About
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Barte grew up in the suburbs just south of the city, spending much of his spare time on the beaches around Cronulla. Coming from a family of talented musicians and performers, Barte has been involved in music (vocals, bass, guitar), television and film work for many years. He has appeared in many TV commercials, both in Australia and the U.S.; print ads; industrials; live theater; television programs and films, including Peter Benchley’s “The Beast”, starring C.S.I.’s William Petersen, and “Race The Sun”, starring Jim Belushi and Halle Berry.
Since moving to the U.S., Barte has hosted a 4-episode special on the Outdoor Life Network, “Cycling: The Inside Track”, and spent two years hosting “Renovations”, a weekly primetime program on HGTV which aired internationally (including Australia). With “Renovations”, Barte took the show’s audience through several intriguing renovation projects, including the restoration of a 250 year-old stone farmhouse and moving an entire house across the street. Most recently, Barte appeared on NBC and Discovery Kids in “Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls”. This show allowed Barte to bring his design, construction and carpentry experience together and mesh them with his strong on-screen personality to transform kids’ bedrooms and play spaces and have a lot of fun doing so.
In addition to being a performing artist, Barte is a graduate of the University of New South Wales with a degree in Landscape Architecture. In between university classes, he assisted his step-father in renovating his parent’s home, and since graduating has run his own consultancy practice in Australia as well as the U.S. Not content to simply design from behind a drawing table and computer, Barte has also built and installed landscapes, including one for Habitat for Humanity and a community park.