Roger:

Typically we both sit down with new clients for an extensive meeting. We discuss with the clients the type
of house, the location, the features and their budget, then use that information to generate a proposal of services.

Paul:

Once we have been retained to design their home, we encourage our clients to bring us pictures, magazines,
sketches or whatever representations they have of the house that they envision. Some clients have brought
grocery bags full of clippings! We take all of this information and immediately, with the clients , start sifting
through it and identifying the importance in the overall design of the material that they have collected.

Very often I will begin freehand sketching potential ideas while the clients are sitting with us. I do
three dimensional drawings to give the client an idea of how the house or a room or an element will
look and feel. This often helps our clients to visualize the completed work. This process continues
throughout the design phase.

Roger:

As we go through this process we very much keep an eye on the clients' budget. There is no sense in
creating something that is not in line with the customers' finances. Initial meetings allow a filtering of
ideas and a reconciling of those ideas with the realities of the building environment and budgetary
constraints. Our experience in the construction business gives us the ability to understand how our
designs translate to construction costs, so we can provide our clients with alternatives to help them
get what they want.

Paul:

It's important to emphasize though that we do not impose our will on our clients. We don't design to
gratify our own egos. Our goal is to get into the clients' minds -- to understand what they are looking
for so that we can create it for them.