By Donna Heiderstadt

Growing up watching “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” with her dad, Payton Patterson dreamed of one day also having a pink hardhat like Paige Hemmis. Today, as the Owner and Lead Designer of Payton’s Place Designs in Regina, Saskatchewan, the 30-year-old is right in the thick of the home remodeling business, and yes, she wears a pink hard hat at job sites. “I really enjoy renovation projects because they tend to pose more of a challenge — fitting the client’s wish list within a confined space,” she says. “I believe great design evolves and that an original idea can become an excellent solution for a client when all parties bring their A game.”

But Payton, a 2016 graduate of Lakeland College in Vermillion, Alberta, where the Interior Design program is NKBA-accredited, is equally enamored with floral design, so when she started her own company in May 2021, she decided to wear two hats. Not only has she completed 75 home renovation projects since incorporating, but she’s also designed the floral arrangements for 136 weddings. “I was never able to let go of my love for floral design,” Payton admits of the side passion she developed while working in a flower shop in high school.

Payton, who describes herself as “bubbly” and says she’s already checked 306 items off her bucket list (with 249 left to go), was one of three finalists in the 2022 Saskatchewan Paragon Awards: Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2022. Not only is she a member of NKBA’s Prairie Chapter, but she also formed a local group to support other small business owners. “I believe in community over competition,” she says of the group of 20+ local interior designers “who get together quarterly in Regina to share and discuss business tips, project highlights, etc. so we can continue to grow, support, and learn together.”

Her favorite projects definitely involve older character homes. “I really enjoy Victorian, Art Deco, and traditional design styles,” she says. “However, I wouldn’t say I particularly have a design ‘style,’ as my goal for each completed project would be for friends of the homeowners to say, ‘Wow this is so you,” meaning the homeowner!”

Payton’s husband of four years, Chad, is also an entrepreneur, and while dating they bonded over “running after our dreams and goals together.” In March 2025, they will be a family of three when they welcome a daughter. “I am so excited to start my family and raise my little girl to chase her dreams,” she says, “whatever her dreams may be.”