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Meet Darlene

Winning designer featured on

Rona Dream Home

televised on Global Television

 

Certified & professional Interior Decorator

with over 25 years of experience

Repeat design expert featured on

Rogers Television's, Daytime

 

Colour/staging instructor to thousands of Canadian & US industry professionals

 

Advisory Committee Member for Algonquin College Interior Decoration Program

 

The creative mind and soul behind Dressing Rooms

Darlene Hall-Barrett teaching design students

I had designed many homes before, but with this I would have to make them TV worthy designs—yikes!!! It was a whirlwind, mind-blowing experience that kept me on my toes and most certainly made me a better visualizer and decorator because I had to think on the fly and fix issues in many instances. At the 10-week mark, I waited with excited anticipation with everyone else at the grand finale reveal which was filmed live as they told us room-by-room, which team captured the most votes. Well, to realize that my designs were favoured as we won 5 out the 8 challenges...it was incredible! It meant that the Grises family I was teamed with won their newly renovated and decorated home. To hear Christine and Joel Grises say out loud to all the viewers watching that they were in awe of the win and credited the beauty of their new home to my expertise...well, I was so overwhelmed with pride. Makes me smile every time I think about the experience. Acting and decorating, two of my creative loves, came together beautifully!

I later had fun being featured on a number of design episodes of Rogers TV's Daytime. We always had a good time going over the latest design trends.
 

I would love to be your sorter of spaces, your curator of colour, or your fashionista of finishes!

A move to Ottawa found me craving a more formal education in decor, so I studied Interior Decorating with QC Design School in Ottawa as well as Residential Decor with Algonquin College. I remained involved with both schools— teaching colour and staging for QC to design professionals for over 5 years across the USA & Canada; and I presently sit on the Algonquin College Advisory Committee for the Interior Decoration program. Four years after starting Dressing Rooms in 2000, I was offered a part as a designer for a 10-week home reno challenge on Global TV called Rona Dream Home. I was nervous and freaking out a little when it was presented to me, but I took the challenge with a vengeance. To turn it down would have been crazy!

Darlene with Joel and Christine Grisé smoking celebratory cigars after winning Rona Dream Home.
Still shot of Darlene on an episode of Roger TV's Daytime with the hosts.



Dressing Rooms has been awarded Best of Houzz awards for many years running and is in good standing as

a member of DDA—Decorators & Designers Association of Canada. 

Accredited Member 2024 Badge.jpg
yellow box with black lettering that reads 2024 Best of Houzz Service
Yellow box with angled upper left corner that reads 2022 Best of Houzz Service
Yellow box with left upper corner jutting upwards to a a point that reads 2021 Best of Houzz service.
best of houzz 2017

Born to a Dutch mother and Newfoundlander father, how lucky I am to speak three languages...English, Dutch and of course, the ever exotic,  Newfoundlandese!

Growing up, mom would find me moving my bedroom furniture around on a regular basis. Being a child of six siblings and always having to share a room with my sister, perhaps I was searching for my own space solutions. 

After graduating with honours, and then finishing first in my Radio & Television Arts class in St. John's, I moved to Ontario and took on various jobs trying to figure out my 20-year-old self. But I came back to decor by doing a 15-week work placement through Georgian College with Quay Designs, a well-established interior design firm in Barrie. Quay Designs decided to keep me on after the placement where I enjoyed managing the workings of the showroom and assisted respected
interior designer, Anne Saso. She was a fabulous mentor.

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