Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc.

What Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc. does

Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc. (dbao) is a private residential architectural design firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The firm specializes in custom residential architecture — including new custom homes, additions, and renovations — serving individual homeowners across Virginia, the broader Mid-Atlantic, and selectively into South Carolina. The principal, Aaron Olson, leads a small studio of 1–10 employees that includes Katherine Oliver Olson, and the firm has completed more than 15 documented residential projects across a roughly ten-year operating history.

The practice operates on traditional architectural workflows — schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration — delivered through a tight principal-led model. There is no disclosed AI, software platform, or proprietary technology layer; the firm's differentiation rests on design aesthetic, hands-on construction literacy (Olson has direct woodworking and field experience), and embedded relationships with at least six custom builders including Clark Robins Design Build, Mako Builders, Gardner Construction, Erik Homes, Mark Franko Custom Building, and Lancaster Custom Builder. The studio itself doubles as the principal's residence (the dbao Studio and Residence, completed in 2020), which signals a deliberately lean operating footprint.

Revenue is generated through project-based, one-time design fees tied to individual residential commissions. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, with new client flow coming from builder referrals, regional earned media (features in R-Home and Richmond Times-Dispatch), Instagram portfolio distribution, and third-party recognition such as the FRAME Awards (bronze, 2024) and 2025 Top Trending Mid-Atlantic rankings. The firm carries no disclosed outside funding, subsidiaries, or parent company, and operates as a standalone for-profit entity.

Name

Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc.

Legal name

Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc.

Website

https://dbao.design

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Designs by Aaron Olson (dbao) is a Richmond, Virginia-based residential architectural design firm founded in 2015. The 1–10 person studio delivers custom homes, additions, and renovations for individual homeowners across the Mid-Atlantic and into South Carolina via project-based design fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Architectural Services (54131)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Residential architectural design
• Custom home design
• Home renovation design
• Architectural drafting services
• New home construction design

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Professional fees for architectural design of new homes, additions, and renovations. Services include schematic design, 2D/3D renderings, construction documents, project management, and construction administration. Revenue is project-based, generated through direct engagement with individual homeowners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc. (dbao) is a residential architectural design firm providing full-service design for custom new homes, additions, and renovations. Services span concepting, schematic design, 2D/3D renderings, construction documents, project management, and construction administration. Principal Aaron Olson engages directly with each client to produce bespoke, context-sensitive residential designs across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region.

Product overview

Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc. (dbao) is a residential architectural design firm offering a single unified service: bespoke architectural design for new homes, additions, and renovations. The firm does not operate a software product or platform. Services include creative exploration and concepting, schematic design, 2D/3D renderings, construction documents, project management, and construction administration. The portfolio showcases completed projects across various styles including craftsman bungalows, midcentury modern, traditional renovations, organic/Gaudi-inspired designs, and prairie-style architecture. Projects range from single-room renovations to whole-home transformations and new construction, with clients throughout Virginia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Award-winning design recognized internationally with FRAME Awards bronze
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 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

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Clark Robins Design BuildcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on residential projects including the award-winning dbao Studio (2020) and Westbourne Renovation (2016). The firm assists with construction for Aaron's own studio and complex renovation projects.
• Mako BuilderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred builder for significant whole-home renovation projects including Westbourne Renovation (2016) and Windsor Farms Redefined. Strong collaborative relationship on historically sensitive and complex renovations.
• Gardner ConstructionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilder for Maple Avenue Bungalow (2025), a craftsman bungalow new construction project in Richmond's Three Chopt neighborhood.
• Erik HomesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilder for Oceanfront Cottage (2019), a shingle-style vacation home in Virginia Beach's North End requiring compliance with strict coastal regulations.
• Mark Franko Custom BuildingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilder for Tuckahoe Renovation (Henrico, Virginia), featuring a light-filled Italian and Latin American inspired kitchen design.
• Lancaster Custom Builder, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilder for Stonewall Court Addition (2022), a Richmond renovation and addition project creating functional spaces for family living and entertaining.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• 3north: 3north is a Richmond, Virginia architecture firm working across residential, commercial, and adaptive reuse projects. Its Richmond base and residential capability position it as a directly comparable regional architecture practice competing for similar Mid-Atlantic clientele.
• Baskervill: Baskervill is a Richmond, Virginia-based architecture and interiors firm with a long history in the regional market. While it serves a broader portfolio than dbao (including commercial, healthcare, and hospitality), its Richmond residential and interiors practice makes it a relevant regional comparator for a boutique Mid-Atlantic residential studio.
• Glavé & Hopkins Architecture: Glavé & Hopkins is an established Richmond, Virginia architecture firm with a residential portfolio. As a competing Richmond-based studio with broader scale than dbao, it represents a regional peer with overlapping Mid-Atlantic custom residential work.

Broad incumbents

• KTGY: KTGY is a national architecture, planning, and interiors firm with a strong focus on residential design across multifamily, custom, and master-planned communities. As a broad incumbent with deep residential specialization, it represents the larger-scale residential design benchmark against which boutique studios like dbao are positioned.
• DLR Group: DLR Group is a large, multi-disciplinary national architecture firm with residential, commercial, and civic practices. As a broad incumbent operating at scale across many markets, it represents the type of well-resourced competitor dbao faces when pursuing larger custom residential or mixed-residential commissions.
• Robert A.M. Stern Architects: Robert A.M. Stern Architects is a New York-based architecture firm with a celebrated residential practice encompassing custom homes, multifamily, and resort work. As a broad incumbent in luxury residential architecture with strong brand recognition, it represents the upper-tier benchmark for residential architecture firms.

Direct peers

• Olson Kundig: Olson Kundig is a Seattle-based architecture and design firm renowned for high-end custom residential projects that win international awards. While based on the West Coast, its principal-led, style-versatile, award-winning custom residential practice makes it a relevant model for the boutique luxury custom home segment dbao operates in.
• Ike Kligerman Barkley: Ike Kligerman Barkley is a New York-based boutique architecture firm specializing in high-end custom residential design with strong stylistic range from traditional to modern. Its principal-led model, custom home focus, and award-recognized work make it directly comparable to dbao's boutique luxury residential positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/dbao_inc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/designs-by-aaron-olson-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Designs by Aaron Olson, Inc.