West of Main Design: The Quiet Authority Behind Canada's Most Collected Interiors
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Inside the Mindfully Crafted Homes of Canada’s Most Collected Designer.
By: HomeFindss Editors
West of Main Design. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography
There is a particular kind of restraint that only comes from having nothing left to prove. West of Main Design has spent more than a decade building homes across Canada and beyond — quietly, exactingly, without ever raising its voice — and the result is a body of work that reads less like a portfolio and more like a private collection, the kind one is fortunate to be shown rather than simply shop. It is in that spirit that HomeFindss welcomes West of Main Design to The Guild List, our editorial recognition of the designers shaping how Canada lives.
West of Main began as an idea between two people, Sascha and Justin, whose years of travel had given them an eye for objects and spaces that most designers spend a career trying to acquire. Rather than chase what was fashionable, they built a studio around a single belief: that natural materials already hold everlasting beauty, and a designer's real task is simply to let that beauty be seen. It is a philosophy that sounds simple until witnessed at the level West of Main Design has executed it, project after project, for more than ten years — an instinct, not a formula, which is precisely why it has never gone stale.
Project Toronto In Colour - West of Main Design curates a balanced retreat where texture takes center stage. A pair of textured bouclé armchairs and twin pastel leather ottomans introduce inviting, soft forms, anchored by a cool-toned sofa. Natural light floods the living area through a corner window, illuminating the artisanal textures and graphic accents, resulting in a sanctuary that feels both curated and comfortable. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
Project In Bloom - An intimate sanctuary defined by rich, tactile layers and organic character. A deep, slipcovered sofa and cozy bouclé armchair encircle a rustic wooden coffee table, while a stately indoor tree and a cascading arrangement of blossoms infuse the beautifully muted, organic palette with fresh vitality. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
Project Kinfolk Custom - Natural light floods this elegant living space, beautifully framed by soft, floor-to-ceiling linen drapery. At the room's heart, a sculptural travertine coffee table and an oversized terracotta pot housing a majestic olive tree are grounded by a rich, patterned rug, creating an inviting balance of refined textures and organic forms. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
That instinct shows itself most clearly in how a West of Main Design room is composed. At Homeward Bound, the great room divides itself into distinct living zones using nothing but lighting, rug placement, and the considered geometry of furniture groupings—no walls, no architectural intervention, just spatial intelligence deployed with the confidence of a studio that stopped needing to prove it understands a room years ago. It is a quality that extends beyond any single project: every West of Main Design interior feels unmistakably theirs, and yet none of them feel repeated. Many studios have a look. Far fewer have a voice—a way of arranging a room so that even a single photograph announces, unmistakably, whose hand shaped it.
That voice is inseparable from how the studio treats the surface. The music room at New House Old Charm was built entirely around a single piano, finished top to bottom in moody, hand-applied limewash and lit by gilded pendant fixtures that catch the afternoon light precisely as they were designed to. The execution is theatrical without tipping into spectacle—the kind of finish-level confidence that separates a decorated room from a designed one. That same material discipline carries into the most utilitarian corners of a home.
Project Newfoundland - In this moody, jewel-box powder room by West of Main Design, whimsical William Morris-style wallpaper featuring birds and butterflies creates an enveloping sense of drama. A curved, fluted wooden vanity topped with heavily veined marble is beautifully anchored by a dark, tactile tile backsplash, while a sleek arched mirror, glowing brass sconces, and a pop of blue hydrangeas bring refined elegance to the intimate space. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
Project Edgewater Custom - West of Main Design - designs a spa-like bath vignette rooted in quiet luxury and clean geometry. Dramatic, floor-to-ceiling doors crafted from fluted amber glass reveal a natural stone shower enclosure illuminated by a high clerestory window, while a warm metallic faucet and tactile linen layers introduce an effortless, humanistic warmth to the minimalist space. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
Project New House Old Charm - West of Main Design juxtaposes historic charm with modern luxury in this breathtaking principal bath. Centred beneath a rustic wood-beamed ceiling, a freestanding soaking tub offers picturesque views of the waterfront through an expansive window, framed by soft linen drapery. A warm oak double vanity, gleaming brass fixtures, and a sculptural glass chandelier complete the serene, tactile retreat. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
The bathrooms across the portfolio favour organic tones in their most honest form. The fixtures are chosen for warmth over spectacle, proof that the studio's standards do not soften once a room is smaller, more private, or less likely to be photographed. At Edgewater Custom, a waterfront new build, that same discipline reveals itself as editorial restraint: natural materials and textures were selected specifically to echo the surrounding landscape, so the interior never competes with the view—it completes it, the way a well-edited sentence completes a thought rather than crowding it. Knowing what to include is a skill. Knowing what to leave out and having the discipline to do so on a multimillion-dollar build is the rarer one.
Project Inside Out - Elevates outdoor entertaining with this beautifully appointed terrace setting. A warm teak dining table is paired with woven cane-back chairs, while a curated tablescape of crisp linens, slender brass candlesticks, and a sweeping arrangement of white blossoms mirrors the natural luxury of the surrounding greenery. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
Project Inside Out - West of Main Design transforms a poolside terrace into a luxurious private oasis. A pair of warm teak chaise lounges, accented with woven cane panelling, crisp white cushions, and plush earth-toned pillows, sits nestled beneath a classic market umbrella, while the sun-drenched stone patio flows effortlessly toward an elevated al fresco dining vignette in the background. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
That eye extends outdoors as readily as in. Patios and backyard spaces are conceived as a continuation of the home rather than an afterthought, furnished with the same intention as a primary living room—a detail many studios treat as optional, and West of Main Design never has.
None of this would matter if the rooms were not, above all, livable. The mark of true innovation in residential design is rarely visible. It is felt in how effortlessly a family can actually live inside a space built to photograph beautifully. West of Main Design's full-service model is where this becomes most apparent—the studio oversees everything from the earliest architectural conversations through final furniture installation, managing contractors, sourcing, and procurement at every stage. Clients have described arriving at a finished home with the linens already laundered and the beds already made, so the final reveal could be exactly that—a reveal, with nothing left to do but exhale. It is a detail that has nothing to do with design and everything to do with care, and it is precisely the kind of invisible innovation that separates a studio people hire once from a studio people return to for every home that follows.
Project Beach House—West of Main Design infuses this light-flooded culinary space with a striking sense of scale and architectural warmth. A soaring vaulted ceiling anchored by rustic, dark wood trusses mirrors the rich tone of the expansive center island, while woven-back counter stools and oversized, brass-trimmed pendants introduce tactile, artisanal contrast against the serene cream cabinetry. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
Project Elliot - West of Main Design masterfully balances classic charm and contemporary edge in this light-flooded kitchen. Soft, muted blue perimeter cabinetry features elegant glass-front uppers that frame a scenic window view, grounding the airy space against a rich, dark-stained wood island. Domed industrial pendants, woven shades, and a vintage-inspired runner layer texture into the highly sophisticated culinary hub. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
Project Edgewater Custom - In this dramatic kitchen vignette, rich tactile layering meets refined architectural detailing. A trio of textured, low-back counter stools lines an island anchored by a heavily veined quartzite countertop, while sleek fluted cabinetry, conical black pendants, and warm metallic fixtures introduce a sophisticated interplay of deep tones and organic movement. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
A decade is a long time to maintain a point of view, and it is the truest test of any design studio's maturity. Across new builds, full home remodels, waterfront properties, and commercial spaces spanning Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, Newfoundland, and clients as far as the United States and Europe, West of Main Design's signature—layered, organic, timeless, and collected—has never once wavered or grown predictable. That consistency is not the absence of evolution. It is evidence of a studio that knows precisely who it is and has had the discipline to stay there while the industry around it chased trend after trend.
Beyond the studio's design practice sits The Shoppe — West of Main Design's own curated storefront in Ottawa, built from the same travel-informed eye that shapes their interiors. Furniture, lighting, rugs, mirrors, art, and decor, much of it drawn from the same archives that inform their residential work, are assembled under one roof for anyone hoping to borrow a little of that signature warmth for their own home. It is rare for a design studio to extend its point of view into a fully realized retail experience this successfully—rarer still for that retail experience to feel every bit as considered as the interiors that inspired it.
West of Main Design seamlessly blurs the lines between indoors and out in this striking screened pavilion. Wrapped in rich wood panelling from floor to ceiling, the expansive space features a monumental brick fireplace that anchors both a tailored dining vignette and a plush lounging area, while towering glass walls immerse the interior in panoramic forest views. Photography by @westofmain @justinthomasonphotography.
There are designers who follow what is fashionable, and there are designers who simply know what endures. West of Main Design has spent over a decade proving they belong firmly in the second category—an internationally recognized body of work, an international client list, and an aesthetic so distinct it is now instantly recognizable across the industry without the need of a signature or a logo.
Justin Thomason and Sascha Lafleur, co-founders of West of Main Design. Photo: JVLphoto.com
West of Main Design
2437A Kaladar Avenue,
Ottawa, ON K1V 8B9
Phone: (613) 762-8073
@westofmain
The Guild List is HomeFindss's recognition of the architects, interior designers, decorators, landscape designers, artisans, and craftspeople shaping how Canada lives. Selection is editorial—there are no applications and no submissions.
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