Maybe you have been sitting with an idea for a while, not quite sure how to start. Maybe you have a folder of saved images somewhere, or a Pinterest board that keeps growing, or just a quiet sense that your home could be so much more than it is right now. But every time you think about actually doing something, you are not sure where to begin. Who do you call first? What do you even ask? How do you take something that lives in your head and turn it into a real plan?
Those are exactly the right questions. And after nearly 22 years of sitting across from homeowners at the start of a project, I have answered them more times than I can count. What I have learned is that the answers always start in the same place: with you.
What I care about most in this work is people. I want to get to know who you truly are, what makes you light up, how you live, what your home means to you, and then create something together that reflects all of that so completely that it still feels right years from now. Some of the people I work with today have been with me for almost 22 years. That kind of trust means everything to me, and it is exactly the kind of relationship I hope to build with you.
So let's have that conversation. Over coffee or maybe a glass of wine, here is what I want you to know. These are the questions I hear most, and the answers I always wish every homeowner had before they began.
The short answer is: sooner than you think. Before the contractor. Before you have it all figured out. Before you feel completely ready. Let me explain why that matters so much.
The conversation I have more than any other starts with some version of the same five words: "I don't even know where to start." And every single time I hear that, I feel relief. Not for me, for them. Because it means we can do this right, together, from the very beginning.
When you call a designer first, you give yourself something most homeowners never get: the space to be truly inspired. Before a single wall comes down, we have time to explore what is possible, discover things you didn't even know you wanted until you saw them, and build a plan that reflects all of it.
That is the thing I come back to most often with new clients: you don't know what you don't know. And that is not a limitation, it is actually the best place to start. It means there is so much more possible for your home than you have even imagined yet. My job is to show you that.
And once we have explored it together and built a plan around it, your contractors walk in with a clear picture and a clear scope. The experience is better for them and better for you. Your budget stays where you wanted it. Your timeline holds. And the finished space almost always ends up more beautiful, more personal, and more you than anything you could have pictured when you first picked up the phone.
Here is what I see happen when people wait too long. A homeowner decides they are ready, calls a contractor, and things begin to move. Then somewhere in the middle, they call me. By that point, decisions are already locked in. Cabinets ordered before anyone thought about where the appliances would go. Lighting placed before anyone mapped out where the furniture would sit. Small decisions made in isolation that nobody flagged at the time, and that nobody can easily undo now.
The moment the idea enters your head is honestly the right moment to reach out. Even if you are not sure what you want yet. Even if the budget is still fuzzy. Even if it feels too early. It is never too early. The earlier we talk, the more we can shape together.
And if you are already mid-project and reading this? Call anyway. It is never too late to bring in the right support.
Less than you think. I promise.
Your questions. Your frustrations. The thing that has been bothering you about your space that you can't quite put into words. And your hopes, however rough or half-formed they might be. That is genuinely all you need to walk in with.
Before we meet, I send a welcome packet. It gives you time to think, reflect, and helps me know a little about you before we sit down together. I always suggest that you print it out and keep it somewhere you will actually see it, on the kitchen counter, on the nightstand, anywhere that when a thought pops into your head during the week, you can jot it down. I also ask things like your favorite music, your favorite travel destination, and the experiences that genuinely light you up. Those answers tell me more than you might expect.
And if you have a Pinterest board, now is the time to share it. I'll typically ask for two: one board of things you love and another of things you absolutely do not want. That second board is just as valuable as the first. Together, they start to give me a sense of who you are before we even sit down. One thing I always say once I have them: no more looking. Hand them over and step away from the scroll. From here, I've got you.
The first thing I want you to know is that this meeting is about so much more than design. Yes, we will talk about your space. But mostly, we are going to talk about you.
Something that may surprise you is that, by the time we sit down together, I have already started designing. From the moment I walk through your door, I am taking note of everything around me. The colors you are wearing. The art on your walls. The things you have held onto through every move and every change. People surround themselves with what genuinely makes them feel good, often without ever realizing it. That is some of the most honest information I can get, and it tells me more than any questionnaire ever could.
I think about a family I designed for years ago, two physicians with two young daughters. From the moment I met them I was paying attention. The warm tones they wore. The way they talked about being outside with their kids. The organic textures already in their home, the natural materials they gravitated toward without thinking about it. They were healthy, active, artistic people, and everything around them reflected that without them ever having to say it.
So that is what we built. Stained concrete floors. A floating kitchen island with a stainless steel base that stopped people the moment they walked in. A walk-in shower built like a cave, all natural stone, completely enveloping. Something that could only ever have been theirs. That is what I am working toward from the very first moment I walk through your door.
I also ask questions that might surprise you. Do you like people in the kitchen while you cook, or do you prefer to have the space to yourself? Where do the kids do their homework? Do you have aging parents who might eventually come to stay? These questions have nothing to do with tile or paint colors. They have everything to do with how your home needs to work for your life, not just today but ten and twenty years from now.
A few weeks into every project, I bring clients back for what I call a check-in meeting. I pull together fabrics, finishes, and early selections and we sit down to make sure my instincts are taking us in the right direction. Every single time, the reaction is the same. They look at everything laid out in front of them and even when something catches them off guard, it always seems to resonate. That moment of recognition, where they see themselves in the choices, is exactly what I am looking for.
The clients I love working with most, the ones who end up with spaces beyond what they imagined, almost always bring the same two things: an open mind and open communication.
Come in with your ideas, but hold them loosely and let me push your boundaries a little. The most beautiful spaces I have created were almost never what the client originally pictured. Not because their ideas were wrong, but because the process of getting to know them revealed something better. Something more personal, more specific, more them. The only way to get there is to stay open long enough to let that happen.
I had one client who was nervous about color. She had never done anything bold in her home and wasn't sure she wanted to start now. We added a pop of color on her kitchen island, and then in her powder room we really went for it. Decorative wall paneling. A teal ceiling. She took a breath when I showed her the plan. Then the room was finished and she called it her favorite room in the entire house. She still says that today.
The second thing is communication. And what I mean by that is really feeling heard. Knowing that when you have a question it gets answered, when something does not feel right you can say so, and when you are excited about something we celebrate it together. Some of my favorite projects have been the ones where a client felt free enough to push back, to say that is not quite me, or can we try something else here. That kind of honesty makes the work better every time. I take communication seriously on my end and I ask clients to bring that same openness. The more freely we talk, the further we can go together.
At this point in our conversation, we have covered a lot of ground. And if it has felt a little like sitting across from someone who genuinely wants to help you, that is exactly what a first consultation should feel like. By the time we finish that coffee, your project has already begun.
And when we get it right, here is what it looks like. A client walks into their finished space for the first time and stops. They take it in. Sometimes they cry. Sometimes they laugh. Sometimes they just go very quiet. That is my goal every single time. Not just a beautiful space, but a home you wake up in every morning and think: I can't believe this is mine.
There is one more thing I want to say before we wrap up: choosing the right designer matters more than choosing any particular designer, including me. What matters to me most is that, whichever designer you work with, you feel a genuine connection with them and they truly understand what you are after. What I hope this conversation has done is give you a clearer sense of what to look for, what questions to ask, and what a great working relationship actually feels like. And when you find that person, call them first. Before the contractor, before the budget is set, before anything else. You deserve to start this process feeling prepared and confident, and that is true whether you call me or someone else.
The clients I have worked with longest, some for 18 or more years, feel like family to me now. Every single one of those relationships started the same way, with them sitting across from me with no idea where to begin. That first conversation led to a home they love, a relationship that has lasted decades, and a space that still feels completely like them.
Whenever you are ready, the coffee is on me.
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