Raleigh, North Carolina
About Couture Haus.
One point of view, applied to no two houses the same way.
Couture Haus is a full-service luxury interior design studio. We’re here start to finish and beyond.
The Founder
Sandra Moncada Mainz.
Sandra founded the studio on one principle: architecture, interiors and furnishings are not separate decisions. They are one story, told in a single voice.
Her perspective was built long before her career began. Raised across several countries and fluent in as many languages, she draws on a world of references that resolve into one point of view — not a single signature look, but a fluency across many.
Her path to design was anything but conventional, and it is the reason clients hire her.
Architecture, interiors and furnishings are one story, told in a single voice.
Sandra Moncada Mainz, Founder
Awards
The Background
01
Industrial Engineering
Structure, tolerance, and how a building stage actually works.
02
MBA
What a space has to earn, and what a budget really means.
03
Marketing Executive
Years spent learning how people decide, and what they respond to.
04
Interior Design
Formal training, taken up last — on purpose.
05
Recognition
Named one of Raleigh’s top interior designers, 2023.
What You Can Expect
One point of contact
Sandra leads every project. You are not introduced to a principal and then handed to someone else once the work begins.
One schedule
The studio holds the architect, the builder, the trades and the vendors to a single timeline. You are not the one relaying messages between them.
One standard
A powder room receives the same process, the same drawings and the same attention as a full house. There is no shorter version.
“Sandra’s keen eye for style and great taste helped create the perfect home for our family. She worked with our budget in a timely manner and managed to infuse her style to our vision to make our dream a reality.
We are very happy with the results. It was a joy working with Sandra. We highly recommend her.”
K.O
Point of View
Refined. Eclectic. Global.
Sandra draws on the craftsmanship of French design, the precision of Austrian engineering, the colour of her native Colombia and the structural discipline of Europe at large. These influences do not compete in her work — they resolve into one perspective, which is why no two Couture Haus houses look alike.
Listen | Imagine | Vision | Source | Install
Questions
Before you hire anyone.
What does an interior designer actually do?
An interior designer plans how a space works before deciding how it looks: layouts and proportions, lighting and electrical, millwork, finishes and furnishings. On construction projects that extends to elevations, millwork drawings, finish and fixture schedules that contractors build from. A full-service studio also handles procurement, delivery inspection and installation — so the design is executed, not only drawn.
How much do interior designers charge?
Interior designers typically charge a flat design fee, an hourly rate, or a combination of both. We scope design hours against your actual project and present a fixed proposal before work begins, so the fee is known in advance rather than accruing. There is no rate per square foot, because two houses of identical size rarely require the same number of decisions.
What should I ask an interior designer before hiring one?
Ask who will actually run your project day to day. Ask whether they produce construction-level drawings or concept boards only. Ask whether they handle procurement, delivery inspection and installation, or hand that back to you. Ask how they charge and what triggers additional fees. And ask to see a project of similar scope — not simply a portfolio of best images.
How do I choose the right interior designer?
Look for a point of view rather than a single repeated style. A studio whose projects look visibly different from one another is designing for its clients rather than for its own portfolio. Confirm they can work with your architect and builder at a technical level. And weigh how the process is run as heavily as the images — on a project lasting months, the process is most of the experience.
Is hiring an interior designer worth it?
On a small single-room refresh, the dividends pay out in your daily life. On anything involving construction, multiple rooms or custom millwork, the decisions compound and the cost of making them in the wrong order usually exceeds the design fee. The clearest value is on new construction, renovation or large scale projects, where a decision made on paper costs a conversation and the same decision made after framing costs a change order.
What happens in an interior design consultation?
Our first call covers your ideas, your goals, your budget and what a dream space means to you. A short questionnaire follows, then an initial consultation where we walk through your vision for the space, clarify function and aesthetic, and discuss scope, budget and the right level of collaboration. A written proposal scoping the design hours and tasks follows from there.