About
Pause

Welcome to

Pause Design

We’re a highly passionate, group of Toronto-based designers and builders who create inspiring spaces. Nothing gets us more excited than helping our clients transform an interior or exterior area into something beautiful, functional and unique to them.

We’ll offer our counsel, of course, but your vision is our goal. You can see it in all our work, which marries the beauty of natural materials with the aesthetics of industrial design.

Unlike the traditional approach to construction projects, where a designer hands off to a contractor, we follow the design-build model that integrates the two disciplines. The result is a seamless flow from imagination to proposal to creation. Our process offers you a single point of responsibility, so you can be assured of the highest aesthetic standards while simultaneously reducing practical risk and overall costs.

Welcome to
Pause Design

We’re a highly passionate, group of Toronto-based designers and builders who create inspiring spaces. Nothing gets us more excited than helping our clients transform an interior or exterior area into something beautiful, functional and unique to them.

We’ll offer our counsel, of course, but your vision is our goal. You can see it in all our work, which marries the beauty of natural materials with the aesthetics of industrial design.

Unlike the traditional approach to construction projects, where a designer hands off to a contractor, we follow the design-build model that integrates the two disciplines. The result is a seamless flow from imagination to proposal to creation. Our process offers you a single point of responsibility, so you can be assured of the highest aesthetic standards while simultaneously reducing practical risk and overall costs.

We’re
Jason & Scott
We’re
Jason & Scott

Who we are

For over ten years, we’ve worked together, both as friends and as creators—Jason as an architect-designer and Scott as a builder-contractor. In 2019, we formalized what began years ago as a side-project together, and created a thriving design-build practice that lets us bring our individual gifts to each project we take on.

Jason Ho Where other kids admired superheroes in capes, Jason’s heroes used mechanical pencils and graph paper. On his way to fulfilling his childhood ambition, he got his undergraduate degree in architecture from Ryerson University, and then went on to complete a master’s in architecture at the University of Toronto. Since then, he’s gained valuable experience, dedicating the past 15 years to honing his craft and in so doing has re-imagined spaces everywhere from healthcare facilities and other commercial buildings to residential properties.

Scott O’Brien Scott grew up the son and grandson of do-it-yourselfer-contractors, and comes by his love for building honestly. Whether around his own home or helping friends around theirs, he’s always liked taking things apart, figuring out how they work and re-building them. This naturally led to a career in television post-production, where he learned workflow analysis and project management. He puts these organizational skills to good use, along with his knowledge of product design, working with Jason. Together, they help clients find the right solution to achieve project goals, by reinventing incredible new spaces.

Service we provide

We might be quietly confident about our work and the quality of our results, but we’re especially proud of working with each client to design a custom-made creative solution, perfect for their home and budget.

We provide different services, for different clients.

Timeless design and concepts

Balance between form and function

Tailor-made space planning and design

Best-in-class interior design and decoration

Permit and project management–from design to delivery

Top-quality construction materials and contracting

Who we are

For over ten years, we’ve worked together, both as friends and as creators—Jason as an architect-designer and Scott as a builder-contractor. In 2019, we formalized what began years ago as a side-project together, and created a thriving design-build practice that lets us bring our individual gifts to each project we take on.

Jason Ho Where other kids admired superheroes in capes, Jason’s heroes used mechanical pencils and graph paper. On his way to fulfilling his childhood ambition, he got his undergraduate degree in architecture from Ryerson University, and then went on to complete a master’s in architecture at the University of Toronto. Since then, he’s gained valuable experience, dedicating the past 15 years to honing his craft and in so doing has re-imagined spaces everywhere from healthcare facilities and other commercial buildings to residential properties.

Scott O’Brien Scott grew up the son and grandson of do-it-yourselfer-contractors, and comes by his love for building honestly. Whether around his own home or helping friends around theirs, he’s always liked taking things apart, figuring out how they work and re-building them. This naturally led to a career in television post-production, where he learned workflow analysis and project management. He puts these organizational skills to good use, along with his knowledge of product design, working with Jason. Together, they help clients find the right solution to achieve project goals, by reinventing incredible new spaces.

Service
we provide

We might be quietly confident about our work and the quality of our results, but we’re especially proud of working with each client to design a custom-made creative solution, perfect for their home and budget.

We provide different services, for different clients.

Timeless design and concepts

Balance between form and function

Tailor-made space planning and design

Best-in-class interior design and decoration

Permit and project management–from design to delivery

Top-quality construction materials and contracting

Let’s start the conversation

Ask us anything