FF&E in Interior Design [Meaning & Role of Furniture, Fixtures, & Equipment] — Scaled Up Studio | Website & Marketing Templates for Interior Designers & Architects (2024)

Ever come across the term “FF&E” and wondered what does FF&E mean? FF&E is an acronym for furniture, fixtures, and equipment. You might also see it abbreviated as FF&E or FFE. It’s definition is furniture, fixtures, or equipment that is moveable, e.g. does not have permanent attachment to a building.

FF&E is a standard component of commercial interior design, but the lesser used FF&A (Furniture, Fixtures, & Accessories) is applicable to residential interior design.

In this post we’ll take a look at the role of an FF&E interior designer, how FF&E is valued from a business and tax perspective, and how applying an “FF&E mindset” can improve any interior design project.

FF&E Meaning in Interior Design

FF&E can cover a range of items including but not limited to furniture, window treatments, lighting, carpets, partitions, case goods, mirrors and artwork, textiles, containerized plants, computers, and electronic equipment. Anything that isn’t nailed down, so to speak.

One description is to picture turning a building upside down and whatever doesn’t stay put is called FF&E.

However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. Often FF&E interior designers end up handling a lot more than what is “nailed down”. Built-in furniture, partitions, fixtures, plumbed but free-standing appliances, wood cladding, electrical sockets and wired light fittings, and much more can all fall under the umbrella of FF&E and is the responsibility of the FF&E interior designer.

Finishes are the extra “F” that isn’t included in the acronym but often falls under the responsibility of FF&E interior design.

A general job description for an FF&E interior designer might read as the sourcing, production, and documentation of FF&E and interior finishes aspects of interior design projects. This would include documentation for furniture plans, furnishing drawings, elevations, specifications, samples, details, etc.

FF&E in the Interior Design Process

If FF&E is described as the furniture and moveable parts of a commercial space, one might think FF&E might not factor into the design discussion until near the end once the details are nailed down, but actually the opposite is true.

FF&E should be part of early Conceptual (Schematic) Design phase. It is necessary to have a preliminary schedule of proposed finishes, furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the preliminary Estimate of Probable Cost to help track the budget early on.

During Design Development, the FF&E elements are further refined by the interior designer into preliminary layouts and FF&E Specifications, including quantities.

The FF&E will include layouts, elevations, details, samples, specifications, and quantities which are incorporated into the final Construction Documents, which the Client will use to solicit bids.

FF & E Procurement

FF&E procurement or purchasing refers to corporations hiring interior designers, architects, or general contractors to specify, source, purchase, and furnish their offices or other business spaces during construction/installation phases.

FF&E: the Role of Furniture, Fixtures, & Equipment for Accounting & Tax Purposes

To connect the dots beyond the interior design process, I’ll touch on the implications of FF&E for business taxes and valuation. In business terms, FF&E is the movable property companies use in daily operations (regardless of the scope of the FF&E designer).

Accountants refer to FF&E as tangible assets lasting longer than a year used by a business for normal daily operations. They assign value to FF&E on a company's balance sheet and use it for tax purposes.

Accountants spread the acquisition costs of FF&E items over time by depreciating their values over the “lifetime” of the objects. How do they determine the useful lifetime of say, an office chair? The IRS has assigned timelines to FF&E as well as other equipment including real estate itself. Office equipment for example, is assigned a useful life of 7 years.

If you’re a self-employed interior designer or architect, you’re likely familiar with this concept already since the IRS allow you to depreciate business-related equipment along with other deductions allowed for self employment such as office square footage from your income, within their allotted parameters.

So if you’re interested in taking on commercial interior design work, it’s key to understand that a savvy commercial client will be evaluating the value of a project’s FF&E, and by extension, the value of your role in designing and procuring the FF&E.

In turn, a savvy interior designer would emphasize the value-add of well executed FF&E strategy in her design presentation to the real estate developer/corporate client.

Apply An FF&E Mindset To Any Interior Design Project

So now that we have an idea of at what working on a commercial interior design project with a dedicated FF&E designer and budget might involve, I think a takeaway here is to apply the FF&E mindset to any interior design project. ( Remember the FF&A - Furniture, Fixtures, & Accessories mentioned in the beginning?)

If you’re working on a smaller residential project, thinking in terms of FF&E in the early Conceptual Design stages and refining as you go will strengthen your design work and improve the accuracy of your Estimates of Probable Costs.

This will improve your authority with Clients, which is a net positive for growing your interior design business.

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