SUEDE

Turn your taste into a design business.

Stop recommending furniture and decor for free and start getting paid with Suede, the easiest way for aspiring interior designers to build a business.

Source from 100+ trade programs, including CB2, Design Within Reach, RH and Lulu & Georgia.

Warm bedroom with white bedding, terracotta pillows, and a rattan nightstand

Source from the brands your clients already want.

100+ trade programs, including:

  • CB2
  • Crate & Barrel
  • West Elm
  • Design Within Reach
  • Lulu & Georgia
  • Anthropologie
  • RH
  • Serena & Lily
  • Herman Miller
  • Arhaus
  • Soho Home
  • Jenni Kayne
  • Parachute
  • 1stDibs
  • Nordic Knots
  • House of Leon
  • Sabai
  • Sundays

100+ trade brands — and growing.

All brand names are trademarks of their respective owners. Availability through Suede's sourcing network does not imply endorsement or partnership.

Who it's for

Creators with an audience

You already share your taste. Turn followers into clients.

Junior & emerging designers

Build a real practice without the upfront capital or operational complexity traditionally required.

Real estate & home-adjacent professionals

You already have a trusted client network and design perspective, so turn it into a design business.

Established design studios

Offer a lower-price-point service at scale, without adding operational overhead or diluting your studio.

The design friend

You're already the friend everyone texts for design advice. Stop making recommendations for free.

What Suede handles

Trade access, invoicing, and procurement

Trade-level sourcing on 100+ brands, handled by Suede. Suede helps you generate invoices, places client orders for you, and you get paid. Avoid thinking about sales-tax collection or back office bookkeeping.

Marketing and self-promotion tools

Suede gives you a personalized branded website and shop, CRM, and tools to automate marketing and social content to help you find clients in your network. All client presentations are customized to your brand.

Unified product sourcing

Complete projects faster with our unified sourcing platform. Sophisticated AI search across products in our trade and affiliate networks to tie back to your projects.

Community and training

Suede connects you with other designers in our community and provides comprehensive training to help boost earnings. Meet local designers and learn from our highest earners.

Yellow ranunculus on a black iron side table beside an olive velvet bench

Example earnings

  • Full living room refresh

    Friend's first apartment

    + $4,280
  • Primary bedroom redesign

    Sister's new home

    + $1,950
  • Nursery

    Friend of a friend

    + $2,600
  • Room styling

    Neighbor's dining room

    + $500
  • Sofa recommendation

    Coworker's apartment

    + $700

Earn on the design you already do.

Collect service fees and earn a share of every project's furniture and decor budget. Getting started can be as easy as picking a sofa or decorating a room for someone you already know.

You select the products; we handle invoicing, payment, and payout to your bank.

How it works
01

Get on the list

Tell us about your work and the clients you serve.

02

Get set up

We onboard you with trade access and your client-facing website, and stay hands-on through your first project.

03

Join the community

Connect with other designers on the platform and access training and resources.

04

Curate & earn

Share curated designs, your client approves them, and Suede handles purchasing, delivery, and your payout.

Questions, answered

How does the commission split work?

Simple: 70/30. You keep 70% of the commission on every project; Suede's 30% covers sourcing across 100+ trade programs, invoicing, sales-tax handling, order placement and tracking, and payouts to your bank. You keep 100% of design fees invoiced through the platform. Standard payment-processing fees are deducted at cost.

Do I keep the full margin, or can I share it with my client?

Your call, on every project. The margin is yours — keep all of it, or pass part of it back to your client as a lower price to win the work. Many designers keep the majority and share some as an incentive. Suede shows you the math either way, before you send the invoice.

What does membership cost, and what's included?

$299 per year, or $99 per quarter. That includes your trade access across 100+ programs, your branded website and client storefront, invoicing and payments, sourcing tools, training, and the designer community. Most designers earn it back on their first project — the margin on a single sofa can cover it.

Where does the money actually come from?

Two ways. On the 100+ brands with trade programs, Suede sources at trade pricing — typically around 20% below retail — and that margin is where your earnings come from. On other brands, Suede earns an affiliate commission on the sale and passes your share through. Suede handles sourcing, invoicing, and your payout on both.

How much can I earn?

It depends on how many projects you take and their size — there are no quotas and no minimums. Trade margins average around 20% across the brands Suede works with, so on a $5,000 room the margin is around $1,000 — and you keep 70% of that. Our designers can charge custom upfront fees on projects as well.

When and how do I get paid?

Your client pays through Suede's hosted checkout, and your earnings are scheduled for payout to your bank on a predictable timeline — no chasing invoices, no floating orders on your own card.

Do I need to register a business?

No. You join as an independent contractor under Suede, so there's no LLC, no sales-tax registrations, and no bookkeeping. We generate client invoices, collect and remit sales tax, and send your payouts.

Do I need formal design training?

No. You bring the taste and the relationships; Suede provides the trade access, tools, training, and community. Many of our designers started by furnishing a room for someone they knew.

How do I find clients?

Most designers start with people who already ask them for recommendations — friends, followers, clients from their day job. Suede gives you a branded website, shareable service listings, marketing templates, and training on turning your network into your first book of business.

What does getting set up look like?

White-glove. We onboard you personally — trade access, your branded website, and hands-on help through your first project. You're never dropped into software alone.

Is this my brand or Suede's?

Yours. Your website, your storefront, and every client presentation carry your name and brand. Suede is the back office behind you — not a marketplace that owns your clients.

How much time does this take?

It's yours to size — no required hours, no quotas. A single sofa recommendation can be an hour; a room refresh a few evenings. Suede handles the operational work that would otherwise make small projects not worth taking.

Start earning from your taste.

Source from 100+ trade programs, including CB2, Design Within Reach, RH and Lulu & Georgia.