What Donald A. Gardner Architects does

Donald A. Gardner Architects, operating as Donald A. Gardner Interactive, LLC., is a privately held US company founded in 1978 and headquartered in Lyman, South Carolina. The company sells pre-designed residential house plans as licensable construction drawing sets directly to consumers, home builders, and developers through its Shopify-powered e-commerce website (dongardner.com). Its catalog comprises more than 1,000 unique plans across 34+ architectural styles — ranging from 600 sq ft tiny homes to over 7,000 sq ft luxury estates — with prices spanning approximately $1,125 to $6,510 per plan under a one-time single-build license model.

The core product is CAD-produced architectural construction documents delivered as downloadable PDFs or physical sets, supplemented by an in-house Plan Modifications service that allows customers to commission custom changes. A dedicated Builder Program targets professional home builders as channel partners, and a myDAG membership program supports customer retention and CRM. Plans are organized into a deep SEO-optimized taxonomy of style, feature, and type collections, and the company maintains an active presence across nine social platforms plus a content blog and weekly newsletter.

The business model is straightforward e-commerce: one-time license revenue per plan, plus professional services revenue from modifications and customization. The company is BBB-accredited with an A+ rating, holds federal copyright on all plans, and operates with a lean 1–10 person team serving a nationwide US market. No external funding, M&A, or institutional investor involvement is indicated in the available source material.

Name

Donald A. Gardner Architects

Legal name

Donald A. Gardner Interactive, LLC.

Website

https://dongardner.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Donald A. Gardner Architects sells pre-designed residential house plans directly to homeowners, builders, and developers via its Shopify e-commerce site, offering 1,000+ plans across 34+ styles with in-house modification services and a dedicated Builder Program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Residential house plans
• Architectural design services
• Construction drawings
• Custom home designs
• Plan modifications

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. House Plan Sales: One-time license fee for the right to build a home from a purchased house plan. The copyright notice states: 'With plan set purchases, the purchaser is granted a one-time license to build the home.' Plans are sold at fixed price points ranging from approximately $1,125 to $6,510 depending on plan complexity and size.
2. Plan Modifications / Custom Design Services: In-house modification consultation services upsold to customers wanting custom changes to standard plans. Additional fee charged for designer time to customize plans.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Donald A. Gardner Architects designs, sells, and licenses pre-drawn residential house plans as PDF construction document sets across more than 34 architectural styles and a catalog exceeding 1,000 unique designs. The firm sells plans directly to consumers and builders via its Shopify e-commerce website at fixed price points ranging from approximately $1,125 to $6,510 with a one-time build license, and offers in-house plan modification services and a dedicated Builder Program for professional home builders.

Product overview

Donald A. Gardner Architects operates as a single unified platform selling pre-designed residential house plans as downloadable PDF construction document sets. The core product is the House Plans catalog, which contains thousands of designs across 37+ architectural styles (Modern Farmhouse, Craftsman, Traditional, Mountain, Coastal, Southern, Victorian, and many more) and various bedroom/bathroom configurations. The offering is supplemented by a Plan Modifications service for customizations, a Builder Program for trade professionals, and a myDAG Membership for ongoing customer engagement. Plans range from ~600 sq ft tiny homes to 7,000+ sq ft luxury estates, with pricing from approximately $1,125 to $6,510. The company has been in business since 1978.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-Designed House Plans Catalog of 1,000+ pre-designed residential house plans available for purchase as PDF downloadable construction document sets, covering 34+ architectural styles from Modern Farmhouse to Victorian and ranging from approximately 600 sq ft tiny homes to 7,000+ sq ft luxury homes, sold at one-time license price points of roughly $1,125 to $6,510.
• Plan Modifications and Custom Design Services Customization service in which in-house designers modify a purchased house plan per customer request, such as enlarging bedrooms or adding basements, billed as an additional fee on top of the base plan purchase.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ePlans: Online house plan retailer offering pre-designed residential plans across multiple styles, directly comparable in product offering, target customer, and e-commerce delivery model.
• The Plan Collection: Sells pre-designed house plans online with a large catalog organized by style and feature, mirroring Donald A. Gardner's catalog structure and direct-to-consumer e-commerce approach.
• Mascord Homes (Alan Mascord Design Associates): Residential design firm selling pre-designed house plans online for over 50 years, similar in founder-brand heritage, catalog depth, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce model.
• Frank Betz Associates: Residential design firm selling pre-designed house plans online with a strong catalog of styles, a similar namesake-architect model competing directly with Donald A. Gardner.
• Houseplans.com: Operated by Hanley Wood/Meredith, Houseplans.com is a major house plan marketplace with thousands of designs from multiple architects, competing head-to-head with Donald A. Gardner in the pre-designed plan e-commerce space.
• Dream Home Source: Online house plan retailer offering thousands of pre-designed plans organized by architectural style, directly competing with Donald A. Gardner for individual home buyers and builders.
• Monster House Plans: Direct-to-consumer online retailer of pre-designed house plans with customization options, comparable in product, pricing, and target customer to Donald A. Gardner Architects.
• Visbeen Architects: Sells pre-designed and customizable house plans online with a focus on distinctive architectural styles, directly competing in the same pre-designed plan e-commerce category.
• Architectural Designs: One of the largest online sellers of pre-designed house plans with a vast catalog across many architectural styles, directly competing with Donald A. Gardner Architects for the same consumer and builder segments.
• Sater Design Collection: Christopher Sater's online house plan catalog offering pre-designed residential plans with customization services, directly comparable in business model and market positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/donaldgardner
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@DonaldAGardnerArchitects
• Facebookfacebook.com/DAGhomes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/houseplansbydongardner
• Instagraminstagram.com/don_gardner_architects
• TikToktiktok.com/@dongardnerarchitects
• Pinterestpinterest.com/dagdesigns

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Donald A. Gardner Architects