A first design consultation goes by quickly. There's a lot to cover: your space, your routines, your taste, your budget. A little preparation beforehand means we spend that time on the ideas, not on tracking down measurements. Here's what helps most.

Start with how you live, not how it looks

Before thinking about finishes or furniture, think about the room in use. Who's in it, and when? What do you do there on a Tuesday night versus a Saturday morning? What frustrates you about it right now?

Jot down a few honest answers. "There's nowhere to put the mail." "The dining table only gets used at Christmas." "The living room feels dark after four o'clock in winter." Notes like these tell us more than any photo, and they're usually where the best design ideas start.

Collect images you love, and ones you don't

Save anything that catches your eye: magazine pages, screenshots, saved posts, a hotel lobby you walked through on holiday. It doesn't need to be organized or consistent. Patterns show up on their own.

It's just as useful to save the things you don't like. Knowing you find high-gloss kitchens cold or can't stand busy wallpaper narrows the field quickly.

Not sure where to begin? Browse the Vision board on our homepage and like the styles that speak to you. We can pull those up together when we meet.

Know which pieces are staying

Very few projects start from a blank slate, and they shouldn't. Make a list of what you're keeping: the family dining table, a favourite painting, the sofa you bought last year. A quick photo and rough measurements of each save a lot of back and forth.

Pieces with a story are often where a room's personality comes from, so don't be shy about the sentimental ones.

Talk about budget early

Budget can feel awkward to raise, but it's one of the most useful things you can share. A range is enough. It shapes the plan from the start: where to invest, where to save, what to phase in over time.

A realistic budget doesn't limit good design. It focuses it.

Have a rough timeline in mind

Is there a date the room needs to be ready: a new baby, a family gathering, a move-in? Or is this a project you'd like to take slowly? Lead times on furniture and trades can be long, so knowing your timeline helps us plan realistically from day one.

Questions worth asking your designer

A consultation is also your chance to decide whether a designer is the right fit. A few questions worth asking:

• How do you structure your fees?
• How will we communicate, and how often?
• How are selections approved before anything is ordered?
• Who manages the trades and deliveries?
• What does a typical timeline look like for a project like mine?

What you don't need

You don't need to know your style, choose paint colours, or have a finished plan. That's our job. Come with your questions, your frustrations and your wish list, and we'll take it from there.