Payton Patterson spent her childhood watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on television
with her father, dreaming of being a designer when she grew up, and she paved her
own path to get there. Now, she’s celebrating owning her own design firm and solidifying
her place in the industry as a member of the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s
2024 Top 30 under Thirty.
It's an honour that Patterson has watched other members of Lakeland’s interior design technology Class of 2016 receive in recent years, and when she was informed that she had been chosen this year, she was in shock.
“It was just surreal,” Patterson says. “Last year, two of my classmates made the list. When you see that happen to people you know, you’re so excited for them and you think it’ll never happen to you, and then it did. I was so excited.”
Patterson credits her studies at Lakeland with providing the building blocks that helped her become the designer she is today, though attending Lakeland was a last minute decision. She had originally been planning to begin her studies at the University of Vancouver and it was a past alumna of the program who suggested she head to Vermilion first.
“She recommended I try Lakeland’s diploma program because it was so hands-on,” Patterson recalls. “She told me that university is great too and I’d come out with a degree, but it’s way more textbook than hands-on and I might end up enjoying the hands-on aspect more. She also told me Lakeland students win international design competitions, so it was worth considering.”
Patterson is glad she began her design studies at Lakeland, saying, “It’s two years and so intense, but I had such a great experience.”
She credits the program’s instructors, including Rochelle Horne and Greg Plant, for being instrumental in her success, sharing their field experience and personal projects.
“It was really cool to learn from people who actually had experience and success in the field. The problem-solving skills I learned at Lakeland were great building blocks.”
After graduating in 2016, Patterson worked part-time at the interior design firm in Regina where she had completed her practicum, while also working at a flooring and tile showroom. In 2018, she was hired at another design firm in Regina. Then, in 2021, she launched Payton’s Place, her own design firm.
“Honestly,” she says, “I should have just done this sooner. I love working for myself. I’ve completed about 80 renovation projects since starting, ranging from new home builds to basement developments, kitchen or main floor renovations, or even small laundry rooms. It’s so much fun getting to work with people and help them achieve their dream home.”
That’s the approach Patterson takes to her design work.
“The world outside may be chaotic but I believe you should be able to walk into your home, close the door behind you, and feel safe and comfortable, like none of the chaos on the other side of the door matters. It’s been amazing being able to work with people to help them achieve that, and getting to do it for myself and control all aspects of it with my own business has been very rewarding.”
There can be a lack of validation when working for yourself, however, and Patterson says the acknowledgement from the NKBA helped with that.
“It’s really encouraging to have someone see my work and say, ‘This is quality and she’s killing it.’ That means a lot.”
Patterson was invited to the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas to be honoured as one of the Top 30 Under Thirty, but it wasn’t the first time she was able to attend the show. She went as a student in her second year of studies at Lakeland. Her experience this time was vastly different.
“Going as a student, it’s hard to even know what you’re looking at. But going back as a professional who owns my own firm was so different. I was texting my clients during the show to share the new and exciting things that are coming out. It was so much fun to attend nine years later and seeing that growth was so cool.”
View photos of Payton's work below:
