Bridget from Nuss's Design team recommends collecting pictures and capturing ideas early in your process. "I call them 'Style Files' and it's a really smart way to gather all the thoughts you have about your project. You may see a picture in a magazine of the perfect vanity and in another magazine see a lighting fixture that you would love in your hallway.

I've even suggested to our clients they record some of their favorite home improvement television shows. When I come over for our free consultations, we can watch them together and I'm able to immediately begin educating them on the options they have. Those design shows are great, but I just wish they would give budgets more often. In meeting with a client from Medford for example, I felt bad breaking the news to her that a ballpark price on the bathroom remodel she saw by a Canadian designer would run between $55,000 and $60,000. But that's really what our Free Consults are for. To find out what you're looking for then educate you on all the choices you have including budgets.