Embracing Family Values

Underpinning the business’ success over the years has been the foundations carefully crafted and built upon by the Ricciardello family. Built from the ground up, as a family run business, each member of our team has been able to shape and transform Weststyle into what it is today.

Beginnings

Established in 1968, Ted and Rose Ricciardello set the foundations of success with the Ricciardello Building Company.

It wasn’t long before son, Tony Ricciardello, was invited to join the team. He began his first steps into home building working on-site as a labourer on his first project, a seven unit development in Yokine. From father to son, Ted insisted that Tony should have hands on experience in all the different trades, a decision that unknowingly set his son on a path to where he is today, Managing Director of Weststyle.

As Tony worked under his father on-site, Ted often told him that he should be paying him for the valuable experience, time and effort he was putting into Tony’s development. It became a running joke for the first few years of father and son working together, but this philosophy underpinned Tony’s strong work ethic in the industry, setting a standard for the soon to be renamed Weststyle in 1985.

Transformation

The next decade was a period of transformation for Weststyle. In 1991, at the age of 25, Tony became a registered builder. He followed a career path along a diverse range of roles from scheduler, estimator, supervisor and pre-start consultant to director. In the late 1990s the managing director role was solidified, and Tony after following his father’s advice was ready to take on the role and lead the team into a successful future.

The family business expanded with brother, Paul Ricciardello, joining the team as a supervisor in 1995 and their sister Rosanna, joining the team as the company accountant in 1998. Paul followed a similar path to his brother. He established himself as a qualified mechanic before a chance for him to begin as an on-site labourer at Weststyle arose, allowing him to progress to his role as a supervisor under the guidance of Tony and Ted. Paul is now Weststyle’s senior supervisor and has supervised the builds of a diverse range of award-winning homes, from both the Housing Industry Association of WA and the Master Builders Association of WA.

From 2001, Tony’s wife Janis joined the Weststyle team as their leading interior design consultant, expanding the ever-growing product offering of the group.

However, the biggest success of the business has been the relationships that have been built from the very beginning. It may be a family run business, but from the various trades to other team members, we have embraced every single person who has been involved in our projects as our adopted family members.

Innovation

Prior to 1999, Weststyle’s core business focus was high level group dwellings and multi residential homes with an average of three custom homes built per year. Things changed quickly when an opportunity arose to work with Hillam Architects, pivoting Weststyle’s direction as they established a strong professional relationship with the architectural firm. They embarked on a project together involving two homes in Cottesloe, which was a defining moment, not just in architectural design but also in the wave of new opportunities that came with it.

Weststyle’s reputation for building quality homes has continued to strengthen among their peers within the design industry. Today the team continues to build for some of Perth’s well-regarded architects, who choose to work with Weststyle knowing that every detail in their design will be built to perfection.

In 2008, the team expanded and an architectural design component was added to the business allowing versatility of developments, tenders, as well as a design and build service with our own in-house architect, interior designer and design team.

Entering awards for recognition isn’t something that the Ricciardello family felt was important. As the team grew, the staff could see there was something special about this family business. They urged the family to showcase their exceptional work.

Entering the HIA Awards in 2013, Weststyle won their first award for a home in West Leederville and that was a beginning of a list of more than 40 accolades and awards from within the WA Building Industry. From the HIA and MBA, Weststyle have proudly brought home an array of awards covering custom design, sustainability, innovative construction and small lot design, with a highlight being the 2015 WA Home of the Year Award, Weststyle has continued to exceed expectations year on year.

We are now a family of fifteen staff, and to celebrate our growth and professional development as a company we have recently embraced a unique visual change to our branding to showcase our innovative and creative approach to residential architecture and building.

Schedule an appointment with our award winning team today.