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TOTAL HOME MAGAZINE
FALL 2016
A year ago, when Brett and Brenda Bar-
riage contemplated moving out of their
Elmira house and downsizing to something
more contemporary, it was their son who
inspired a change of heart.
With their two children grown and mar-
ried, the Barriages believed their house of
18 years – with its four bedrooms and 3
½ bathrooms – was too big for the two of
them. But after spending several months
touring open houses and not finding any-
thing suitable, they were getting discour-
aged.
Then came Christmas. The couple hosted
a family dinner and realized they didn’t
have enough space for everyone to sit in
the same room together for a visit. Brett
recalls their son coming up with the
perfect solution. “He told me, you know
Dad, you’re not going to need less space
in the next ten to twenty years,” Brett says
laughing. “You’re going to need more
space.”
Once Brett and Brenda made the decision
to renovate, they surveyed their current
space, knowing that a new kitchen would
figure largely in their initial plans. “The
kitchen was small, old and not very func-
tional,” says Brett.
But it was their front room that proved
the real catalyst for undertaking a larger
renovation. Once used as a home office,
the room had gradually become a storage
depot. As they envisioned how much
space they would have for entertaining if
they knocked down the wall separating
this room from the living room, they also
imagined other possibilities.
“What about the bathroom and the
laundry room, and what about the win-
dows and front door?” Brett says of their
discussions to remodel the entire main
floor. “We decided that if we’re going to
go through all of this work and make the
dust, let’s do it and do it right.”
The couple knew a project this big would
require a professional contractor to
manage the details from start to finish.
The decision to contact Darrell Martin at
Way-Mar was easy. Besides being satisfied
with previous work completed by Way-
Mar, Darrell also happens to be Brenda’s
brother. With this high level of trust and
familiarity, Brett and Brenda scheduled the
Elmira couple transforms an outdated
main floor into a dream space for family
Brenda and Brett Barriage in their
newly renovated kitchen.