I help people figure out what they can build, and then I help them see what it could become.
I work with homeowners, builders, architects, and developers on projects where there are questions to solve before there are answers.
Sometimes that means studying zoning, building codes, WUI requirements, energy requirements, existing conditions, and construction costs to determine whether a project makes sense.
Other times, the project already has a vision, but it needs to be developed and communicated through design, 3D modeling, and architectural illustration.
Dream. Design. Build.
Two sides of the same business:
Key Home Design
Residential design for custom homes, additions, remodels, ADUs, historic properties, and challenging sites.
I help clients understand what is possible before they commit to a full design and construction process. That can include feasibility studies, zoning and code research, schematic design, 3D modeling, permit drawings, and construction documentation.
Key Illustration
Architectural visualization for architects, builders, interior designers, real estate professionals, and developers.
I take plans, sketches, and unfinished ideas and turn them into images that help people understand the project and get excited about what it could become.
That may include 3D modeling, architectural illustration, rendered images, presentation graphics, immersive views, and Ai-assisted visualization.
Why I work in 3D
Plans are important, but most people do not naturally think in floor plans and elevations.
A 3D model helps clients understand the space before it is built.
We can look at circulation, ceiling heights, daylight, views, materials, furniture, connections between rooms, and how a new addition relates to the existing house.
It also forces design decisions to happen earlier.
When a project is modeled carefully, connections, assemblies, clearances, and construction issues become easier to see before they become expensive problems in the field. I don't just work in 3D. I don't just work in 3D.
3D adds spatial understanding: How will the building work, feel, and relate to the site and its surroundings?
4D adds time: How will the project be phased and built?
5D adds cost: How will design decisions affect quantities and the project budget?
6D adds lifecycle thinking: How will material choices, energy use, maintenance, durability, and the building’s long-term performance affect the decisions we make today?
Exploring a living room addition, new 2-car garage, pop-top study, and rooftop deck in East Hilltop.
Residential site study East Hilltop Denver.
What makes my approach different
I grew up around construction.
My dad was a custom home builder, and I started working with him when I was eight years old. I stayed involved in the family business through my twenties, so I learned how buildings actually go together, not just how they look on paper.
That experience still affects the way I design today.
I look at a project from several directions at the same time:
How should it look?
How will it be built?
What do the codes allow?
What will it cost?
How will the client understand it?
I have always been a doer. I like getting into the problem myself, studying the site, researching the codes, building the model, and looking for possibilities that might not have been obvious at the beginning.
Matt’s Portfolio is unique in the 3D architectural visualization and design industry. Matt’s greatest accomplishments are outlined on his Featured Projects Page, where you can see detailed project examples from start to finish. Matt has an Ideas Page covering many interesting subject matters related to the design and construction industries. The illustration world is quickly changing with the golden age of instant rendering engines and Artificial Intelligence Renderings opening new avenues in graphics and design beyond imagination. Matt knows his tools and how to push the envelope of innovation. Please submit a message on the contact page, or call to speak directly with Matt about your design and illustration needs.
Other client types include architects, interior designers, business owners, and developers, for whom design services, as-built services, point cloud data services, 3D scans, photorealistic rendered images, and Virtual Reality (VR) immersive experiences. Key Illustration also models projects outside the built environment: technical drawings, Artificial Intelligence (Ai) illustration, artist concepts, environmental branding, and invention documentation.
RESIDENTIAL DESIGN
ADUs
NEW CONSTRUCTION, ADDITIONS, REMODELS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
HISTORIC RENOVATIONS
BARNDOS
ADUs
Accessory Dwelling Units can create rental income, provide space for family members, add a caretaker residence or simply make better use of a property.
Before designing one, we look at the zoning, lot conditions, setbacks, access, utilities, parking and building-code requirements to determine what is realistic.
New Construction, Additions and Remodels
Every house comes with a different set of opportunities and limitations.
I help homeowners explore those possibilities before they make major financial commitments.
Depending on the project, we may begin with a feasibility study or schematic design package, then move into pricing, contractor selection and permit drawings once the direction is clear.
The goal is to make good decisions early and reduce surprises later.
Feasibility Studies
Sometimes the most valuable work happens before design begins.
Can the addition fit?
Can an ADU be built?
Will zoning allow the idea?
What will WUI or energy requirements change?
Does the project make sense for the owner's goals and budget?
A feasibility study can answer those questions before a client spends a large amount of money developing the wrong solution.
Historic Homes
Historic homes are some of my favorite projects.
They require patience, research, and respect for what is already there.
I have worked on historic properties since the 1980s and have experience with local landmark requirements, historic review and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
The goal is not simply to preserve an old house. It is to help it continue working for the people who live there today. You can still live modernly in a historic home; it just takes the right approach to solve unique and unusual problems of older gems.
WUI and Mountain Properties
Mountain and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) projects can come with another layer of design and construction requirements.
I help clients understand how wildfire regulations, materials, assemblies, site conditions, and energy requirements affect the project before those issues become surprises during permitting or construction.
Helping people see the vision
Sometimes drawings are not enough.
I use architectural modeling, illustration, rendering, and Ai-assisted visualization to help people experience an idea before it is built.
For a homeowner, that may mean finally understanding what a new kitchen, addition, or custom home will feel like.
For an architect or builder, it may mean helping a client understand the design.
For a developer, it may mean turning a complicated plan into an image that investors, partners, or a governing board can understand.
The technology changes.
The goal does not.
Make the idea clear. Make it believable. Help people see the possibility.
A classic Denver 4-square remodel with historic considerations with an attic conversion to finished space on Lafayette Street in the East 7th Avenue Historic District, in the heart of the City.
The construction document process in historic districts is governed by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, achieving Certificates Of Appropriateness (COA’s).
Convering a garage in Denver’s East Hilltop creates an inviting, affordable living space.
“Matt does a great job of putting your vision into a design! He did the design and drawing package from my basement finish remodel and it was perfect!”
“Hi Matt- We are the new owners of David and Angela’s home in Steamboat. Although we aren’t ready to pull the trigger on the addition at this time, your excellent and thoughtful work is one of the top reasons we bought this property. Thanks!”
“Thank you Matt. Your work is amazing!”
“Hi Matt, I just wanted to check in. Thank you for sending over the designs and video — super helpful and overall a great approach!”
“We hired Matt after purchasing our condominium. Matt took a complex set of challenges and skillfully navigated an elegant, timeless solution, and it’s honestly the talk of our complex.
His planning and execution of the design were a dream. We understood his vision and trusted him with the most significant investment of our lives. Our building contractor was ecstatic with Matt’s approach and thoughtful details, and our project was hugely successful. Matt helped us achieve a sizeable financial gain in the real estate markets, and we couldn’t have done it without his expertise.
Matt communicated his unique 3D designs remotely while we lived in another state. We were thrilled beyond belief when we arrived home for the final unveiling! We’re selling the home we love so much, but we’re also excited to engage in another house remodel project with Matt soon.”
“...Our Accessory Dwelling Unit/ Care Takers Apartment is almost done! I’d like to circle back on our house addition soon. Thank you for all your efforts helping us see our vision through...”
“Hi Matt. We decided we’re going to go with you and wanted to give some feedback to the thoughtful proposal and let you know your insight and ideas excited us. We’re happy to be working with you.”
ARCHITECTURE and INTERIOR DESIGN FIRMS
I work with architecture and interior design firms that need help developing or communicating an idea. Sometimes the architecture is already established, and the need is simply a great image. Other times, the design is still evolving, and I can help with modeling, visualization, and presentation while the project develops. My role is to support the design, not overpower it.
The goal is to create something that helps the architect, designer, and client move the project forward.
Living the VRBO dream in Tabernash - Residential design with Dave Robb at Robb Studio Denver.
Tenant finish design collaboration with Lisa Christner, The Corporate Interior Design Company.
Columbine Street interior in Cherry Creek, a design collaboration with Meg Jonson Design.
Aaradex Headquarters design competition with Keat Tan,GKK Works.
REAL ESTATE and DEVELOPERS
A property is often easier to sell, finance, or develop when people can see its potential. I help real estate professionals and developers study existing conditions, explore redevelopment ideas, and create visuals showing what a property could become.
That can include site studies, as-built documentation, 3D scanning, concept modeling, and architectural illustration. For an unfinished development idea, the challenge is often bigger than making a pretty rendering.
The real job is figuring out what matters most about the project and how to communicate it clearly.
Urban infill at 1728 Blake Street for Stoltz Real Estate Partners.
As-built documentation services play a crucial role in real estate transactions by providing precise and accurate records of existing conditions. These scanning and drawing services offer 3D views of existing spaces and data for leasing purposes, such as verifying areas or building spaces or even being used in property disputes. The drawings include interior/exterior elevations, sections, roof, reflected ceiling, electrical, and foundation plans. Complex scheduling of windows, doors, and finishes are drawn with accuracy, noted, broken into schedules, and drawn to scale. Scanning services are an excellent way to document as-built conditions and construction progress, electronically 3D documenting projects before project completion for record-keeping purposes and no more guessing where rebar might be in concrete or the location of structural, electrical, heating, and plumbing services which can all be documented and preserved for future reference.
Sample plan of as-built conditions.
RETAIL BUSINESS OWNERS
Retail and workspace environmental branding requires an understanding of designing space, graphic design, branding principles, and practical knowledge of the material interface and processes needed to create the required environment. Key Illustration can bridge vision to deliver high-end fit-out branding projects in collaboration with architects, interior designers, building companies, marketing managers, and facility managers.
26th and Walnut Street Redevelopment- Urban renewal with the late Josh Comfort Realestate Development Services.
Urban Infill at 49th and Zuni, Denver, Colorado with Paul Trambrullo at Red Chair Realty Advisors in Denver.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
Sometimes one image cannot explain a project.
360-degree views and interactive 3D presentations allow clients to move through a design and understand spaces, connections and views in a way that traditional drawings cannot.
I use immersive technology when it actually helps tell the story of the project, not simply because the technology exists.
360-degree panoramic image plants the viewer into your design. It lets them explore at their leisure in a VR stereoscopic format that excites clients and communicates design intent at an in-depth and comprehensive level. Click here and see how Matt employs 3D viewing technology that can be explored via smartphones, VR headsets, and PC computers. The future is certainly bright in the VR world, and Matt's an expert at immersive technology.
ENVIRONMENTAL BRANDING + SPECIAL PROJECTS
Every once in a while, a project does not fit neatly into architecture. I also enjoy unusual design problems involving environmental graphics, product prototyping, branding, custom interiors, planograms, product concepts, and one-of-a-kind visual ideas.
Those projects give me a chance to combine architectural thinking, graphics, materials, and construction in ways that are a little outside the normal box.
Key Illustration devises customized solutions that are like no other. Learn more about this uniquely featured project here.
A man-cave bathroom in the heart of Texas, from concept, to reality, complete with oil can restroom.
It’s a garage like no other. A design/build collaboration with Damion Brooker Creative and Key Home Design.
Have a project you're trying to figure out?
Give me a call.
You do not need to have everything figured out before we talk.
That's part of what I'm here for.
Matt Hodel, LEED AP
Designer / Owner
Key Home Design + Key Illustration
Denver, Colorado
Understand Matt’s standardized process and why it delivers outstanding results next.