Interior Designer or Direct Contractor?

Most comparison articles on this topic are written by one side or the other, so they tell you what you want to hear. We’re in an unusual position to answer this properly: we run More Than Wood, a direct carpentry and renovation contractor, and we also run Interior Diary, a full-service interior design firm. We see both sides of this decision every week, and the honest answer is that neither is universally better. It depends on what you’re starting with and how much time you have to manage the process yourself.

This page sets out the real difference in scope, cost, and risk, so you can decide which one actually fits your project, not which one we’d rather sell you.

The Scope Comparison

Here’s what each option actually includes, side by side.

• You can’t visualise a finished space from a floor plan and need to see renders before committing
• You want a cohesive design language across every room, not just individual pieces
• You don’t have time to coordinate electricians, tilers, painters, and carpenters yourself
• Your layout needs structural changes (hacking, reconfiguring rooms) that benefit from a designer’s space planning
• You’re willing to pay a design fee on top of build cost for that coordination and creative direction

• You already know roughly what you want — Pinterest boards, reference photos, a clear idea of layout
• Your renovation is mostly carpentry and finishes, without major structural changes
• You’re comfortable being the one making day-to-day decisions and coordinating (or overseeing someone who does)
• You’d rather put the design fee toward materials, better hardware, or a bigger scope
• You want to deal directly with the person building your furniture, not through a layer of account management

Design fees in Singapore typically run from a few thousand dollars for a light-touch consultation to five figures for full-service design on a larger home, on top of build cost. That fee pays for space planning, 3D renders, material curation, and project coordination, real work, but work you may not need if you already know what you want.

A direct contractor quote reflects build cost only. For a similar scope of work, this is usually the cheaper route on paper. The trade-off is that you (or someone you appoint) take on the coordination that a design fee would otherwise have paid for.

This is the question most comparison articles skip. With an interior designer, the firm is accountable for how the finished space looks and functions, because they designed it. If a subcontractor they hired does poor work, that’s the ID’s problem to fix.

With a direct contractor, you’re closer to the work, which means more visibility but also more responsibility. For the scope a contractor performs directly (like MTW’s in-house carpentry), the contractor carries the build risk. For anything you coordinate yourself outside that scope, the risk sits with whoever you hired for that piece — which is worth knowing before you start.

• If you need to see it before you believe it — lean interior designer
• If you already know what you want and just need it built well — lean direct contractor
• If your renovation is mostly built-in furniture with minor other works — lean direct contractor
• If you’re short on time to manage multiple trades yourself — lean interior designer
• If you’re not sure — message us either way. We’ll tell you honestly which route fits, even if it’s not us.

Neither option is wrong. The mistake is picking one before you know what you actually need. If your project is mostly carpentry and finishes and you’re comfortable being hands-on, a direct contractor will likely save you money for the same result. If you need help visualising the space or don’t have time to manage the process, a design fee is buying you something real.

We can point you to the right one, even if that means sending you to our design team instead.