How Much Does an Interior Designer Cost in Malaysia?

In this guide

Updated September 2026. Our rates as of September 2026.

Ask three interior designers in Malaysia what a project costs and you will get three different kinds of answer: a percentage of your budget, an hourly rate, a price per square foot, or an honest it depends, let's talk. None of them are wrong. They are different ways of pricing the same work, and each one comes with its own incentive. This guide puts real numbers on all of them, ours included.

How much does it cost to hire an interior designer in Malaysia?

At Sundays in Bed, hiring an interior designer costs a flat RM3,565 per room for full interior design, or RM1,715 per room for styling, agreed before we begin; published Malaysian guides put other designers' fees at RM3,000 to RM15,000 for design alone, or 8–15% of the project cost. An open-plan living and dining space is RM5,485 for design. A two-bedroom condo with an open-plan living-dining room, a closed kitchen and one bathroom comes to RM19,745 for full design, or RM16,180 if the kitchen is open to the living area. In a new condo the bathrooms usually come finished, so we count only the ones you want redone, at RM3,565 each. The published ranges disagree with each other, and that uncertainty is exactly what a fixed fee removes.

Our rates as of September 2026. Other firms' figures are theirs, read on 19 September 2026.

What is a normal budget for interior design in Malaysia?

A normal budget has two parts, the build and the design fee: two Sundays in Bed clients' condos in Kuala Lumpur came to about RM85,000 for a two-bedroom and RM145,000 for a three-bedroom, including furniture. The design fee is its own line: RM19,745 for a two-bedroom and RM23,310 for a three-bedroom, each with a closed kitchen and one bathroom. The design fee moves only with the number of rooms. The build moves with the finishes, the condition of the home and how much of it you keep. Both homes were new handovers, and in the three-bedroom the developer's kitchen was kept and extended rather than replaced.

Our clients' figures are what they spent on the build and furniture, rounded. Our design fee is not in them. Other firms' figures are theirs, read on 19 September 2026.

Why quotes differ so much

Interior designers in Malaysia usually charge in one of four ways, and each quietly rewards a different behaviour. It is worth knowing which before you sign anything. There is a fuller breakdown, with published rates for each model, in how interior designers charge in Malaysia.

If you have been quoted per square foot, we have set out what those rates cover in Malaysia. Our own fee doesn't follow floor area: a 100 sq ft bedroom and a 300 sq ft bedroom are both one room, at RM3,565.

What is included in an interior designer's fee?

At Sundays in Bed, the Interior Design fee of RM3,565 per room covers the discovery call, the design itself (concept, layout, materials and finishes), technical drawings, sourcing, buying, delivery and installation, and on-site project management through to move-in; the building works and the furniture are paid for separately. Styling and personalisation can be added at 50% off. Contractors and suppliers quote the works and the furniture and bill you directly, so the price on their quote is the price you pay.

Included at no extra charge

• A Klang Valley site visit is RM200, waived if you go ahead with us.
• Yard, utility and foyer spaces are designed free on any project that includes a bedroom and an open-plan space.
• Take Interior Design and any extra room that only needs restyling is 50% off the styling fee.
• Procurement Concierge (sourcing, ordering and delivery management) is included with Interior Design.

Rates as of September 2026.

What does interior design cost in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor?

In Kuala Lumpur and Selangor our design fee for a two-bedroom condo with a closed kitchen and one bathroom is RM19,745, and our estimator puts the build for a new-handover two-bedroom, furniture included, at RM91,000 to RM141,000 with high-street furniture and finishes, or RM172,000 to RM297,000 for a considered mid-range. The finish level moves the build. It never moves the design fee. Your real number comes from contractor quotes, and the estimator is where those quotes start.

Here is the design fee, room by room, for a two-bedroom condo with a living and dining area as one open-plan space, a closed kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom to redo. That is five chargeable spaces. If the kitchen opens onto the living area it becomes part of the open plan, and the total is RM16,180. A second bathroom, or a balcony you want designed, is one more room each.

The build is the half that actually moves. Sundays in Bed is a residential interior design and styling studio, not a design-and-build contractor. Where physical works are needed (painting, flooring, carpentry, wiring, plumbing), we gather and compare quotes from contractors across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and advise on how to split your budget between materials, carpentry and furniture.

From our own estimator, September 2026: a new-handover condominium with two bedrooms, an open-plan living-dining, a closed kitchen and two bathrooms, full scope of works with both bathrooms redone, loose furniture included. It prices the media console, not the television, and includes no fridge, washer or dryer. The design fee is not in these figures. Brands are named as examples of where each level typically shops; we have no commercial relationship with any of them.

Is it worth paying for an interior designer?

An interior designer is worth paying for when the decisions they make save more than the fee, and at Sundays in Bed that fee is fixed before we begin (RM19,745 for a two-bedroom condo with a closed kitchen and one bathroom), so you can weigh one known number against the cost of a layout, a kitchen or a wardrobe done twice. A designer earns the fee in the mistakes you don't make: furniture that fits through the lift and past the columns, lighting points planned around where the sofa will actually sit, and pieces bought once instead of twice. If you already know exactly what you want and have time to manage a build, going straight to a contractor can be the right call.

Common questions

Get a price for your home

The fastest route is the two-minute style quiz. It asks about your rooms and sends an estimate of the design fee and the build to your inbox. If you already know your room count, the cost calculator shows the design fee on its own in seconds. And if you would rather talk it through first, a discovery call is free and there is no obligation attached to it.

Where to see this in practice

If you are working out a budget for your own home rather than just reading about one, here is where the numbers above come from:

• Wei Shern's bedroom: one of the two client homes in the budget table, about RM85,000 including furniture
• Pricing: the rate card, room by room, that every worked total in this guide is built from
• Interior Design: what the RM3,565-per-room fee covers, from the first call to move-in

Both client homes in this piece are at Regent Suites, in Damansara Heights.

Regent Suites Interior design in Damansara Heights

Notes & further reading

This piece reflects ongoing work across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. For a condo specifically, see what a condo costs to design and renovate.

About Angelica Lee

Chief Home Maker and founder of Sundays in Bed, award-winning interior designer. Learn more about Angelica →