2025 Canberra Micro Business Woman of the year

Wow. I’m incredibly proud, honoured and grateful to be named 2025 Canberra Micro business Woman of the Year.

Thank you to Canberra Women in Business for this recognition, the sponsors for making this event possible, and congratulations to all the finalists and winners — the list of finalists represented such depth of talent, innovation, and courage. It was truly humbling to be standing alongside them at the awards night.

Running a small – no, micro – business with a team of just four is amazing, rewarding and challenging. I’m very fortunate to run this business with my husband Paul by my side, though juggling a micro business and young family together – well, I’m glad we really enjoy each other’s company!

Paul isn’t an architect. He changed careers from engineering and retrained as a thermal performance assessor just 18 months before we both resigned from our previous firm to start Tranquil Architecture nearly five years ago.

It was the week before our son’s first birthday, and our daughter was just three. We hadn’t planned to start a business, and with no other income to support our young family, it was a steep and rapid learning curve to ensure success, profitability, and balance for our family.

Residential architecture is a rarely understood profession — many homeowners think we only work on high-end, multi-million-dollar homes and blow people’s budgets (thanks, Grand Designs!). But at Tranquil Architecture, we want to help everyone live in comfortable, sustainable, and delightful homes.

Paul and I are both thermal performance assessors, and our business has a strong focus on improving homes for the health and comfort of the occupants. My 20-year career has been spent in residential architecture and interior design firms across Canberra, where I’ve led several award-winning renovation projects. This experience, combined with Paul’s engineering and construction knowledge, allows us to design cost-effective, functional, and simple solutions that genuinely improve the lives of our clients.

We integrate thermal performance throughout the design process and specialise in improving existing building stock through renovations and extensions. We manage design, approvals, tendering, and builder engagement to ensure the best outcome for our clients — helping them create homes that are comfortable, sustainable, and truly delightful.

I want to take a moment to thank the people who have supported me and made this journey possible;

To my husband and business partner, Paul — we spend 24/7, 365 days together. We share one car, our desks face each other, and in November we celebrate 11 years of marriage. I love you and absolutely could not have achieved any of this without you by my side.

To our team members, Gentra and Elyse — in a small family business, you inevitably become family too. Thank you for your hard work, flexibility, and good humour through the daily juggle of projects, deadlines, clients and family commitments. Your dedication and positivity mean so much to us, and we truly couldn’t do this without you.

To our wonderful clients — especially the first few who took the leap to work with us despite a lack of shiny photos or finished projects — thank you for trusting us and letting us into your homes and lives. Seeing you happy and loving your new homes motivates us every day.

To the wider Tranquil Architecture community — the builders, suppliers, family, friends, and social media supporters — thank you for helping us turn our dream into a thriving business.

To our parents — sorry for the stress, and thank you for your support as we took this leap. We all had our moments of doubt, and I can safely say our hair is all a little greyer these days.

And to our kids, now five and eight — you don’t remember life before mummy and daddy ran their own business. We love having the flexibility to be there for every school event, and we love that you both think of the office as our second home and love being there with us.

I’m deeply proud to be part of a generation of women redefining what business leadership and family balance look like. I love being able to have it all, thanks to the support of a wonderful partner and a network of amazing women who are also building businesses that matter.

Thank you, What an incredible honour!

If you would like to read more about how Paul and Reine started Tranquil Architecture check out this blog: https://www.tranquilarchitecture.com.au/post/architect-meets-engineer

Or if you would like to find out more about Reine's education as an architect and career: https://www.tranquilarchitecture.com.au/reine

If you would like to find out more about Paul's transition from Structural engineer to Thermal performance assessor: https://www.tranquilarchitecture.com.au/paul

If you would like to read more about our holistic design process and service stages: https://www.tranquilarchitecture.com.au/process

If you would like to get in touch and arrange for an initial meeting at your home to discuss what is possible please fill out a contact form: https://www.tranquilarchitecture.com.au/contact