In 2006, I founded Design DCA with a clear idea: a remarkable home should be imaginative, personal, and beautiful, but it should also make sense to build.

Twenty years later, that principle remains at the heart of our family-owned residential design studio. Design DCA has grown into an award-winning Houston firm serving custom homeowners and builders. But our success is still rooted in the same combination of creative vision, construction knowledge, and attentive service.

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I have been reflecting on the experiences that shaped my career, the growth of the business, and the values that continue to guide every home we design.

My path to residential design gave me a close-up understanding of the entire home-building process. Before founding Design DCA, I worked with designers in the Midwest and Florida. I also served as a project manager for a large regional builder and spent several years leading the design department of a successful single-family home builder in Houston.

Those roles taught me to see a home from several perspectives at once. A design must support the homeowner’s lifestyle and create a meaningful sense of place. It must also account for construction methods, materials, schedules, and budgets. For a builder, it should be functional, efficient, and marketable.

That practical experience became one of Design DCA’s defining strengths. I have never viewed creativity and constructability as competing goals. My aim is to bring them together, creating homes that feel distinctive and original while using familiar materials and proven building practices to help manage construction costs and timelines.

My education at Central Missouri State University helped establish the foundation for my career, and I have continued developing professionally through industry credentials and organizations. I became a Certified Professional Building Designer through the National Council of Building Designer Certification and have been affiliated with organizations including the American Institute of Building Design, the Greater Houston Builders Association, the National Council of Building Designer Certification, and the Texas Institute of Building Design.

When I established Design DCA in Houston in 2006, I brought years of building and design experience to the new venture. I also brought a strong belief that homeowners deserved something more thoughtful than an off-the-shelf plan.

That philosophy has shaped our studio from the beginning. We create homes around the people who will live in them. We do not ask our clients to adapt their lives to a generic plan.

Our work began earning industry recognition in Design DCA’s founding year, when we received two first-place honors from the Texas Institute of Building Design. More recognition followed, including additional TIBD honors, a GHBA Prism Award, a finalist distinction in the Best in American Living Awards, and a place among the finalists in Dwell magazine and Design Within Reach’s Live/Work contest.

In 2018, we won an American Residential Design Award in the Custom Homes category. Design DCA has also received numerous Best of Houzz awards for design and service, including annual design recognition from 2019 through 2026.

Over the past two decades, Design DCA’s portfolio and reputation have grown considerably. Today, we design one-of-a-kind speculative homes for builders as well as tailored luxury residences for individual homeowners.

Our work spans modern, traditional, and transitional residential design. I have always been especially drawn to the clean forms of mid-century modern architecture and the enduring character of classic European manor houses. At the same time, decades of experience have given me the ability to work across many architectural styles and help each client discover the right expression for their home.

Our capabilities have evolved alongside our projects. We now use tools such as in-house 3D modeling and architectural visualization to help clients understand their future homes before construction begins. These tools allow us to study proportions, materials, and details together, making informed decisions while changes can still be made efficiently.

The business has grown, but I have worked hard to preserve the qualities of a small studio. We listen carefully and take the time to understand each client’s priorities. Our clients work one-on-one with us instead of being continually passed between unfamiliar representatives.

Twenty years have reinforced one of our most important beliefs: better service makes a better home.

One reason Design DCA has continued to thrive is our understanding of the different needs surrounding a residential project.

For a custom homeowner, the design process is deeply personal. A successful plan must respond to daily routines, family life, entertaining, privacy, and the way the owners want to feel in their space.

For a builder, the design carries additional responsibilities. The home must be practical to construct, cost-conscious, and appealing to its intended market. My background in project management and builder-led design helps us address those realities from the beginning rather than treating them as problems to solve later.

Balancing beauty and practicality has helped us build lasting relationships throughout Houston’s home-building community. It has also allowed us to create a body of work defined not by one particular style, but by thoughtful planning and carefully considered details.

Design DCA’s 20th anniversary represents two decades of ideas translated into plans, plans transformed into homes, and professional relationships built through trust and collaboration.

It also allows me to reflect on my own journey, from working with designers in different parts of the country, to managing construction projects, to leading a Houston builder’s design department, and ultimately creating a firm of my own.

Through every stage, I have maintained the belief that good residential design should be both inspiring and grounded in reality. A home can be innovative without being impractical. It can feel luxurious without sacrificing function. Most importantly, it can genuinely reflect the people who call it home.

At Design DCA, our mission remains unchanged: to deliver innovative, sophisticated residential designs that meet our clients’ needs while providing unparalleled service.

I am deeply grateful to the homeowners, builders, interior designers, craftspeople, industry colleagues, and team members who have been part of this journey. Thank you for your ideas, your collaboration, and your trust.

Here’s to 20 years and to the many extraordinary homes still to come.