While leaning back on a comfy black chair in her conference room, Jennifer Homeyer quickly blurts out a clever one-liner.
“You can say I really love before and afters,” she quipped.
On the surface, the statement was apropos. Homeyer and her husband, Ty, have owned The Design House in Denton for 14 years. She’s surrounded by carpet samples, tile flooring, and countless granite countertops that make any before and after transformation complete. And a few feet away is a walk-in shower display almost big enough to fit a Mini Cooper.
Homeyer also knows this world inside and out. As a little girl growing up in New Berlin, Texas, she watched her parents build their house with their own hands. It was a family affair when they needed to change out flooring or paint the walls.
“My dad never paid anyone to do work for us — which is ironic now, considering what I do for a living,” Homeyer said.
But her path to where she is now is quite the transformation in its own right. Homeyer has a degree in nursing and had zero designs on being a small-business owner. She was content running a weight loss surgery program at a local hospital in Seguin, and she and Ty were already married with three small children (Halston, Connor, and Kaelyn). The only reason they moved to North Texas in 2006 was because of Ty’s job at Grapevine-based Pavestone.
They packed up and planted their flag in Argyle, where they’ve been ever since.
And it didn’t take long to get the entrepreneurial bug.
“Ty started thinking about us going into business for ourselves, so I said, ‘OK, well, let’s find one to buy,’” Homeyer said. “He was on a trip to California, and when he came back, I had a stack of about 50 businesses that were for sale. I pulled this one to the top of the heap because it was something I knew something about. The rest were [companies] that made picture frames, or they were tire businesses. They were all things I wasn’t interested in. But with this, I was.”
They bought the formerly-named Carpets Plus in 2008, weeks before the stock market cratered and the nation fell into a recession. At the time, it was just Jennifer and one employee running the show. That included unloading trucks, measuring, purchasing materials, sales, customer service, and everything in between.
“It was a baton handoff every single day,” she said with a laugh.
Fast forward to today, and The Design House (renamed in 2018) has customers ranging from everyday homeowners who need design ideas to house flippers who rely on proven general contractors. They have 40 employees, including in-house designers, project managers, and licensed plumbers and electricians.
It’s still family-owned and operated — Jennifer and Ty actually carpool to work these days and love spending every waking second with each other. They boast a 10,000 square foot showroom, and they are their own granite and quartz countertop fabricator.
Having a local resource like The Design House is a breath of fresh air for Denton County homeowners. Whether it’s a small bathroom upgrade or gutting everything and starting anew, having the right experts in your corner is paramount. Eager homeowners have many questions about the renovation process, pricing, and what materials they need. The Design House caters to all of that, offering experienced design specialists, products, and installation and building services.
Because of that, they can tackle as little or as much of your project as you need.
“I see myself doing this for the rest of my life,” Jennifer said of her before and after life. “We’ve made so many significant changes that I think work is a lot of fun. I enjoy it and working side-by-side with my husband. We have a great team here.”
To learn more about The Design House, visit thedesignhousedfw.com or visit them at 2303 Colorado Blvd. in Denton.
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