If your budget were bottomless, what would you do? If you could only pick 3 things to change, what would they be? Think about what needs you would like to address and jot down some ideas. Don't worry about censoring yourself at first--just list everything that's in your brain and made you contact HDD in the first place. We'll work to narrow and prioritize your list of functional and aesthetic goals in our meeting.

Remember--our first consultation is a working session, so the more proactive and thorough you are in your homework, the more time we have to fill your brain with great ideas.

Pay close attention to how you and your family use the space in question. Make a list of the busiest times in the space along with biggest complaints about how it works (or doesn't). For example: "The kitchen works okay for a quick breakfast, but there's not enough room for the kids to sit and do homework and hang out with me after school while I'm making dinner." Strong examples of the functionality will help us determine what advice to give you so that you and your family can live better in your home.

As much as we would like to look inside your brain and see exactly what you're trying to describe, our powers of x-ray vision are limited. Instead, we ask you to start collecting information either tangibly in the form of magazine pages or prints from the web, or virtually through Pinterest. Knowing what you do and don't like about specific room decor will help us narrow down your personal style and better tailor the designs we pitch. Here's your specific assignment:

1. Look for examples of rooms or elements in magazine pages that you believe are either a THING or NOT A THING. Make a pile of the THING pages, including initial reactions of which element caused the happiness. Was it the lighting? The color? The furniture arrangement? On the flip side, make a pile of NOT A THING pages with the same level of detail. It's perfectly okay to have one page with both a THING and NOT A THING elements on it, so don't worry if you can't find a perfect room example. Use post-it notes to list the comments on those pages.

2. When you've assembled your pile of pages, put them in a file or binder for us to review during the consultation. If you're going the virtual route, then create two Pinterest boards (hide them if you wish to keep your NOT A THING thoughts private) with the titles of THING and NOT A THING. Sample boards with comments are available on our designdemocracy Pinterest site.

If you have questions as you're completing your homework, feel free to contact us. You're also welcome to creep on us and check out our work at the places listed below. Have fun, and thanks for the opportunity to help you live better in your home!