About DesignYourReno.com

For 40 years, we’ve been the construction industry’s best-kept secret: designers who actually build, creating innovative solutions that work in the real world. Now we’re bringing that expertise directly to homeowners who want more than cookie-cutter renovations and theoretical designs.

The Secret Weapon Goes Public

For years, we were one of the industry’s best-kept secrets.

Builders across North America would quietly engage our design services, then guard our contact information like treasure. “You’re our secret weapon,” they’d tell us. “We don’t want our competitors knowing who’s really behind these designs.” They understood what gave them the edge: working with designers who actually knew how to build.

But secrets have a way of limiting impact. That’s why we created designyourreno.com to make our expertise directly accessible to homeowners who deserve better than cookie-cutter solutions and theoretical designs that fall apart in the real world.

The Awakening: When the Curtain Fell

Thirty-five years ago, I was a trim carpenter standing in front of a tennis court I’d designed and built. It was 15 feet of curved pergola that would soon grace magazine pages across North America. That’s when architect John Wilkins, who specialized in Toronto’s most exclusive neighborhoods, shared two pieces of wisdom that would reshape everything:

“Don’t go to U of T for architecture. They’ll just bury your ideas under what’s been done before.”

Then came the confession that shattered my assumptions: “I never went to architecture school either. I just pass my designs to draftsmen, and for larger buildings, to engineering firms for their stamp.”

This revelation sent me down a research rabbit hole that horrified me. I discovered that most architects were simply cutting and pasting details from reference books. Even legendary Frank Lloyd Wright (whose roofs famously leaked) was more salesman than designer, with much of his celebrated work actually created by underpaid assistants in back offices.

The profession I’d idealized as artistic and inspired engineering was largely built on recycled ideas and borrowed details.

Learning from Masters Who Actually Built

Disillusioned but determined, I turned to the real masters: Japanese temple builders. Here was a tradition where designers were also craftsmen, where every joint was perfected through centuries of hands-on refinement. I immersed myself in their methods, understanding wood at a molecular level, mastering cuts and joinery techniques that created structures lasting millennia.

This wasn’t theory. This was knowledge earned through doing.

While other designers moved from napkins to CAD (as we did 25 years ago), we were developing a deeper catalog. One built on 40 years of on-site problem-solving, pivoting details in real-time, and discovering what actually works under pressure.

Beyond the Back Door: Whole-Site Thinking

Early architect colleagues explained their scope simply: “What we do starts at the front door and ends at the back door.” But great design doesn’t stop at walls. For decades, we’ve been creating entrances, landscapes, outdoor structures, and architectural elements that make each property feel complete.

Guided by the principle of “Genius Loci” (that every home and landscape should look like it grew there naturally) we design holistically. When you work with us, you’re not just getting a comfortable, livable, functional home that looks better and lasts longer. You’re getting a complete environment.

The Art of Making Ideas Real

When we finally embraced 3D photorealistic renderings, we didn’t just adopt the technology. We mastered it as artists. The software became our palette, and our decades of building experience became our guide for what was actually possible.

Our renderings are now the envy of architects and engineers because they don’t just look beautiful: they depict structures that can actually be built. Many of our details are modeled in 3D even when building departments resist this innovation, because we’ve learned that tradesmen work better when they can truly see what they’re creating.

Designing Within Reality (And Your Budget)

Being builders, we know the numbers. We understand material costs, labor realities, and timeline pressures. When we design to your budget, it’s not theoretical. We’re drawing from decades of actual project management and cost control.

This knowledge doesn’t limit creativity; it focuses it. We create innovative solutions that work within financial reality, not despite it.

Pioneering the Future of Building

We’re not content with “how things have always been done.” If something hasn’t changed in 100 years, that’s reason enough to examine whether it should.

Current net-zero building methods are deeply flawed. We’re already seeing mold and rot issues from code-mandated specifications that ignore building science realities. Over the next three years, we’re developing a new type of home that’s more efficient, longer-lasting, and functionally superior for long-term living.

Specialists in the Unique

Whether you want a new home that looks historic but features modern methods and amenities, or you’re renovating an old property with challenging issues to overcome, we thrive on what others avoid.

Our expertise spans:

• Heritage-inspired homes with modern performance
• Complex renovation challenges that require creative problem-solving
• Whole-site design from foundation to landscape
• Custom details born from decades of hands-on craftsmanship
• Photorealistic visualization that shows exactly what you’ll get

Why Inspired Design Matters for Your Project

When you choose DesignYourReno.com, you’re working with professionals who bridge a gap that shouldn’t exist: between visionary design and construction reality. You get:

• Designs that builders actually want to execute
• Details that haven’t been copied from textbooks
• Innovation rooted in practical experience
• Budgets based on real-world knowledge
• Visualization that accurately represents the final result
• A complete approach that considers your entire property

Experience the Difference

Your project deserves more than industry conventions and borrowed details. It deserves the insight that comes from 40 years of not just designing structures, but perfecting the craft of building them.

Great design shouldn’t be hidden behind gatekeepers or diluted by professionals who’ve never held a tool. When you work with us, you’re getting four decades of hands-on innovation. Designs that work as brilliantly as they look, built right the first time.

Ready to see what’s possible when true craftsmanship meets visionary design? Contact us today.