Jon Dykstra
From Law to Design Publishing
Jon practiced law for six years before walking away from the profession to build something he actually cared about. He launched Home Stratosphere in 2014 and has been publishing daily ever since, turning a lifelong obsession with residential design into one of the most comprehensive home design publications online.
His legal background wasn’t wasted. The analytical rigor that made him a good lawyer now drives how he approaches content: every claim sourced, every data point verified, every recommendation grounded in something real. The design advice on this site isn’t theoretical. It comes from someone who has worked with real clients, in real rooms, solving real problems.
AI, Personality Psychology, and Design
Jon’s current focus sits at the intersection of three things most people wouldn’t think to connect: artificial intelligence, personality psychology, and interior design. He believes AI is the tool that finally lets us ask the questions design has been ignoring for decades. Not “what’s trending?” but “why does this room feel wrong to you specifically, and what would make it feel right?”
The answer, he’s found, almost always traces back to personality. The way someone processes information, recharges energy, and makes decisions predicts what they need from a physical space far more reliably than any mood board or Pinterest collection. An introvert who forces herself into a wide-open floor plan because it’s fashionable will feel exposed in her own living room. A sensing type surrounded by abstract art and asymmetric furniture will never relax, no matter how many design magazines call it elegant.
AI changed the equation. Jon uses artificial intelligence daily to analyze design patterns across thousands of homes, generate room concepts tailored to specific personality types, create before-and-after visualizations, and test ideas at a speed and specificity that would have been impossible even two years ago. It’s not about replacing human creativity. It’s about finally having a tool precise enough to connect psychological wiring to physical space.
This work culminated in the Personality Type Home Design Guide, a 113-page guide that maps all 16 personality types to their ideal color palettes, room layouts, furniture choices, and design priorities. It includes exact paint codes, couples compatibility frameworks, and room-by-room direction for every type. Jon holds an official Step I & Step II Certification in the MBTI personality type framework, earned through Psychometrics, the exclusive Canadian distributor of the instrument. That certification underpins everything in the guide and informs how Home Stratosphere connects personality to space.
He writes about AI from direct, daily experience. When Home Stratosphere reviews an AI design tool or demonstrates a technique, it’s because Jon has used it himself and can speak to what it actually does, not what the press release claims.
Real Estate and Properties
Jon and his wife own several real estate properties in British Columbia. He began investing in 2022, launched an Airbnb business in 2023, and has since acquired three properties, each selected with the same eye for design and functionality that drives his publishing work.
Through real estate, Jon channels the same appreciation for thoughtful layouts and functional design that fuels his publishing. Every property is a project, and every project feeds back into the content on Home Stratosphere. When he writes about space planning or the economics of renovation, it comes from firsthand experience, not secondhand research.
Personal Life
Jon has been married since 2009 and has two sons. His family is his anchor, and together they travel, explore new places, and keep a running list of towns and cities they’d consider living in someday. Home is a regular suburban house in North Vancouver, BC, surrounded by mountains, ocean, and trails they use year-round.
Outside of work, Jon stays active with CrossFit, racket sports, skiing, and long walks. He reads fiction voraciously and is always in the middle of whatever streaming show the internet won’t stop talking about. When he’s not working or with family, he’s probably planning the next trip or sketching out ideas for the cabin.
Design Your Home Around Your Personality
Jon’s Personality Type Home Design Guide maps all 16 types to their ideal spaces — with exact colors, room layouts, and a couples compatibility framework.
Explore the Guide