The initial advance payment
The opening of the engagement carries an advance of 35%. The first weeks absorb a substantial share of the overall effort, between analysis, framing, vision and a layout already oriented towards execution, and the advance gives this phase the depth it needs without exposing the studio in an unbalanced way. The amount is set out in the proposal, together with the extent of the services. If substantial reservations surface at the moment of starting, we prefer to postpone the start rather than open the work on uncertain ground. Contractual deadlines are tied to actual receipt, and a late payment shifts the delivery calendar by the same measure, following the variables that govern timescales.
Intermediate payments and work stages
Intermediate payments follow verifiable stages of progress, which in a complete renovation normally coincide with the project’s major reviews, from the final layout to decoration and styling, from lighting to the principal quotations and the key choices. At the start we trace a shared timeline, where each stage corresponds to a concluded stretch of the project and its financial recognition. More than the list of drawings, what counts is the position along the path, so the client always knows where we are and what is already consolidated. Stages and amounts settled in advance leave both parties free to plan their flows with ease.
The final balance
The final balance is tied to the substantial conclusion of the work, when the site closes and the house is ready to live in. To rigid protocols we prefer judgement, because a home is never handed over finished in an absolute sense and there is always a margin of personalisation that belongs to the client, made of objects, books and details that will arrive with time. We hand over a resolved space, coherent in every detail and fully working, and the balance recognises the work done. The conversation, at this stage, concerns what has been built and the final adjustments, without the review of every detail becoming a lever to postpone closure.
Balance and mutual protection
The payment structure protects client and studio in equal measure. The contract sets the rules for the studio’s delays, with penalties if deliveries slip beyond the agreed margins, for the client’s delays, with protections if payments fail to arrive, and for early withdrawal, which governs the exit when a project stops before the end. Starting a project and seeing it stop has a cost, financial and reputational, and this too is written into the contract, in the spirit of our transparency policy. A clear and respected structure lets the work proceed at an even pace.
Pauses, slowdowns and changes of pace
Slowing down or pausing is possible through a formal agreement, under which completed phases are settled, the following stages are frozen and deadlines are rescheduled on restart. The same discipline applies to changes of direction, because each phase allows for a defined number of revisions, beyond which extra work is agreed and recognised. The project thus avoids the grey zone in which no one knows any longer what was asked and what was done, and flexibility holds, within clear boundaries.
Extras, variations and work beyond the brief
Variations that step outside what was agreed at the start become dedicated extras, with separate documents and invoicing, because absorbing them silently into the intermediate payments would only create confusion. The contract defines the cases, from substantial changes of course to extensions of the brief, from new rooms or new functions to work beyond the scale of the original project. The figures are updated openly, in a conversation to be had at once, in a practical tone.
Managing early exit
If the client decides to stop before the end, for personal, financial or other reasons, rules defined at the outset apply. The work done is recognised financially, early withdrawal carries a penalty, and the design materials remain protected by copyright, with no continuation through other professionals or independently. Stopping is possible, provided terms and consequences were established before beginning.
Who this payment structure works for
This structure works with those who treat financial planning as part of the project, on a par with the spatial kind, and regard deadlines as mutual commitments. From it come predictability for the client, continuity for the studio and clear terms for the suppliers who enter the project.
Payments and design freedom
Clarity about payments is a condition of work done well. Knowing when and how the work will be recognised frees attention for the project, and punctual instalments preserve that condition for as long as the engagement lasts.
