Meet Barb Renwick of Renwick Interiors.
Barbra’s passion for Interior Decorating began at 13 years old when her parents built a custom home and she assisted her mother in the design and styling of their new home. With advice from her father she pursued an education in business and graduated university with a Business Degree. In 2001 Barbra was made responsible for a full office renovation and her passion was reignited. While Enrolled at Mohawk College for Interior Design she was able to start working on her business plan, and once graduated, was able to get started in her new business straight away.
Barb’s favourite part of designing a home is perfecting all the little details. She loves incorporating colour, textures and different finishes in to her design in order to elevate the over-all look within the home. When all these details come together Barb not only compliments the home, but creates a space that truly reflects her client’s sense of style.
Barb’s clients find her through referrals, Instagram, social media and her website. To start things off there is an in-depth phone conversation about the project her potential clients are working on. This way she can get a good idea of what their looking for and be better prepared for a consultation. An in-person consultation takes 1-2 hours. Barb is available to consult for a variety of needs, from colour consultations and small projects to top to bottom home designs and renovations. During this meeting she looks at the home, goes over the list of needs and wants, as well as the budget. Getting to know the client’s needs and style are really important at this stage. Finding out how the clients and their family use their home, what is currently functioning well, and what can be improved on is a big priority. Improving the functionality and lifestyle of her clients is extremely important.
In this Elmira home the functionality was changed drastically. The layout of the home was not ideal and the kitchen especially was awkwardly laid out. Since the home owner Tammy loves to cook the kitchen layout needed to be improved. Barbra partnered with Terry Beingessner at TA Appliances and Barbecues to help the home owner pick out the perfect appliances for their needs. One of the priorities was figuring out how to expand the kitchen so that a bigger range could be included in the design. Tammy and her husband chose the 48” Thermador 6 burner gas range that comes equipped with a griddle on top as well as two oven cavities – one standard oven and one steam oven. This not only required a bigger kitchen, but also changes to the plumbing and ventilation. Such a large, professional range requires some serious ventilation! A Vent-A-hood insert was chosen and encased in a custom hood. Having correct specs for appliances and ventilation are so important, having a sales person like Terry ensures a designer is able to get accurate information when they need it. Since Barb’s clients chose their appliances at the beginning stages of the design Barb could get all the details sorted and plan the layout of the new Kitchen accordingly to suit their choices. The way from the front door to the kitchen had required everyone to walk through the home office. Changing the entry way and adding a direct route to the kitchen allowed for the previous doorway to be closed, which allowed for additional space. The existing Sub-Zero fridge is still functioning as good as new, despite being decades old! Instead of putting budget towards a new fridge it was re-paneled in a colour to match the rest of the new kitchen. For a dishwasher another Thermador product was chosen, the 24” Topaz 6 cycle with a Pro Handle to compliment the professional styling of the Range.
One wall was moved back a few feet allowing for an entirely new beverage station. This family entertains frequently so having a space guests could grab a drink or serve themselves coffee was a huge improvement. For the Beverage area a Marvel Beverage Fridge with a Glass door and backlighting was added, as well as a 15” Marvel Ice Maker . The shelf above was custom made from the same tree as other live-edge features throughout the home. To make life even more convenient when the bathroom and laundry room off the kitchen were renovated a Frigidaire Stand-up Freezer was put in the laundry space. Now the home-owners had the convenience of a large separate freezer but they no longer had to make trips down to the basement to get items or put them away. The island is a big change. The kitchen did have a bar before the renovation, but it was unusable as a seating area and made it awkward to move around the kitchen. The new island is large enough for guests and family members to sit at and still has plenty of room for cooking to be done. There are no longer any obstructions and now everyone can move around with ease. Barb gave attention to every detail in this home and it shows. She even designed a custom drawer in the island next to the sink to contain compost. It is in the perfect spot and can be used while Tammy prepares dinner without her ever having to bend over or move around to open cupboard doors. Colours, lighting and finishes were chosen after the floors were picked out. The backsplash was chosen last, and not until the gorgeous countertops were installed. Barb wanted to make sure the tiles would be a perfect fit and would complement the countertop’s colouring.
The entire home was renovated over a year span from top to bottom. The home owners are so much happier with the new flow of their home and the way their space is so much more usable. Their favourite part of the renovation is how big of a transformation their home went through. They now have their dream home and never want to leave.
If you would like to contact Barb to work on your own home, or you would like to see more of her work please view her Website or check her out on Instagram .
Photography done by Brad Quan from QStudios. To get more info, or to contact Brad, visit website at QStudios.ca or email brad@qstudios.ca
Barb worked directly with Terry Beingessner of the TA Appliance Kitchener Showroom, who specializes in working directly with designers, trade partners and their clients. Terry has been in the appliance industry for several years and has great experience with the premium appliance brands. Terry’s hard working and kind personality make her the complete package of appliance specialists. Contact Terry anytime at tbeingessner@taappliance.com or call 519-578-0300 ext.3302.
