Standard charge initially preceding interior design (9)
I believe the answer is:
criterion
'standard' is the definition.
('criterion' can be a synonym of 'standard')
'charge initially preceding interior design' is the wordplay.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'preceding' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'design' indicates anagramming the letters.
The initial letter of 'charge' is 'c'.
'interior' is an anagram of 'riterion'.
'c'+'riterion'='CRITERION'
(Other definitions for criterion that I've seen before include "Standard; model" , "Judging standard" , "Standard by which something can be judged" , "Standard, reference point" , "London theatre?" .)