Interior design FAQ: costs, process, and timelines.

One team handles everything — user and brand research, design, cost engineering, procurement, construction, furniture, accessories, finishing, and handover. You don't coordinate between five vendors. You hire us, and we own the full result.

We don't quote a generic price per square meter — because two 600 m² projects can have completely different scopes and complexity. A number without context is misleading, and we'd rather be honest about that.

Instead, during makan Blueprint™ we conceptualize your project, define the scope, and build a real cost plan from a real bill of quantities — in 2–3 weeks. Design and cost are engineered simultaneously, so the number you see is the number you pay.

In the conventional model, you hire a designer, bid out to contractors, hire an FF&E supplier, and coordinate between all three yourself. Design degrades at every handoff. Costs escalate because no one engineered them alongside the design. And when something goes wrong, no one is fully accountable.

In our model, one team researches, designs, prices, builds, furnishes, and finishes. No handoff. No bidding. No coordination burden on you. The design survives construction because the same people are responsible for both.

Projects where the space needs to mean something — not just walls and finishes, but a brand expressed, a culture supported, or an experience worth remembering. Corporate headquarters, hospitality spaces, and signature residences where the ambition matches the investment.

You pay less in total — because coordination delays, change orders from misalignment, and the hidden cost of managing vendors for months all disappear. You take on less risk — because our gated process locks scope before construction, eliminating the single largest source of overruns. And you get your time back — you approve at clear gates, we handle everything between them.

We work on projects starting from 500 m² of interior space. Our methodology is built for projects where the integration of strategy, design, and construction creates real value — typically corporate headquarters, hospitality, and signature residences.

We're based in the Eastern Province and operate across the Eastern Province and Riyadh. For exceptional projects in other Saudi cities, we evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

Before you sign a lease, talk to us. We help you calculate the right space size based on your team structure, growth plan, and operational needs. Starting the conversation before you commit to a space saves months and avoids costly retrofitting later. If you already have a space, we begin with makan Blueprint™.

Separate firms means you become the coordinator — managing timelines, resolving conflicts between design intent and construction reality, and absorbing every miscommunication. One integrated team means the people who design it are the people who build it. No translation loss, no finger-pointing, one team accountable for the result.

As early as possible. The earlier we're involved, the more value we create — from advising on space selection to aligning design with budget from day one. That said, we start from wherever you are. Pre-lease, post-lease, or shell-ready.

Not at all. We assess your existing drawings during the makan Blueprint™ phase and build from there. We don't discard work that's been done — we evaluate it, identify gaps, and move forward efficiently.

Whatever you have — brand guidelines, floor plans, inspirational pictures, a brief, or just a conversation about what you need. Some of our best projects started with a client who said "we know what we don't want, but we're not sure what we do want." That's enough.

This is one of our core strengths. We translate global brand standards into physical spaces that work within the Saudi construction ecosystem — local materials, supplier networks, regulations, and cultural context. Your brand stays intact. The execution adapts to local reality.

makan Blueprint™ is our signature pre-project clarity package. In 2–3 weeks, your project is conceptualized, scoped, and priced — before you commit to anything. You walk away with a space assessment, layout options, a design concept aligned to your brand, and a real budget snapshot. It's yours regardless of what you decide next. If you proceed with us, it's credited in full.

No. A generic rate per square meter tells you nothing — because two 600 m² projects can look completely different in scope, materials, and complexity. We price based on a real bill of quantities built from a real design. You see exactly what's included and exactly what it costs.

Because minor differences in specification, material grade, and detailing create huge differences in cost. A door handle can cost SAR 50 or SAR 500. A ceiling detail can be standard gypsum or custom fabrication. Most firms don't help you understand where those differences live. We do — we engineer the cost alongside the design so you see exactly where your money goes.

We request a down payment to begin, and after that all payments are progress-based — tied to the value delivered at each completed stage. You pay as the project advances, and every payment corresponds to real, approved work.

Design. The design phase is where every downstream cost is determined — materials, spatial efficiency, construction complexity. A well-engineered design saves more during construction than any amount of value-engineering after the fact. We guide you on where premium investment creates visible impact and where smart specification delivers the same result at a lower cost.

Yes. Turnkey means turnkey. Our scope covers everything from construction through furniture, lighting, artwork, accessories, and finishing details. You walk into a completed space — not a shell that still needs furnishing.

makan Blueprint™ pricing is scoped on the discovery call based on your project's size and complexity. It typically represents a small fraction of the total project investment. If you proceed to a full engagement, the makan Blueprint™ fee is credited in full — you don't pay twice.

While the design team develops concepts and selects materials, our cost team builds a bill of quantities in parallel. Every design decision has a price tag attached to it in real time — not three months later. When you see a design direction, you see what it costs. If something needs to shift, we adjust together before anything is committed.

That's exactly what our Discover and Concept stages are for. We research your brand, your audience, how your people work, and what your space needs to communicate. From that research, we develop 2-3 design directions — each grounded in your reality, not our taste.

We don't need you to arrive with answers. We need you to arrive with honesty. Our process is built to extract the brief from inside your organization — through research, conversations, and structured discovery. Most clients don't know what they want until they see it.

We start with brand research — not material selection. We study your brand DNA, your values, your audience, and the experience you want people to have. Then we translate those findings into spatial decisions: materials, colors, flow, lighting, signage, and atmosphere.

This is normal and we're built for it. We present 2-3 concept directions, each backed by research and rationale — not personal preference. Stakeholder alignment is a formal step in our Define stage.

Absolutely. Some of our strongest work blends contemporary design with cultural and regional identity. The key is doing it with intent — not as decoration, but as meaning embedded in the design.

Typically 2-3 distinct concept directions. You choose. We refine. One direction moves forward with full commitment.

3D renders are a decision-making tool — they show you exactly what the space will feel like before construction begins. But here's something most firms won't tell you: when one team designs and builds, the final space looks better than the render. The render is the minimum promise, not the ceiling.

Through UX research. Before we design, we map how each user group moves through the space, what they need, and what experience serves them best. An executive's private office, a collaborative team zone, and a visitor reception area have different demands — and the design responds to each.

Because we research how your people actually work before we design. Spatial flow, acoustics, lighting, ergonomics, storage, technology integration — all driven by user research, not aesthetic preference. A beautiful space that doesn't work is a failure. We design for both.

We revisit. Every stage ends with a client approval gate — nothing moves forward without your sign-off. If a direction doesn't feel right, we explore why, adjust, and present alternatives.

Everything. UX is about understanding how people experience a space — how they move, where they pause, what they feel, what frustrates them. Most interior firms start with materials. We start with people. That's why our spaces perform, not just look good.

Yes. Wayfinding, signage, and environmental graphics are part of the total experience — not a separate vendor conversation. We design them as part of the interior system, ensuring consistency with the brand and the spatial flow.

It depends on the scope, but our design build timeline is typically shorter than the conventional approach — design, procurement, and fit out overlap, and there are no handoff delays. We establish a realistic timeline during the makan Blueprint™ phase.

In the conventional model, design finishes, then bidding starts, then construction starts. Each phase waits for the previous one. In our model, stages overlap — procurement begins while design is being finalized, and our construction team is involved from the concept stage.

Discover — we study your brand, people, and business. Concept — we develop the creative vision. Define — we build a real cost plan from a real BOQ. Design — every detail resolved, every material specified. Build — we procure, construct, and finish. Elevate — post-occupancy review, photography, and impact assessment. See the six stages in detail.

A gate is a formal approval point at the end of each stage. We present the deliverables, walk you through the decisions, and you sign off before we move forward. Your role is to approve direction, not to manage details.

During design stages, we update at key milestones. During construction, you receive weekly site reports with photos and progress summaries. You always know where the project stands.

A senior project lead who stays with your project from first meeting to final handover. Not a junior coordinator. Not a rotating team. One person who knows every decision that's been made and why.

Our construction team is involved from the Concept stage — they input on buildability, material availability, and sequencing before design is finalized. Some early site activities can begin during the design development stage. For aggressive timelines, we can also start procurement during design if key items are locked. By the time full construction starts, there are no surprises.

At the Define stage, you see a cost plan at ±10-20% accuracy. At the end of the Design stage, the precise BOQ is locked. After that, the budget changes only if you request a scope change — and every change is documented and approved before it's executed.

It depends on size, scope, and how many items are custom-made. Because procurement starts during design in our model, fit out on site moves faster than in a conventional project. We give you a realistic fit-out schedule during makan Blueprint™, and it's tracked weekly once construction begins.

A combination of our in-house team and vetted specialist subcontractors depending on the scope. The difference: we select, manage, and supervise every subcontractor. You deal with one team — us. The accountability is ours.

The same team that designed your space supervises the build. There's no handoff to a contractor interpreting drawings they didn't create. Our designers are on site, reviewing finishes, checking details, and making decisions in real time.

We accommodate changes through a formal process — you request it, we assess the impact on scope, cost, and timeline, and present you with clear options. Nothing changes without your approval.

They happen. When they do, we assess, propose solutions, and present options with cost and timeline impact — before proceeding. You're never surprised by a bill after the fact.

Yes. That's the entire point of our model. The designer who understands your brand intent and the decisions behind every material choice is the same person reviewing the work on site.

Through a centralized procurement schedule managed by our project team. Every material, lead time, and delivery date is tracked. When something slips, we catch it early and adjust before it cascades.

Yes. That's what turnkey means. Furniture, lighting, artwork, rugs, accessories, plants — everything you see and touch when you walk into the finished space. You walk into a completed experience.

Absolutely. We can fully manage a project remotely. You receive regular updates, visual progress reports, and virtual walkthroughs at every stage. You approve at gates. We handle everything on the ground — your physical presence is welcomed but never required.

Of course. Having your FM or PM involved helps with operational requirements, IT infrastructure, and post-handover continuity. We integrate them into our communication flow so they have visibility without creating a parallel management layer.

Founded in 2020, built on over 20 years of hands-on experience in branding, UX, and multiple design disciplines. makan.design was created as a fully integrated turnkey interior experiences firm — one of the few in Saudi Arabia that owns the full process from research to handover.

Corporate spaces and specialized commercial spaces — with deep expertise across hospitality, signature residences, education, retail, and F&B. Our research-first, brand-driven approach applies whether the space is a hotel lobby or a CEO's office.

Yes. We're happy to connect you with previous clients who can speak to the experience of working with us. We'll match you with a reference in a similar sector or project type.

Most design-build firms are contractors who added a design department. We're the opposite — a design-led firm with deep branding and UX expertise that built a full construction capability. The design intelligence came first. The build capability serves it.

Yes. Our methodology is designed for consistency and scalability across multiple locations.

Yes. We bridge global brand standards and Saudi construction reality — local materials, supplier networks, regulations, and cultural context. We help organizations translate their international identity into spaces that work here.

Amal Albasheeri — CEO & Creative Director. An interior architect with over 20 years of deep experience across multidisciplinary design fields: branding, user experience, digital products, and UX research. A certified usability analyst with two decades in the B2B sector, she influences every project — ensuring the thinking behind the brand carries through to the last detail.

Through continuous research, supplier relationships, international trade shows, and an active network across the GCC construction industry. We test new materials and methods on real projects — not in theory.