theStudio
rye+oak exists because most design studios are built around volume and most homeowners pay the price for it. Projects get handed off. Communication breaks down. The designer who sold you the project disappears and someone else finishes it. The details that should have been resolved on paper get resolved on the job site, where mistakes cost real money.
This studio was built as a direct response to that. One designer. One point of contact. Every project taken on because it deserves the attention, not because the pipeline needs filling. Every inch of the home considered before anything gets built. That is not a selling point. That is the standard.
rye+oak launched in 2021 in San Juan Capistrano and has grown entirely through referrals and relationships. The work speaks for itself or it doesn't. There is no version of this studio that trades quality for volume. That will not change.
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phil white, CPBD
I didn't come up through a traditional design path. Before I ever drew a floor plan I was a mechanic. Then hotel operations. Then custom clothing. Then cabinetry and furniture. Then building measurement. Each one taught me something about how things are made, how materials behave, and how details either hold together or fall apart.
That background is in every project I take on. When I design a built-in or specify a material transition, I understand how it gets built, not just how it looks on paper. That changes the quality of the decisions.
I spent years inside commercial and residential firms before going solo. I learned fast what I didn't want rye+oak to be. Too many projects, too many hands, not enough communication, and not enough care given to the details that matter. rye+oak exists as a direct response to all of it.
I hold the Certified Professional Building Designer designation through the American Institute of Building Design. The CPBD is the highest professional certification available to residential designers in the United States. It requires demonstrated competency across design, building codes, construction documents, and professional practice. It is not a shortcut. I pursued it because the work deserves that standard and so do the clients who trust me with their homes.
I am a member of the AIBD and stay current with the standards, codes, and practices that shape residential design in California.
I'm based in San Juan Capistrano and work with homeowners from San Clemente to Newport Beach. I grew up in Missouri and made my way through six states before landing here. My wife Summer owns a candle company called Country Surfer. We have a daughter and two huskies. I am proudly outnumbered.
The studio name comes from two longtime passions. Whiskey and woodworking. If you're a client who shares either of those, just wait until you see the gifts.