Hi. We’re smpl Design Studio. We’ve been around for 13 years but understand that not everyone knows who we are or what we’re all about, so we thought we’d take a minute to introduce ourselves.
Our CEO and creative director, Joel Tanner, sums it up best.
“We are a passionate team of modern home designers, construction detail and permit specialists, and our goal is to place gnarly design on the planet. For us, everything needs to be very unique and custom tailored for our client and their experience because all of our clients have a very different lifestyle.”
Here at smpl, there are four cornerstones to everything we do — and our name says it all.
“The platform smpl is based on sustainable, modern, practical and livable,” Tanner says. “The idea is, when we’re piecing together these ideas, we want those items to be at the forefront of what we do as a company and what we do in our client’s homes.”
For us, sustainability is very much about reducing the overall carbon footprint on the construction of the dwelling, but also about picking materials and specifying finishes that are more durable and longer lasting.
“It’s also introducing things like photovoltaic electric systems on the roof,” Tanner explains. “We do a lot of homes that have geothermal heating and cooling loop systems in the property, and green roofs on our flat roof dwellings that help to increase energy efficiency.”
When it comes to modern design, we like to push the envelope and create something truly unique, custom, different and exciting that’s modern but not “trendy modern.”
“Modern is at the forefront of everything we do, whether it’s more Scandinavian influenced, or West Coast contemporary, or Miami modern, everything we do is very clean and edgy and nothing in the office that we do is copy-paste,” explains Tanner.
“It’s a unique piece of art that’s going to be built and lived in for five or ten decades, so we take that very seriously. It’s about bringing somebody’s dream to life and creating something super exciting and inspiring that’s going to change up the streetscape for the better and inspire others to do the same.”
In terms of practicality, the house needs to function. Yes, we like to say our projects are gnarly, but there is always a logical flow. The floor plan needs to make sense. That leads directly into livability — the more practical the floor plan, the more livable that home is and the more desirable that home will be.
“All of those items are really at the forefront of how we founded the firm 13 years ago and how we’ve kind of grown and built toward where we are today,” says Tanner.
Something else that we’re extremely proud of is our holistic approach to everything we do in order to make this process easier on you, the client.
Our firm tackles not only the design of the home, we also have a full service interior design team that manages everything from millwork design and details, to all finish and specifications throughout the home, while our permit team tackles structural engineering, mechanical engineering, and the complex permitting process that exists here in Ontario.
“Our goal is that we’re coming back to the client with an approved set of stamped construction plans, ready for execution by the builder. So, once a client hires us, they’ve hired us to get to the finish line, not half way.”
Are you ready to start your modern home design journey together with us here at smpl Design Studio? We would love to chat.
