Spend some time chatting with D. Langston Tupponce Jr. and you'll never look at interior structural design the same way again. Tupponce is descended from three generations of plasterers, but three years ago he started a company that does something that plaster and drywall aren't generally made to do.

The front door of the designer's home showcases his creative work.

"I'm doing work and pieces that define spaces," Tupponce says. "I prefer to do sculptural work versus flat work because I am a structural designer — not a drywall contractor. I take drywall to another level. In doing sculptural work, I'm able to express myself through shape, form, space, color, and depth — everything is dimensional."

Tupponce's company, Designer's of the Rock, started out with relatively straightforward jobs.

"I was building decks and porches, hanging and finishing drywall, and texturing ceilings and side walls," Tupponce says.

Langston Tupponce stands before a client's installation, a portal constructed of stained woods.

Not all of the projects were artistically simple, though. Sometimes, clients wanted something a little different from the norm.

"Then I'd bring them here for ideas," Tupponce says, referring to the house he designed with his wife, Shelia, three years ago.

The house is a showcase for Tupponce's creative work. A contemporary design with an open floor plan, it's full of striking architectural details. The doors and windows sport stacked layers of painted trim, and trays run around the top of the living room as ledges that conceal lighting. And the wide, arched doorway that leads from the large kitchen to the entertainment room is dramatically architectural.

Good structural design "should define the space, and it should define the particular area or object it's surrounding," Tupponce says. "A room with bare walls is a cubicle. But when you define it, it comes alive."

It takes an adventurous client to see trimwork as potential sculpture, though.

"It's tailored toward a different client, who wants a custom element that defines space with dimensional art," Tupponce says. "Most clients don't know what they want. So I'll pull out the sketchbook, and they'll say, ‘Wow, you can make this in my house?'"

Typically, Tupponce says, his clients give him free rein to create original designs, which range from custom trimwork and fireplaces to freestanding archways. Tupponce also designs freestanding wall sculptures.

"I like the wall sculptures because they stand alone," he says. "They may not be around a window or a door."

A unique fireplace warms the living and dining rooms and acts as a divider.

The materials he uses for his wall sculptures include hardwoods, glass, plastics, and Styrofoam.

"I've got some that I'm using with lights," he says. "But they never overwhelm the room."

After seeing the archway that Tupponce designed for her stepson's home, Richmonder Chyrel Mintz commissioned Tupponce to make one of his lighted sculptures for her living room. The room has a high, vaulted ceiling, and the wall space near its peak seemed empty.

"He came in and looked at the space, and I told him we wanted something unique," Mintz says. "He drew three sketches, and we picked the one we liked the best."

It took Tupponce three days to build the sculpture, and he installed it himself, with help from an electrician.

"No one will have anything like it, and it takes up the space beautifully," Mintz says. "It gives off a great feel in the room."

As his business has grown, Tupponce's client base has expanded.

"I've worked in Atlanta and Newport News," he says. "I'm currently networking with contacts in Charlotte, N.C., Atlanta, and Miami to cross over into those markets."

Almost all of his work comes from references. "They already know what I do," he says. "They've seen my work, and they know nobody else does this work."

In time, Tupponce would like to see his company expand to give him a chance to focus on larger projects.

"I want to get to the point where I develop contemporary properties – residential and commercial, especially green building," he says. "Being a one-man show, it limits you."