About Home Stratosphere
We write about, design and showcase beautiful homes!
Launched in 2014
Jon launched Home Stratosphere in 2014. Long passionate about interior design and beautiful homes generally, he started by profiling beautiful homes and interiors.
In 2022, Jon took his passion for interior design one step further by founding an interior design firm JD Elite Interiors, located in North Vancouver, BC.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Michele 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 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.
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.
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.