Talking about budget without an awkward silence
Max Beuse, 3 October 2026, 3 minutes to read
Many designers find money the hardest part of the conversation. It gets easier when you ask about the budget early, offer a range, and name it yourself when the plan costs more.
Ask about the budget at the first meeting
Ask about money before you design. A concept without a budget is a guess: maybe too expensive, maybe too careful. Both cost you an extra round.
"What is your budget?" sounds to many clients like a test with a wrong answer. Ask instead for an amount the client wants to work with: "What amount would you like to plan for the living room?" Or ask for the upper limit: "Above what amount does it start to feel uncomfortable?" The second question often gives a more honest number.
Offer a range when the client does not know
Many clients have no idea what an interior costs. Help them with amounts from your own projects: "We usually furnish a living room like this for between €8,000 and €15,000. Where do you feel comfortable?" Then the client picks a place in a range and does not have to make up a number.
Use amounts you can back up, with an example from an earlier project. An amount you cannot explain comes back later in the conversation.
Show where the money goes
Put the agreed amount for each room in your presentation, and show the total of the products next to it. Then the client sees where the money goes: the sofa is a large part, and so are the lamps and textiles together.
Put the budget at the end, after all the rooms. Why this order works is in How to present a concept your client understands the first time. In Softmint you give each room a budget, and the budget slide adds up the prices of the products you chose.
Say it yourself when it costs more
If a room goes over budget, do not wait for the client to notice. Name the difference, say where it comes from, and offer a choice:
"The living room is €1,200 over budget. Most of that is the sofa. There is a sofa that looks a lot like it and costs €1,400 less. It is on the next slide."
After a sentence like that there is often a silence. Let it be. The client is doing the sums, or looking at their partner. Do not offer a discount or start explaining straight away. Wait until the client says something.
Whether you show the price of each product or only the total for each room is a separate choice. That is the topic of Showing prices in a concept: yes or no?
