The world of interior decorating has this air of mystery about it. Think about American movies and their portrayal of a decorator: usually it’s a huge mansion and a disgustingly wealthy family hiring a decorator to transform their entire home. The reality is very different.
The whole reason we started EB Studio was to make interior decorating accessible to everyday homeowners and renters across Sydney. We don’t swan in with a host of people (a la Franck from Father of the Bride); it’s just our team walking through your home and chatting about all things decorating. Some clients have even turned into friends, which is a lovely bonus!
What Does an Interior Decorator Do?
A decorator is your style partner. We work with your existing spaces to create homes that are beautiful, cohesive, and functional,without structural renovations.
Services typically include:
- Colour and material selection such as paints, fabrics, and finishes
- Furniture and décor sourcing, often with trade discounts
- Moodboards and design concepts to visualise your space
- Furniture layout and styling
- Procurement, delivery coordination, and installation
- Turn-key decorating, such as move-in ready homes that feel curated and effortless
Decorators save you time, money, and stress, giving you access to quality products and trusted trades. (Explore our decorating packages)
If you’re not sure whether you need a decorator or a designer, we’ve written a full guide to the difference between interior design and interior decorating that’s worth a read.
Interior Decorator Costs and Process in Sydney
Initial Consultations
The first step is an initial consultation: a chance for us to get to know each other, understand your style and tastes and what you’re aiming to achieve in your project. We’ll also need to see each room of the house you want help with (and sometimes other rooms too, to get a complete sense of how you live and what you like and don’t like).
Typical cost:$300-600+ (EB Studio consults are $429)
Tip: Free consults may indicate the decorator doesn’t value their time; a professional charges to provide quality advice.
Design Concepts
Once the initial consultation is complete, you will usually receive a scope of work outlining how many hours are required to complete the decorating concepts. Decorators bill differently than for initial consultations: some charge by square metre, others have a flat rate, but most (including EB Studio) charge hourly.
If you’re worried about how many hours your project will take, most decorators can provide a rough price outline to help you budget. Expect to pay $200–$300 per hour.
- If you have existing furniture and only need a few bits and pieces, the decorator may only need a couple of hours.
- If you need an entire home from scratch, you’re probably looking at starting at 30+ hours.
Decorator concepts typically include:
- Moodboards / concept boards
- Floor plan layouts
These are not just pretty documents! You’re paying for the decorator’s time, experience, and expertise to create them. Countless hours have gone into honing these skills, and the cost reflects that.
Purchasing & Procurement
After reviewing the initial concepts, you and your decorator can get to work purchasing and delivering products. While it’s not always customary across the industry, EB Studio always passes on trade discountswhere possible, which often results in anywhere from 5% to 30% off retail prices.
This can effectively offset the decorator’s fees and save you significant amounts on products.
Styling & Installation
Once your products arrive and your home transformation is starting to take shape, you can engage us back for a stylist once-over.
When EB Studio does this, we come in with our photographer and get to work: pulling furniture around, hanging art, and arranging pieces to bring the whole room together. This is also an opportunity to photograph the project for our portfolio.
Stylist once-over usually includes:
- Furniture placement
- Art hanging
- Accessory arrangement
💡 Pricing: Typically charged at a day rate or half day rate for smaller spaces.
Why Hire a Decorator?
Hiring a decorator isn’t just about making your home look beautiful… it’s about making your life easier, more enjoyable, and stress-free. Here’s why it’s worth considering:
- Saves you time and money – We already know where to shop, what works, and what doesn’t. You won’t have to spend weekends wandering stores figuring out which lamp shade complements your lounge room or which rug works best.
- Saves your relationships – Choosing sofa fabrics, paint colours, or the “right” number of cushions can spark arguments. A professional decorator guides you through these choices, saving deliberation time (and avoiding debates about kitchen tiles!).
- Access to quality trades – We have a trusted network of tradespeople for any additional work your home may require. You don’t have to research, call, or vet them yourself.
- Access to exclusive products – Decorators often work with furniture wholesalers and suppliers that don’t sell directly to the public, giving you access to pieces and materials you wouldn’t otherwise find.
A finished home you’ll truly love – Our goal is to create a home that’s not only beautiful but also functional. Walking in your front door should bring a smile and that’s exactly what a decorator delivers.
If you’re still weighing it up, we’ve gone into much more detail in our article on whether hiring a designer or decorator is actually worth it.
Decorator vs Interior Designer
Before deciding whether to hire a decorator or an interior designer, it’s important to understand the difference between the two. While the roles are often used interchangeably, they serve distinct purposes and suit different types of projects. Knowing which professional you need can help you get the right level of support, and avoid paying for services you don’t actually require.
| Interior Decorator | Interior Designer |
| Focus on styling, colour, furniture, décor | Includes styling plus structural changes and layouts |
| Works within existing spaces | Can advise on walls, joinery, lighting |
| Ideal for move-in ready homes & finishing touches | Ideal for new builds, major renovations, reconfigurations |
| Typically lower fees | Broader scope, higher fees |
What does an Interior Decorator Cost in 2026?
Every decorating project is different, and so is every budget. A compact city apartment has very different needs to a full family home, and the size of the space, number of rooms, scope of services, and quality of the furnishings all shape the final figure.
We’re often asked what a “typical” project looks like at a given price point, so we’ve pulled examples from our own portfolio to show what’s possible. The case studies below reflect real EB Studio projects, each with its own brief, scope, and outcome.
- Consultation & concept work: $300–$3,000
- Partial decorating / single rooms: $2,000–$6,000+
- Full-home decorating: $7,000–$20,000+
- Turn-key decorating: $10k+, depending on scope
Decorator Cost Ranges by Project Scope
Every decorating project is different, and so is every budget. A compact city apartment has very different needs to a full family home, and the size of the space, number of rooms, scope of services, and quality of the furnishings all shape the final figure.
We’re often asked what a “typical” project looks like at a given price point, so we’ve pulled examples from our own portfolio to show what’s possible. The case studies below reflect real EB Studio projects, each with its own brief, scope, and outcome.
Projects Under $25,000
This budget range suits smaller footprints: studios, compact one or two bedroom units, and short-stay style apartments where we’re styling a handful of spaces rather than a whole home. Clients at this level often come to us for a curated short-list of key pieces, furniture layout guidance, and a cohesive feel across the main living areas.
The Surry Hills Tiny Unit
This tiny but mighty Surry Hills pad is possibly the smallest project we’ve ever worked on, but gosh, it’s turned out beautifully. It’s a compact unit our client wanted to furnish and paint for short-stay use, whether that was an Airbnb listing or a cosy spot for friends and family visiting Sydney.
We’d worked with this client before, furnishing her family home when she relocated back to Sydney from New York. This time round the task was a little different: transform this teeny little pad into a short-stay space that felt elevated and inviting enough to stand out on Airbnb, while remaining practical and durable for guests.
The Outcome
We leaned into soft blush tones and earthy timber finishes to strike the perfect balance between comfort and character. The finished unit feels playful yet polished, with a cohesive colour palette that flows beautifully from room to room. Small in size, big on personality.
View the Surry Hills interior decorating project here.
The York Street Corporate Unit
A corporate short-stay unit in Sydney CBD that had fallen behind the times. The prime location was still drawing bookings, but the tired interior was letting the property down and capping what our client could charge per night.
We worked with our client to refresh the space on a tight budget. The goal was a cost-effective lift that would justify a higher nightly rate and protect the ongoing return on their investment.
The Outcome
A bright, contemporary unit that now books out more than 90% of the year. A great example of how a strategic decorating investment can pay for itself many times over in the short-stay market.
View the York Street corporate apartment project here.
Projects Under $50,000
This range is where many of our medium-scale decorating projects land. It typically covers a full apartment or a substantial part of a home, with room to layer in custom pieces, higher quality furniture, and richer finishes. There’s also more scope for styling details like artwork, lighting, and considered accessories.
The Barangaroo Terrace
A lounge room in the Barangaroo precinct, designed to feel like stepping inside a high-end watch showroom: quiet, tactile, and beautifully considered.
The concept was built around layered texture and a muted, sophisticated neutral palette. Our client wanted a space where craftsmanship did the talking, with every element contributing to an understated sense of luxury.
The Outcome
Plush upholstery, sleek stone finishes, and soft metallic accents blend seamlessly across the room. The custom sofa anchors the space, while sculptural furniture pieces layer in quiet interest. The result is polished, inviting, and exactly the refined atmosphere our client was after.
View the Barangaroo Terrace project here.
Projects Under $100,000
Projects in this range usually cover whole-of-home decorating, often alongside a renovation or a major move. Scope is broader, finishes are more considered, and we’re typically managing every aspect, from lighting and paint through to procurement, delivery, and final styling. The larger budget also allows for custom furniture, bespoke window treatments, and investment pieces designed to last decades.
Mosman Family Home
A beautiful home with a traditional Victorian frontage and a more modern, architectural back end. Our clients were relocating from South Australia and called us with an SOS: help set up their brand new family home so it would be ready to walk into four months later.
To create a family home that blended the old and the new, and to have it completely ready for move-in day. We wanted the finished result to feel unmistakably theirs, despite the fact we’d only ever seen a handful of inspiration images from our client before getting started.
The Outcome
We built the home around a bright, bold lollypop pink colour palette, inspired by the striking Kimmy Hogan artwork above the sofa. Contemporary finishes bridged the Victorian and modern sides of the architecture, tying the whole home together. Our clients moved in the day after we set up, walking straight into a fully styled, completely finished home.
What Our Client Said
“I don’t know what to say, I was absolutely blown away walking into the house! Everything was perfect, not a thing out of place. Every piece of furniture is so me and I LOVE everything. I still don’t understand how you managed to interpret my style from a few random pics. You made the whole ‘moving to a new state as a family of 6 knowing no one’ feel so much better and somewhat familiar.”
View the Mosman Family Home project here.
Paddington Terrace
A beautiful old terrace house tucked into the busy hub of Paddington, in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Our clients, a young family, fell for its timeless charm the moment they saw it and immediately pictured it as their forever home.
The brief was to preserve the character of the terrace while updating it for contemporary family life through soft furnishings and a considered decorating approach. The home’s original fireplaces needed to stay the hero of each room, with our layering supporting rather than competing with them.
The Outcome
We chose a soft grey as the backdrop across the home, with a neutral palette lifted by splashes of bold green. The result is a space that holds onto its heritage charm while feeling fresh, liveable, and completely ready for our clients to layer in their own memories as the family grows.
What Our Client Said
“Emma and the team did a great job helping us frame our vision for our new family home. They gave us invaluable choices and guidance that have really made our house perfect. They nailed the look and feel we wanted. Very, very happy.”
View the Paddington Terrace project here.
Ready to Talk About Your Project?
Whether you’re thinking about refreshing a single room or furnishing a whole home from scratch, the best place to start is a conversation. EB Studio’s initial consultations are $429, and you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of what’s possible, what it’ll cost, and how we’d approach your space.
Get in touch with our team to book your consultation, or explore our full range of decorating services to see which package suits your project.
You can also browse our full project portfolio to see what we’ve been working on across Sydney.
Our Final Word…
Hiring a decorator in Australia in 2026 doesn’t have to feel exclusive or intimidating. It’s a practical, collaborative process designed to support you, whether you need a fresh perspective, help pulling everything together, or a full turn-key solution.
From the first walk-through to sourcing and styling, a decorator helps you make confident decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and create a home that feels considered, comfortable, and unmistakably yours.
