About Home Stratosphere

Launched in 2014, Home Stratosphere (Homestratosphere.com) is a leading online home and garden publication with a focus on interior design and home design.

Meet our team…

Jon Dykstra

Founder & Publisher

Jon Dykstra owns an interior design firm in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He’s fascinated by architecture and interiors. He also enjoys gardening at his “house in the burbs” and “homesteading” at his off-the-grid boat-access cabin.

Combine all that with a love of writing and Homestratsophere.com was born. He balances his working time between running his interior design company, working on his off-the-grid cabin and publishing homestratosphere.com.

John Goodman

Managing Editor

John Goodman finds the creative energy of journalism constantly inspiring. He has worked as a reporter, editor and designer in lifestyles journalism for more than 20 years. As arts and culture editor with Vancouver’s North Shore News newspaper he was part of an award-winning team that created thousands of stories over the past two decades.

Keely Smith

Interior Designer

Keely Smith is a designer and artist living in North Vancouver, BC. She has over 10 years experience working with design studios, private companies and as a freelance designer. Her passion for interior design stems from her life-long desire to share her creative ideas, and plays a key role in the success of the businesses and people she has helped. Meeting clients needs on-time and on-budget, Keely strives to balance current trends with timeless design, creating spaces that are inviting. She’s currently the lead designer for JD Elite Interiors in North Vancouver, BC.

Tina Martindelcampo

Interior Designer / Writer

I’m Tina Martindelcampo, a Los Angeles based Interior Designer specializing in Residential and Commercial Design, Home Staging and E-Design. My designs emulate a relaxed yet polished feel that incorporates various textures and design elements.

I hold fast to the idea that your home is a direct reflection of your life and my job is to create a more functional and stylish space for you to live in. You deserve an interior space that elevates your day-to-day living taking you from ordinary to inspired.

I’ve been featured as a design contributor in many online magazines such as MyDomaine, The Strategist and The Spruce. I get my inspiration from natural elements and art installations as well as museum masterpieces.

Michelle Fair

Interior Design Writer

Michele is a freelance writer who specializes in the interior home design and personal finance niche. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in print journalism but began writing for a variety of websites with a focus on SEO in 2006. Her strong suits are home improvement tips as well as home interior design/décor content with the occasional focus on fashion and fashion trends. Michele has written over 45,000 product descriptions for Hayneedle.com alone, and some of her other clients include zulily, Wayfair, clothing designer Johnny Was, Porch.com, CVS Pharmacy, and many others. From writing blogs and how-to guides to detailed product descriptions and engaging informational posts, Michele’s goal is to craft copy that focuses on each business’s unique needs and goals. Find her on LinkedIn.

Alan Roberts

Contractor / Writer

Alan Roberts has traveled the USA and Canada as a multi-trade contractor for more than 30 years. He’s welded crab pots in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, built bridges in the Yukon Territory, rebuilt hurricane-ravished regions throughout Florida, hung over the edges of skyscrapers in New York City, converted commercial electrical systems for Cannabis cultivation in California – and everything in between!

Today, he shares his deep construction industry knowledge and professional tips via his laptop as he continues traveling, learning, and helping others live smarter for less money.

Mairead Belcher

Interior Designer / Writer

My name is Mairead. I am a 26-year-old Irish designer living in Vancouver. I am originally from Ireland and have moved to Canada to presume my design career. I graduated in 2020 with an honours degree in Interior Architecture with a strong background in traditional design. I was then employed as an Interior Architect in Ireland for an architectural firm specialising in conservation architecture before moving to Vancouver. Since then, I have worked for two design firms in multi-family and private residential. I have worked on projects from multi-family, private residential and commercial. As a young designer, I am excited about exploring creative designs worldwide. I am constantly improving my creative skills and knowledge to stay involved in design trends and artistic trends. I follow a range of architectural and design curators on social media and magazines. I love to stay engaged with up-and-coming designers and architectural trends from around the world, keeping me insightful about innovative and artistic design globally.

I am a very creative person, both inside and outside of work. In my own time, I work with textiles and materials, which I find benefits my design process when making decisions about materiality and finishes throughout projects. These mediums have motivated me to explore a more diverse and creative approach to design.

Jessica Lauren Vine

Real Estate Investor / Writer

Jessica Lauren Vine has been a writer for over a decade. In 2022 she took up fixing and flipping houses and fell in love with the real estate business. When she’s not learning about real estate and wordsmithing, she enjoys watching Marvel movies with her hubs and kids, as well as hanging out with friends doing cool things. Visit my real estate site to learn more. I also publish RVIdiots.com. Otherwise, I’m on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Liz McLellan

Writer

Liz McLellan is trained in critical theory and writing on art, architecture, design, and visual media, from her degree at McGill University. She has written for publications and worked as an editor and graphic designer. From a young age, she fell in love with interior design, and has been commissioned to renovate and style apartments to be put on the market. In the other half of her time, she works as a silversmith, and reads about the history of design.

Samuel Grout

Furniture Designer / Writer

Bocote Design Studio, founded by Samuel G Grout, aims to provide product development and drafting services to consumers and businesses alike. Having a background in fabrication as well as several years’ experience as a furniture designer at a professional design & fabrication studio, Bocote Design is more than capable of assisting you in developing and drafting your next piece.

KC Morgan

Writer

KC Morgan has been a professional freelance writer since 2006, writing thousands of articles and blog posts that have been read by millions. A DIYer in her free time, KC has written hundreds of how-tos, guides and tutorials for different DIY and improvement projects around the house and garden, using concepts of color theory and design to create beautiful spaces even when working within a budget.

KC’s articles have appeared in “Popular Mechanics,” and have been featured on Bob Vila’s website. When she’s not writing or DIYing, KC enjoys watching college basketball, playing with her cats and playing around with interior design ideas to create great spaces. Follow KC on Twitter @KCMorganWrites or LinkedIn.

April Freeman

Recipe Creator / Writer

April Freeman enjoys creating all kinds of recipes for her friends and family from her country kitchen in Middle Tennessee. She and her family raise beef cattle, chickens, and all sorts of fruits and veggies on their farm, and she specializes in featuring farm-fresh foods in the recipes that she creates and serves.

April says that her slogan is “Are you hungry?” and she feels that one way of showing love and connecting with others is to serve delicious favorite foods to others. Her favorite thing to cook is pies of all kinds.

Savanna Lentz

Writer

Savanna Lentz hails from no place in particular. Having moved 30 times before the age of twenty, the constant change in environment has earned her expert status in all things homemaking. Whether it be interior painting and designing, baking, hosting charming dinner parties, or colour coating her collection of books, she is the cool kind of Stepford wife.

Cairo Ferguson

Writer

Cairo is a Vancouver local, and from an early age learned about the importance of caring for the environment. This passion for sustainability trickled into her interest in gardening and creating a more sustainable and natural home. Cairo is a recipient of a Bachelor of Fine Arts, which impacted her eye for architecture and design, and developed a passion for decorative arts and design in the home. Cairo has a passion for the intersection of design and sustainability.

Graham Gammell

Writer

Graham is a writer and ex-bartender based out of Montreal, Canada. Having worked in fine dining and cocktail bars since he was 16 and while finishing university, he dedicated himself to his passion for writing about food and drink. He is interested in the myths and histories behind our iconic alcohol, viewing them as methods to better understand the relationship people have with their environment and communities. In his time off he enjoys camping and fixing bikes.

Chris Hawton

Writer

Chris Hawton has been the Senior Pool and Hot Tub Technician at Clark Pools and Spas Collingwood for the last 15 years. Recently he has become a proud co-owner looking to continue Clark Pools 20 year legacy in Collingwood. He is always happy to share his wealth of pool construction, pool or hot tub service knowledge. At HomeStratosphere read his tips on how to deal with common pool and hot tub problems.

Rachel Presser

Writer

Rachel Presser is a crazy toad lady from the Bronx who was exiled to New Jersey, spending a significant chunk of her youth where all the hideous 1970s couch covers and avocado shag carpeting went to die. Upon escaping the sea of brown and founding Sonic Toad Media, she decided to devote her time to writing from the fantastically-preserved Googie artifacts in LA and former speakeasies in Chicago, to forging new game worlds in the tea lounges of Taipei and Tokyo. She can be found at game jams, hardcore shows, vaporwave dance parties, and petting amphibians on a sensible corner loveseat.