Interior designers are accustomed to change. Whether it’s value engineering to meet a shifting budget and a client’s evolving vision, or navigating disruptions at a global scale, the ability to manage ongoing adjustments and unexpected challenges isn’t just a helpful skill—it’s essential to staying in business, and the hallmark of a superlative design professional.
And now, the design industry is facing an unprecedented challenge: the dramatic and byzantine introduction of import tariffs. For the most part, tariffs have remained static for decades with slight adjustments here and there. In one way or another, designers, like every other industry, have been dealing with tariffs from the first time they brought an item from somewhere else in the world into the United States. The issue presently is the unpredictable impositions, revocation, and possible re-imposition of tariffs which are both highly variable, and difficult to calculate. Some designers will feel the shock immediately as they import goods purchased abroad for clients often, and others will feel the shock when their domestic suppliers, who are reliant on the global supply chain, begin raising prices.
How will interior design tariffs impact the trade?
As part of the current administration’s trade policies, certain imported goods, as well as all goods from certain countries, are levied a tax (known more specifically as a tariff), which is to be paid by the importer of that good once the shipment arrives in the country. The near-term concern for our industry lies in goods approaching completion or currently in-transit becoming subject to tariffs exceeding 50% of their declared value. The long-term concern lies with a permanent increase in cost in our supply chain.
What should designers do?
1. Start with your contract
Our point of view is that designers need to craft a solution to this issue, not just a response. As we have said many times in the past, the designer’s tool for crafting solutions to their businesses is their contract.
The most common question we’re hearing from clients is whether their contracts clearly state that their design clients are responsible for tariffs and duties. In our firm’s agreements, the protection is standard, but that may not be the case across the industry. If, upon reviewing your contracts, you realize the language is vague or missing altogether, we strongly recommend consulting with legal counsel before raising the issue with a client. Asking to revise a contract mid-project to shift additional costs onto the client could not only raise concerns but also signal that such a provision was never in place to begin with—and the client would have no obligation to agree to the change.
For those who discover their contracts don’t explicitly assign tariff costs to the client, there are still proactive steps you can take. First, consider pausing any pending orders or production affected by tariff increases until you’ve had a clear and documented conversation with your client. Where appropriate, obtain written confirmation from the client such as an email acknowledgement or executed project-based addendum on the specific tariff-related expenses as they are identified.
2. Check in with your client
During times of economic uncertainty, some clients may be feeling the effects while others may be completely oblivious to them. As designers, we recommend you communicate proactively with the clients during these periods of turbulence to manage sentiment and keep them excited about the ongoing projects. A check-in is always better than a long silence.