Behind door No. 1 at Heritage Renovations @LdnIncMag #LdnOnt
/One of the first things I ever learned watching HGTV – even before I saw how easily a DIY project can come together if you insert commercial breaks whenever you face an obstacle – is that people really like red front doors. If you want some instant curb appeal, pull out the overgrown shrubs and paint that front door red.
If that’s not enough, slap up some shutters to frame out your windows. Paint those too, but not red.
It comes down to this: Every home has some kind of front door and a collection of windows. We want them to function of course, but beyond that we want them to look good.
That could be the motto at Heritage Renovations Windows & Doors: Work well and look good. The business has been selling and installing higher quality doors and windows in London since 1990. But, as you can read in my June London Inc. cover story, it changed hands in 2016 and has been growing impressively since.
The new owners are the sister and brother team of Shannon Ruffell and James Baker. Their father, former London airport head poobah Steve Baker, hatched a plan to a) entice his grown kids to return to London, and b) to create a family-run enterprise that could be passed along to generations of future Bakers. With the transformation of Heritage, you’d have to say he succeeded on both fronts.
This month, Heritage moves into its expansive new home on Exeter Road, where it will feature a showroom nearly the size of the entire business three years ago. At 3,500 square feet, the showroom will feature more than 100 door and window displays, a never-ending home show for anyone looking to upgrade.
It will also feature separate offices for Shannon and James. They shared a rather small office to help alleviate crowding at the old location. More importantly, the new place provides a base from which Heritage can continue the growth sparked by the new owners and their enthusiastic father, who is cheering – mostly – from the sidelines.