Techniques for Estimating Materials, Costs, and Time for Interior Designers

Surprisingly this book was not required for either my interior design undergrad or masters courses, but it should have been. I read it cover to cover! The out-of-date image belies the excellent quality of the information. I hope I can get it on my kindle so I can carry the info with me for design meetings to calculate quickly yardages for price estimates. The book provides a great collection of forms for easily figuring yardages and prices! It offers concrete "decorating" info that is often neglected in big design schools, like figuring drapery fullness. This is more than a book; it is a design tool!

Excellent shape

This is a traditional textbook for interior design curriculum, but is also helpful as a reference in the profession. It does have lots of examples, numbers (which are out of date because of inflation) and some graphics. I would say it is a great book for any beginner or professional.

Got it for my NCIDQ exams. It was a fun reading and plenty if useful information for interior designers and architects. We’ll see if any of this will actually be on the exams, but it’s worth reading it regardless. I’ll enjoy having it in my little library.

A very good read to help with your estimating on projects. I bought to help study for my interior design licensing tests and i highly recommend this book.

I bought this book to help prepare for a professional exam which includes drapery and wallcovering calculations. I doubt it will be of any use to me after that. If the book explained how to put together a preliminary budget based on square footage, it would be useful. Instead, it explains how to calculate yardage requirements for various softgood interior finishes like carpet and drapery. These aren't really estimates--they are concrete calculations. And they require substantial knowledge of the job conditions--precise window measurements and design such as drapery fullness and pleat type. In other words, this book might be helpful if you were an interior decorator working on a retail basis and need to know how much yardage to buy and send to the workshop to fabricate a client's draperies. It is not helpful if you are a project manager or interior designer needing to put together a preliminary budget for a client based on an initial interview and square footage. It doesn't include estimating for drywall, ceilings, light fixtures, etc. I've also noticed some typos in the math calculations. Overall, I think the title is misleading.

This is a must for any Interior Designer or Interior Design student. The images are a little outdated but the contents of this book are great.

A fine book especially for beginning interior designers -- my students are benefiting from their purchase of this book as well !