Choosing an architectural style
How to design the custom home of your dreams
The Storybook Home
5,700 SQ. FT. | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON | Completed 2022
At David Small Designs, we believe that a custom home is a reflection of your personal identity, aspirations and architectural preferences.
It’s a space to build memories and thrive. That’s why our custom home design process is built around learning more about you, your family and your daily rhythms.
We ask the questions that help define the exact way your home should function and flow. That includes helping you choose the right architectural style for your home. Whatever your aesthetic tastes, our team is dedicated to delivering an outstanding custom home design experience.
Popular Home Design Styles
David Small Designs creates custom homes in modern, transitional or traditional styles. Our highly-experienced team has the diverse expertise needed to realize your custom home design vision, whatever your architectural leanings.
French Chateau
While few of us will ever have the opportunity to live on one of Burgundy’s grand estates or to call a residence in the Loire Valley home, we can design a custom home in the grand French Chateau tradition. Bringing that architectural vision to life takes experience and careful attention to detail.
Our team has crafted countless homes in the French Chateau style, always customizing our designs to suit clients’ lifestyle needs. By focusing on architectural balance and ensuring the home’s design fits harmoniously with the landscape, our chateau designs are truly unique.
Black & White
4,300 SQ. FT. | Oakville, ON | Completed 2023
The Urban Treehouse
3,300 SQ. FT. | Etobicoke, ON | Completed 2023
Modern Chateau
Many of us have a passion for both modern and traditional styles of architecture. At David Small Designs, we’ve perfected the art of balancing contrasting architectural schools in a way that serves our clients’ custom home design vision and maintains a sense of aesthetic coherence.
Our Modern Chateau projects are just one example among many. We combine the finer points of grand French architecture with modernity’s functional emphasis and trust in materials to create distinctive custom homes. The aim: creating one-of-a-kind residences that cater to our clients’ lifestyle ambitions.
The Storybook Home
5,700 SQ. FT. | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON | Completed 2022
Black & White
4,300 SQ. FT. | Oakville, ON | Completed 2023
The Urban Treehouse
3,300 SQ. FT. | Etobicoke, ON | Completed 2023
Cottage
A custom home is meant as a space to live life and create lasting memories. Nowhere is that more apparent than at a family cottage, the ideal place to spend summer weekends, holiday getaways and relaxing retreats.
Our cottage creations leverage DSD’s signature Natural Modern design approach to connect structures to the surrounding environment. By relying on glass, natural materials and creating spaces that seamlessly connect outside and in, we create statement homes that can be shared across generations.
The Storybook Home
5,700 SQ. FT. | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON | Completed 2022
Black & White
4,300 SQ. FT. | Oakville, ON | Completed 2023
The Urban Treehouse
3,300 SQ. FT. | Etobicoke, ON | Completed 2023
Farmhouse
As the country-rustic aesthetic has grown in popularity in recent years, many families have chosen to design their custom homes in the modern farmhouse style, both in rural and urban settings. The look references the idyllic aspects of country life with a modern twist.
That often means combining steel and glass with natural stone and wood, weaving in the peaked rooflines of traditional farm houses and adding distinctive design elements that add 21st century flare to the completed home. Work with our team to realize your modern farmhouse vision, both with the exterior architectural design and a stunning modern-rustic interior.
The Storybook Home
5,700 SQ. FT. | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON | Completed 2022
Black & White
4,300 SQ. FT. | Oakville, ON | Completed 2023
The Urban Treehouse
3,300 SQ. FT. | Etobicoke, ON | Completed 2023
Contemporary
Our contemporary designs reference a diverse array of modern styles. A belief in material honesty and dramatic geometric expression inform every one of our creations. Expansive use of glass fills interior spaces with light.
Perhaps most importantly, our contemporary custom homes are crafted with both form and function in mind. We work with our clients to not only create designs that reflect their personal identity, but that are inviting and livable, laying the foundation for them to live life to the fullest.
The Storybook Home
5,700 SQ. FT. | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON | Completed 2022
Black & White
4,300 SQ. FT. | Oakville, ON | Completed 2023
The Urban Treehouse
3,300 SQ. FT. | Etobicoke, ON | Completed 2023
Planning your home
So, what do you need to think about when building your dream home? It starts with careful planning and attention to detail in several key areas:
Location
Choosing the right property is key.
Whether in a densely-packed city or an idyllic rural setting, the design of your custom home should reflect everything from your property’s sightlines and topography to existing foliage and landscaping. That focus is at the heart of our Natural Modern design philosophy. It’s our way of ensuring that every custom home we build sits in harmony with its natural surroundings.
Lot type
Whether it’s a narrow lot, a corner lot, an estate lot—or any other—all properties have their own unique characteristics.
Your custom home design should reflect the spatial realities of your lot to maximize its architectural appeal, and be properly positioned to maximize everything from daytime light to nighttime coverage to deliver complete privacy.
Permits
We understand that it’s only possible to create your dream home if we can satisfy local building regulations. Our architectural design team is committed to producing custom home designs that can obtain local municipal approval for construction.
We take a range of considerations into account such as sightlines, environmental regulatory compliance, building height and setback and conservation-related rules when creating our designs.
Explore our work
See galleries of our custom homes
The Storybook Home
5,700 SQ. FT. | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON | Completed 2022
Black & White
4,300 SQ. FT. | Oakville, ON | Completed 2023
The Urban Treehouse
3,300 SQ. FT. | Etobicoke, ON | Completed 2023
The Modern Manor
7,200 SQ.FT. | Etobicoke, ON | Completed 2022
Modern Meets Traditional
4000 SQ. FT. | Kleinburg, ON | Completed 2022
The Last House
3,800 SQ. FT. | Mississauga, ON | Completed 2019
Transitional Luxury
4,300 SQ.FT. | Ancaster, ON | Completed 2023
The Chalet
3,700 SQ.FT. | Minden, ON | Completed 2023
The Dusk Home
6300 SQ. FT. | Toronto, ON | Completed 2020
Interior Design Services
Let the inside of your home be a perfect reflection of your identity.
The interior design of your custom home is just as important as its architectural design. The home’s interior is what you and your family will interact with on a daily basis, shaping your enjoyment for years to come. Our interior design team will work with you to determine everything from colour and material palettes to lighting and décor selections.
Design Matters
