My Design Build Project
Everything stays in the system.
Five sides of the table. One shared record. The project that runs better because everyone can see it.
In One Sentence
Email is for alerts. It tells you there's something to see. MDBP is what you're going to see.
What It Is
A Shared Record for Residential Remodeling
Not a contractor tool. Not a homeowner portal. A single workspace that every party on the project uses — the homeowner, the general contractor, the subcontractors, the suppliers, and the service professionals.
Everyone sees the same project. Everyone knows what's been decided. Everyone knows what comes next.
The system does not replace email. It uses email — for the one thing email is genuinely good at: telling someone there's something for them to see. The details never live in the inbox. They live in the project, where everyone who needs them can find them.
Same System, Different Century
The Idea Was Right in 2003. The Tools Caught Up.
The first version of My Design Build Project shipped in 2003. It ran on pagers, flip phones, and the earliest version of the mobile web.
Uploading an image meant transferring from the phone to a computer, resizing it, zipping it, attaching it, and hoping it went through. Documentation was possible — but it took real effort. Most of it didn't happen.
Twenty-nine firms used the system in that era. It worked. And then the banking collapse of 2008–2014 took twenty-five of them, not from bad work but from lack of capital. The platform went dark.
The system was rebuilt in 2017, then again in 2025. The philosophy hasn't changed. What's changed is the world it operates in.
2003
- Pager notifications
- Flip phone
- Manual image resize
- Manual zip and attach
- Documentation was effort
2026
- Email alerts (still useful)
- The phone in your pocket
- Automatic resize to 600px
- Select, upload, done
- Documentation is effortless
In 2003, most contractors didn't document their work because documenting it was too hard. In 2026, not documenting takes more effort than documenting.
Same system. Better tools. The record finally exists the way it was always meant to.
What the record protects
The Inspector
A contractor we worked with had just finished a full renovation.
The walls were up. The wallpaper and paint were finished. The building inspector arrived for final inspection, and asked to verify the steel supports that had been installed in the ceiling joists.
The inspector's options were limited. He could trust the contractor's word. He could require the ceiling and walls to be opened up — a catastrophic set of change orders on a project that was essentially finished.
The contractor said: "Do you have a minute?"
He stepped over to his laptop, brought up the Project Picture Gallery, and scrolled to the images showing the steel supports being installed. Dated. Attributed. Documented.
The inspector confirmed the record. The inspection passed. The project moved on.
Everyone walked away whole — the contractor, the homeowner, and the inspector, whose responsibilities were preserved by having a record to check against.
What the record replaces
The Outlook Conversation
One of the first contractors we showed MDBP to said:
"I could use Outlook for all of this."
Yes, you could. And the moment you do, the record of your project lives in your inbox — searchable only by you, visible only to you, dependent entirely on your memory.
When the inspector comes, when the homeowner asks, when the plumber forgets what was decided three months ago — you'll be the one they call. Every time.
MDBP works differently. The record lives in the project. Everyone sees what they need. And you go back to building.
Email is for alerts. It tells you there's something to see. MDBP is what you're going to see.
What the record connects
The Son in Kuwait
A couple we worked with took up residence in Connecticut while their home in Pennsylvania was being renovated.
Their son was stationed in Kuwait.
Because every project on MDBP has role-based access, he could log in any time — from halfway around the world — and see what was happening in his childhood home.
Not a status update. Not a text message from his parents. He could see.
He watched his family's home being rebuilt from six thousand miles away.
No other project management tool makes this possible. Not because the technology is exotic — because the design assumes everyone on the project deserves to see it.
What the record keeps
The Etsy Fixtures
A homeowner found light fixtures she loved on Etsy. In a normal project, she'd text a screenshot to her electrician, and three days later the thread would be buried under fourteen other texts.
Instead, she pasted the links into Let's Go Shopping and shared them with Ralphy, her electrician.
Ralphy saw them. Ralphy confirmed them. The right fixtures got ordered. The conversation stayed in the record.
Suppliers use the same feature from the other direction. A cabinet supplier can copy and paste product images and pricing details directly from her own website into the Project Folder. Everyone who needs the information has it. Everyone who doesn't, doesn't.
Small decisions happen a hundred times on every project. MDBP is what keeps them from getting lost.
Who Uses It
Five Sides of the Table
Each party sees what's relevant to their work, and nothing else.
Homeowner
Sees progress, approves changes, shares ideas, tracks the record of her own project.
General Contractor
Runs the project, uploads photos, manages the record, coordinates every party.
Subcontractors
See their scope, log their work, get information shared directly with them.
Suppliers
Post products and pricing directly into the record. Everyone who needs it sees it.
Service Pros
See scheduled visits, log their work, keep the record intact for whoever comes next.
And one more party, who never logs in but always benefits: the building inspector, whose work is made easier when the record actually exists.
What It Does
The Tools
Five features. One record. No configuration required.
Messaging
Communication inside the project. Not scattered across texts, emails, and phone calls. Every message is part of the record.
File Sharing
Contracts, permits, drawings, inspection reports — all in one place. Files delivered intact. Zipped automatically when needed.
Project Picture Gallery
Dated, attributed, searchable visual record of every step. The gallery that saved the inspection.
Let's Go Shopping
Paste a link. Share with the right trade. The item goes into the project folder. Suppliers post directly, too.
Role-Based Access
The right people see the right things. Nobody sees what isn't theirs to see. The record stays clean.
Holy Cow Image Uploader
Select any number of images. Hit upload. The system resizes each to 600px, records them, and delivers them to everyone selected. No resizing. No zipping. Just done.
The Promise
Preserved for the Life of the Engagement
Most project management tools lose their data the moment the project ends, the subscription lapses, or a participant leaves. The record evaporates.
MDBP preserves the record for as long as the participants are involved. Images, drawings, contracts, change orders, inspection reports, correspondence — all committed to the system, all available when someone needs them.
Five years from now, when a homeowner asks "do you still have the drawings from that project?" — the answer is yes.
For Homeowners
What It Means for You
You'll be able to see what's happening on your project without making a phone call.
Photos, decisions, updates, selections — all in one place, visible whenever you want to see them. If something needs your attention, you'll get an email. The email tells you there's something to see. The details are where they belong: in the project.
If you ever need to verify that something was done — for an inspector, an insurer, or your own peace of mind — the record is there.
This is the system your project runs on. It's included with every Studio North Shore design.
For Contractors
What It Means for You
You step into a project that's already designed, already scoped, already aligned. The platform is waiting. Everyone who needs to be on the project is on the project.
You stop being the switchboard. You stop being the only person who knows where anything is. You stop getting phone calls asking about decisions that were made three months ago.
You go back to building.
MDBP is invitation-only. We work with a small network of contractors who share the design-first philosophy. If you're interested in being considered for future projects, get in touch.
Get in Touch
Homeowners — start with a One Day Design and see what your project could become before you commit to anything. Contractors — get in touch if you'd like to be considered for the network.