This story is told by Monica Tuck.
In April 2020, a third of the Wendel family’s cherished home was destroyed when a tornado swept through the neighborhood of Wyoming, in Cincinnati, OH. Renovating and redesigning their home was an immediate need and non-negotiable.
They took this devastating turn of events and decided to bring to life a new chapter for their home. The Wendels didn’t want to put their home back together exactly as it was before the tornado hit. They wanted to recreate a home that would be truly functional, which would require adding on some extra square footage. Luckily, Jackie Barnes Design had big dreams for the Wendels.
When the project first kicked off, Carrie Wendel was understandably overwhelmed. In Carries’s own words, “It was overwhelming until I would meet with Jackie, and she was able to put my mind at ease. I had too many decisions to make, and she would help me through making [those] decisions. She was able to organize this project, and this was something I desperately needed.”
The project took 14 months. Yes, that is the reality of completing a design project in a COVID world. But the Wendels were so happy and excited to get back into the new rooms and start over. According to the Wendels, their goals and hopes were met.
They wanted to make sure, in the end, that all of the new spaces in their home would easily flow and tie in together as we decorated different rooms. But most importantly, this family wanted to keep the character of their 1937 house. And why wouldn’t they? So, we took those goals and hopes and made them a reality. The Wendel family story is one of rebuilding what once was lost and in turn creating something truly beautiful. This is a classic tale of a phoenix home rising from the rubble.
Jackie Barnes Design redesigns and renovates family homes to create spaces that are more than pretty; they are functional, mindfully designed, and fit to last for many years to come.