Interior design technologists confidently navigate the delicate balance of expressing their creative ingenuity, maintaining meticulous attention to detail, and embracing the process. For Sydney Melnyk and Brittany McQueen, placing trust in the design process proved to be transformative.

Both Melnyk and McQueen harbored a childhood fascination with interior design, nurtured by their admiration for HGTV and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Despite this passion, they initially dismissed the idea of pursuing it as a viable career. In retrospect, Melnyk acknowledges, “In school, I was always researching interior design.” Initially accepted into business school, she made a last-minute decision to enroll in Lakeland's interior design program, setting a fortuitous chain of events into motion.

McQueen's journey mirrored Melnyk's. Although she explored design during high school, she initially opted for a different career path, driven by concerns about leaving her hometown in Saskatoon. Her first year at the University of Saskatchewan, focusing on arts and sciences, left her yearning for a change. Encounters with a Lakeland program graduate during high school inspired McQueen to redirect her career. She applied to Lakeland's interior design program, where her passion for the field flourished.

Not only did they meet in the program and become fast friends, they also won first and second place in the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA)'s 2015-16 student design competition and travelled to Orlando together to collect their awards at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS). They graduated together as members of Lakeland's interior design technology Class of 2016. They began their design careers together in Saskatoon, where they still live and are in contact with each other every day.

And just recently, they both shared the honour of being named to the NKBA 2024 Top 30 Under 30, again invited to travel together to KBIS to collect their award.

Accepting this award at KBIS is going to be an entirely new experience, McQueen says. When she travelled to accept the student design award, she was working as a receptionist for a design firm, fresh out of college. Now, she has eight years of experience in the industry.

“Before, I was just starting out in my career and now I'm in the design world,” she says. “I'm really excited to meet all these people again so I can work with the suppliers and dealers and incorporate their products into my future design.”

“I'm so happy with my decision to make a career out of interior design. I grew up in a small town where typically the people I looked up to worked in either healthcare or education.” Melnyk, from Wadena, Sask., agrees. “Choosing a career outside of the norm felt scary at first, especially when someone told me they couldn't see me living in a city or finding work in the field.

Melnyk credits Lakeland's affiliation with the NKBA and hands-on learning model with helping her advance in her career, and shares her successes with others back home who may be considering a future in interior design as well. “I'm happy that I didn't let my fears scare me away from a job that brings me so much joy and fills my creative cup both in an artistic and technical way.

Photos: Top - Sydney Melnyk and Brittany McQueen in Orlando together accepting their NKBA student design awards in 2016. Middle - Sydney Melnyk. Bottom - Brittany McQueen.