--- title: "Home Design Architects — Architects & Building Designers | Houzz" canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/home-design-architects-pfvwus-pf~1920996458 markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~1920996458.md entity_type: LocalBusiness business_name: "Home Design Architects" category: ["Architects"] image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/c433fa11015cabda_0674-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg address: "5020 Campus Drive, Suite 140, Newport Beach, California 92660, United States" latitude: 33.6295 longitude: -117.8684 phone: "(949) 355-5468" website: http://www.homedesignarchitects.com/ rating: 5 review_count: 9 followers: 111 last_updated: 2026-09-23 --- # Home Design Architects Original Houzz profile: [Home Design Architects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/home-design-architects-pfvwus-pf~1920996458) ## Professional summary - **Primary category:** Architects - **Location:** Newport Beach, CA - **Serves:** Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Orange, Costa Mesa, Westminster, Whittier, Newport Beach, Lake Forest, Buena Park, Tustin, Yorba Linda, Laguna Niguel, La Habra, Fountain Valley, Placentia, Aliso Viejo, La Mirada, Brea, Stanton, Laguna Hills, North Tustin, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Corona del Mar, East La Mirada, Midway City, Villa Park, San Joaquin Hills, Atwood, East Irvine, Newport Coast - **Houzz rating:** 5.0 out of 5 (9 reviews) ## About ### Houzz Badges - Recommended on Houzz - 1,000 Ideabook Saves Home Design Architects is an award winning Orange County architectural firm that specializes in creative residential remodels and new custom home design. We also do land planning, small commercial projects and commercial tenant improvements. We have over 30 years of experience in Architecture and Interior Design on small projects with modest budgets to large custom homes. With our broad background in land planning, commercial architecture, industrial design, furniture design and interior design, we are confident that we can find the right design solution that meets your goals and your budget. We utilize Archicad, a state-of-the-art CAD program that allows us to build a complete 3D model of your home. We can do real time walk-throughs so you can experience your home before construction is ever begun. We have done residential work in Northern California, Southern California and Hawaii. We are here to help you realize the unique and special vision of your home. From a kitchen remodel to a brand new house, we will work with you to meet your design needs and stay within your budget. Many architects specialize in a particular style of architecture such as Modern or Traditional. We are skilled at and enjoy working in all styles of architecture, from Cape Cod to Mediterranean to Japanese-Ranch (the owner's special vision) to very Modern. We are proud of our work, but we are most proud of the personal service we provide our clients. We don't design for ourselves, we design for you. ### Services Provided - Architectural Design - Building Design - Home Remodeling - Architectural Drawings - Custom Homes - House Plans - New Home Construction - Home Additions - Home Extensions - Kitchen Design - Sustainable Design - Kitchen Remodeling - Energy-Efficient Homes - Floor Plans - 3D Rendering - Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) - Green Building - Bathroom Design - Space Planning - Guesthouse Design & Construction - Universal Design - Multigenerational Homes - Pool House Design & Construction - Home Restoration - Drafting - Project Management - Handicap-Accessible Design - Outdoor Kitchen Design - Barn Design & Construction - Basement Remodeling - Mudroom Design - Basement Design - Attic Conversion - Tiny House Construction - Staircase Design - Deck Design - Garage Design - Laundry Room Design - Modular Home Additions - Home Gym Design & Construction ### Areas Served - Anaheim - Santa Ana - Irvine - Huntington Beach - Garden Grove - Fullerton - Orange - Costa Mesa - Westminster - Whittier - Newport Beach - Lake Forest - Buena Park - Tustin - Yorba Linda - Laguna Niguel - La Habra - Fountain Valley - Placentia - Aliso Viejo - La Mirada - Brea - Stanton - Laguna Hills - North Tustin - Laguna Beach - Laguna Woods - Corona del Mar - East La Mirada - Midway City - Villa Park - San Joaquin Hills - Atwood - East Irvine - Newport Coast ### Typical Job Cost $10,000 - $3000000 ## Business Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Business Name | Home Design Architects | | Address | 5020 Campus Drive, Suite 140, Newport Beach, California 92660, United States | | Phone | (949) 355-5468 | | Website | http://www.homedesignarchitects.com/ | | License Number | C10411 | | Followers on Houzz | 111 | **Social profiles:** - Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/HomeDesignArchitects/ - Blog — https://www.homedesignarchitects.com ## Contact - **Houzz profile:** [Home Design Architects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/home-design-architects-pfvwus-pf~1920996458) - **Website:** http://www.homedesignarchitects.com/ - **Phone:** (949) 355-5468 ## Credentials **Certifications & Awards** - California Licensed Architect - Nevada Licensed Architect - NCARB Certified - AIA Design Awards - Architectural & Interior Design ## Reviews **Overall rating: 5.0 out of 5 — 9 reviews** *Aspect averages:* - Work Quality: 5.0 - Communication: 5.0 - Value: 5.0 ### All 9 reviews **★★★★★ — D Amano, May 2021** > We recently completed an entire home remodel, redesigning all of the exterior elevations and interior spaces including the selection of all colors and materials. We are so thankful that Home Design Architects was there, from the conceptual design all the way through final construction. Don and Lorrene transformed our 1960's cramped house into a modern spacious home. They are wonderful people to work with and were always available to listen to ideas and discuss options. Don's experience and knowledge were invaluable, considering the countless decisions that had to be made. He worked very closely with our contractor and went with us to the showrooms to select quartz and tile. Don and Lorrene have a great artistic eye and ensured our design choices expressed our personal design style. We love all the natural light and the airy feel of our home, and we could not be happier with the end result! Thank you very much, Don and Lorrene! **★★★★★ — susanheadley, Nov. 2018** > Wow, Don created a new home for us! And it’s perfect! Our 31 year old home needed to change with our life as grandparents and we wanted it “new”. He listened to all our wants and asked many questions to learn about our lifestyle. He worked within our time frame and provided us with a great set of plans turning our 80’s home into an open floor plan, even completely relocating our kitchen. We just love it! **★★★★★ — Youngsil Miyashiro, Nov. 2018** > Professional, honest, and reliable. Everything you want in an architect. Always available to answer questions. Listened to my concerns and respected them. I'd use them again in an heartbeat. **★★★★★ — brynjo, March 2014** > Don Lee is the Architect of my entirely remodelled estate in San Juan Capistrano. > > He worked closely with my General Contractor, allowing me to be largely hands off, but the end result, and my consultations with him beforehand, and during the project were unequivocally five stars. > > Don has impeccable taste for up-to-date, crisp yet warm architectural results, built upon a foundation of encyclopedic knowledge of architectural traditions. His understanding of topics ranging from engineering to feng-shui to materials and costs, combine with his contemplative personality, easy going style, but tireless work ethic and unimpeachable integrity, to guarantee happy customers. > > Visitors to my home in addition to commenting on the clean architectural lines, almost alway comment on the welcoming warm "livable" environment, Don Lee (and my designer, Ed Knight) created. **★★★★★ — euroww, Feb. 2014** > When it was time to remodel our first home, Don really gave me a great outlook on the overall construction and design process and put things into perspective. We really had a short time line but quickly received input with design renderings and construction and lighting details to begin the building process. "We have options", which helped us understand that there was a process in remodeling our home and a budget which we had to be comfortable. We really had a choice in the way we wanted our home to feel and look and Don really expressed that well with great ideas. Would highly recommend Don and Home Design Architects for any project. **★★★★★ — ctonna, Jan. 2014** > Don helped us to redesign not only our kitchen - our primary focus - but the other common living spaces bringing in more light and fluidity beginning with the front porch, front hall, kitchen, living and dining room through to the family room. we encountered the usual problems of remodeling an older home built in the '50s. cracked foundation, uneven flooring, sloping beams and a cracked sewer line to name a few. don's knowledge and experience with challenging field conditions was very helpful in finding structurally sound yet economic solutions. Don's availability to the contractor was also a benefit and the contractor and foreman were able to contact don at any given time, ensuring the work could continue. don was also helpful with the multitude of design details. as a result our new home is both functional and beautiful with a coherent style that reflects our tastes. **★★★★★ — jsraney, Jan. 2014** > We hired Don to transform our 1950's ranch house into a more modern and efficient space for our family of five. Don was able to redesign the space without adding additional square footage - which was very important to us. We just finished the project (which included a complete demolition and redesign of our living room, dining room, den, master bedroom and bath, kitchen and patio) and it is stunning! Don served as our designer on the project and worked with me every step of the way, helping me choose stone and tile, stain color, paint colors, fixtures - and on and on. Don's attention to detail made the tough decisions so much easier and it was a relief knowing he would be there for guidance. He was readily available to our contractor and all the subs when they needed his input. I highly recommend Don for his artistic vision, attention to detail and constant support. **★★★★★ — misuef, Jan. 2014** > Don Lee is a very skilled architect who did a fantastic job at designing a recent home remodel for us, which involved a large den, living room and kitchen. The project took a little longer than we liked but Don kept in close contact with us and the contractor throughout the entire project. **★★★★★ — angelli77, Jan. 2014** > Had a great experience working with Don and Lorrene. We purchased a beautiful home in Anaheim Hills in early 2011. They really helped us explore the potential of our house. We really wanted to expand our master bathroom and they were able to to show us 3D computer designs first to help us solidify our decision to go through with it. We shared everything with them: thoughts on what we would like the house to look like, photos from magazines, pictures online, how we'd like the home to function, which parts of the home we like to spend a lot of time in. They took in consideration all of the information we gave them and outlined the scope of the project in detail and ultimately helped us make smart decisions about our home design. We quite enjoyed working with them as they are lovely people and professional. Communication was never problem between us. Whenever we ran into a small problem they were right there to help us solve it quickly. They were with us throughout the entire project (helped us with getting approval with our HOA, picking tile/wood flooring, went shopping with us for fireplaces, negotiated prices with contractors, checked to see if work was finished and up to standard before we made any payments) and we appreciated their attention to details. At one point in the process we weren't even in town for a couple months and they kept the project going. In the end our house turned out beautiful. They gave us everything we needed and more because they truly went above and beyond for our home. Big bonus points to them really helping us control our budget. I couldn't recommend them enough. ## Selected projects - [San Luis Obispo - New Home](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/san-luis-obispo-new-home-pj-vj~5428273) - Location: San Luis Obispo, CA - Photos: 7 - Description: High up on a hill in San Luis Obispo, with unequalled views, this very extensive residential remodel of a 70's built house was for husband and wife doctors and their two children. The owners wanted a very modern home that made the most of its expansive views with clean uncluttered interior spaces. This was made especially difficult as the existing house had low, downward sloping roofs that severely limited the views of the town below. The house plan was also broken up by twelve different floor l… - [San Juan Capistrano - New Home](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/san-juan-capistrano-new-home-pj-vj~5428271) - Location: San Juan Capistrano, CA - Photos: 9 - Description: This project actually began as a remodel/addition an of an old, tired, and structurally deficient Cape Cod styled home. It was quickly determined that it would be more cost efficient to tear down the house and start over. But because of the new planning and building envelope restrictions, we went through a series of public hearings that ultimately resulted in the rewriting of three code restrictions and the granting of two variances. The site is nearly two acres, but because much of the backyard… - [San Dimas - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/san-dimas-home-remodel-pj-vj~5497046) - Location: San Dimas, CA - Photos: 15 - [La Canada Flintridge - New Home](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/la-canada-flintridge-new-home-pj-vj~5428282) - Location: La Cañada Flintridge, CA - Photos: 7 - Description: Designed for a family of four, this 6000 square foot two story residence was envisioned by the owners to be very modern home defined by natural light and interconnected open living spaces. Sitting on a nearly 2 acre site the house is approached by driving through two gatehouses (one a studio, the other a small guest house) into a large motor court defined on the sides by a garage structure and a tree bosque. The house is entered at the second level which is connected by a stair atrium leading do… - [Corona Del Mar - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/corona-del-mar-home-remodel-pj-vj~5428264) - Location: Newport Beach, CA - Photos: 8 - [Pasadena - New Home](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/pasadena-new-home-pj-vj~5428277) - Location: Pasadena, CA - Photos: 6 - Description: The clients are an older couple who wanted their new home to reflect his love of California ranch architecture and her Japanese cultural heritage. The house is sited on a large site punctuated with protected oak trees and a dry stream bed that channels water during heavy rain storms. The house has exterior walls of thick plaster resting on a natural stone base on top of which large structural wood beams form a high interior ceiling. Natural light from a linear skylight at the main ridge beam ren… - [Oakland - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/oakland-home-remodel-pj-vj~5515617) - Location: Oakland, CA - Photos: 12 - [Huntington Beach - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/huntington-beach-home-remodel-pj-vj~6475511) - Location: Huntington Beach, CA - Photos: 13 - [Santa Ana- Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/santa-ana-home-remodel-pj-vj~6114798) - Location: Santa Ana, CA - Photos: 9 - [Hacienda Heights - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/hacienda-heights-home-remodel-pj-vj~5446093) - Location: Hacienda Heights, CA - Photos: 4 - [Los Alamitos - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/los-alamitos-home-remodel-pj-vj~5429912) - Location: Los Alamitos, CA - Photos: 3 - Description: A cabinetmaker asked that we remodel the kitchen of his modest one story tract home. The existing kitchen was completely separated from the living room by a wall containing a single door. Removing the entire wall would have left the kitchen too open, yet leaving any portion of the wall would always be a reminder of the kitchen as a separate room. The solution was not to use any “wall” elements at all, but rather use the new kitchen cabinets as furniture elements shape and define the relationship… - [Coto de Caza - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/coto-de-caza-home-remodel-pj-vj~5429969) - Location: Coto de Caza, CA - Photos: 3 - Description: A family with two young children, needed to remodel and expand their small kitchen to make it into a space where the entire family could gather for meals, do homework and family projects. To do this we built a new two car garage and converted the existing garage into the new kitchen/ family space. The challenge was to connect the new Kitchen the family room, the backyard patio dining area and the main entry to the house. Because we could not raise the ceiling, special lighting and carefully deta… - [Newport Beach - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/newport-beach-home-remodel-pj-vj~5429862) - Location: Newport Beach, CA - Photos: 4 - Description: When we were first asked by a client to design bunk beds for their beach house, our initial reaction was, “Wouldn’t it be easier to simply buy them?” But she explained to us that they often had guests and because some of the rooms were small and another was a multi purpose room, typical bunk beds would not work. It soon became clear that each bed would need to be to be custom designed, built-in furniture pieces. And because of their prominence, the beds would actually define and shape the spatia… - [Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/home-remodel-pj-vj~772217) - Location: La Cañada Flintridge, CA - Photos: 4 - [Wailea, Maui - Home Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/wailea-maui-home-remodel-pj-vj~5428285) - Location: Wailea-Makena, HI - Photos: 7 - Description: This Elua Village condominium is in one of the older low-rise Maui developments and sits directly on the beach in Wailea, Maui. While a spacious 1700 square feet, the kitchen was very small with no view to the ocean and both bathrooms needed to be completely remodeled. Many of the condos in Elua Village had been remodeled in various styles from early American traditional to Southwestern. The owners wanted to use colors and materials that would honor the feeling of “old Hawaii”, and in a way that… [See all 15 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/home-design-architects-pfvwus-pf~1920996458) ## Ideabooks - [curtains by Don](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/113892134/list/curtains-by-don) — 6 ideas - [drlee's ideas](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/1969105/list/drlee-s-ideas) — 32 ideas - [Don's/Tonnas](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/7247612/list/don-s-tonnas) — 15 ideas - [Maghami](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/68871120/list/maghami) — 27 ideas - [Gorman](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/68968271/list/gorman) — 1 idea [See all 5 ideabooks](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/drlee) ## Community Q&A **Q: Blue or grey chair** *(in Polls)* Hello! Not a big problem- but need help! Got 2 chairs from Article to see which color I like best. Can not decide between them! Couch is grey, and we have another chair from West Elm on its way (black and white as seen below). Rug should not factor in, as new one on the way... Do you like the blue or grey velvet chair? Thanks! A: It depends what you want to go for. The grey one is def a more modern and casual take. The blue one is a more "mature" looking chair, also looks more comfortable. **Q: Remodel** *(in Photo Questions)* Lovely kitchen remodel. It looks so light and bright! A: Thanks! **Q: Do you mind sharing the ceiling height?** *(in Photo Questions)* We are remodeling and raising our ceilings from 8 to 10. Love your island. Our designer has us doing something similar. Love the boxed ceiling but not sure about it on 10 feet. This looks beautiful. A: Hi: We coffered the ceiling to give an illusion of height because we couldn't go any higher. The ceiling height is 8'-6" and the bottom of the beams is 7'-11" (both quite low), but the overall effect feels much higher. People are very surprised that the ceiling is not actually higher. We also have a shallow 2 1/2" cabinet "soffit" that helps by adding more detail. The coffered ceiling kitchen is also bordered by a shallow dropped soffit that separates the kitchen from the family room. The island was originally the owner's idea as they have small children and it makes for a very practical and family oriented dining space. The darker tone of the island defines the island as a separate space within the overall kitchen. Good luck with your project! --- *Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-09-23.*