope: what is changing, what it costs, and what it does to the schedule, signed by the client before the work proceeds.
COM (customer's own material): COM stands for customer's own material.
Cost-plus pricing: Under cost-plus, the client pays your net cost for goods plus an agreed percentage on top, and your invoices show both figures.

D

Design proposal: A proposal is an offer: the itemised goods, prices, quantities and lead times a client approves before you buy anything.
Design retainer: A retainer is money paid up front against future design fees, drawn down as invoices are issued.

F

FF&E: FF&E stands for furniture, fixtures and equipment: the movable contents of a space — seating, tables, casegoods, lamps, rugs, art, window treatments and loose equipment.
Finish schedule: A finish schedule is a table listing every room in a project against the finish specified for each surface — floor, base, walls, ceiling, trim and doors — using codes that key to the specifications.

K

Keystone markup: Keystone markup means doubling your cost: the client price is your net cost multiplied by two.

L

Lead time: Lead time is the production window: the time from the vendor holding your purchase order and deposit to the goods being ready to leave the factory.

M

Markup vs margin: Markup is profit as a percentage of your cost; margin is the same profit as a percentage of the price the client pays.
Millwork: Millwork is woodwork fabricated to project-specific drawings rather than bought off a shelf: built-in cabinetry, panelling, bespoke trim, custom doors and fitted furniture.

P

Punch list: A punch list is the itemised record of unfinished or defective work found during a walk-through near the end of a project.
Purchase order: A purchase order is the numbered instruction a designer sends a vendor to buy specified goods.

R

Receiving warehouse: A receiving warehouse is a third-party facility that accepts your freight, inspects and photographs it, logs it against the project sidemark, stores it until the site is ready, and delivers it in one coordinated load.

S

Shop drawing: A shop drawing is the fabricator's detailed drawing of an item they intend to build — millwork, metalwork, a custom frame — submitted for the designer's review before production starts.
Sidemark: A sidemark is the short project reference — usually client name plus room — that a designer puts on every purchase order, and that the vendor prints on the packing list and cartons.
Specification sheet: A specification sheet is the complete record of one specified item: manufacturer, model number, finish and fabric codes, dimensions, quantity, COM requirements, lead time, freight terms and the room it is destined for.

T

Tearsheet: A tearsheet is a one-page sheet describing a single specified product: photograph, manufacturer, model, dimensions, finish, price and lead time.
Trade discount: A trade discount is the percentage off a manufacturer's list price extended to credentialed trade buyers.

W

White-glove delivery: White-glove delivery means the crew brings the item into the room it belongs in, unpacks it, assembles or places it, and removes the packaging.

The documents these terms describe

Proposals a client approves item by item, purchase orders that carry the sidemark, and a record of who approved what and when. NYA is $49/mo for a solo designer and $129 for a studio of up to five — flat, with no per-seat billing.

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Change order

A change order is a written amendment to an already-approved scope: what is changing, what it costs, and what it does to the schedule, signed by the client before the work proceeds.

COM (customer's own material)

COM stands for customer's own material.

Cost-plus pricing

Under cost-plus, the client pays your net cost for goods plus an agreed percentage on top, and your invoices show both figures.

FF&E

FF&E stands for furniture, fixtures and equipment: the movable contents of a space — seating, tables, casegoods, lamps, rugs, art, window treatments and loose equipment.

Finish schedule

A finish schedule is a table listing every room in a project against the finish specified for each surface — floor, base, walls, ceiling, trim and doors — using codes that key to the specifications.

Markup vs margin

Markup is profit as a percentage of your cost; margin is the same profit as a percentage of the price the client pays.

Millwork

Millwork is woodwork fabricated to project-specific drawings rather than bought off a shelf: built-in cabinetry, panelling, bespoke trim, custom doors and fitted furniture.

Shop drawing

A shop drawing is the fabricator's detailed drawing of an item they intend to build — millwork, metalwork, a custom frame — submitted for the designer's review before production starts.

Sidemark

A sidemark is the short project reference — usually client name plus room — that a designer puts on every purchase order, and that the vendor prints on the packing list and cartons.

Specification sheet

A specification sheet is the complete record of one specified item: manufacturer, model number, finish and fabric codes, dimensions, quantity, COM requirements, lead time, freight terms and the room it is destined for.