Thomas O'Connor Jr.
owner & designer
Tom started at sixteen, gardening for a local botanist, and was managing his first Newport estate at nineteen — working beside the estate’s rose gardener while finishing a business degree at the University of Rhode Island. Those years taught him how a garden is actually made and cared for, and they still shape the way he designs.
Stone came next. Building walls came naturally, and he learned to cut and set stone before he ever drew a terrace. He entered the Newport Flower Show’s competitive garden design three years running — third place, then second twice — and took home the People’s Choice Award.
In 2026 the Preservation Society of Newport County honored his rain garden at Marble House with the Laurel Award for Horticulture — the latest in a run that includes three RINLA Honor Awards for residential landscape design, two RINLA silver awards in 2018 and his certified horticulturist accreditation, earned while designing and building gardens for some of Aquidneck Island’s most beautiful homes. The full list is in news & press.
O’Connor Design Build was founded in 2019 to carry a project from the first sketch through construction under one roof, and it has grown into pools as well — Tom is a Certified Genesis Pool Builder. The approach is design first: spaces that fit the house, the client, the grade, the existing stone and the native landscape around them.
Tom lives in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, with his wife and two children. Off the job he surfs, trains jiu-jitsu, and grows roses and figs. “Nature has always inspired me. Creating beautiful spaces and bringing them to life for people is something I deeply enjoy.” — Tom
