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The kitchen of this historic Milwaukee
home had been redone in the 1990s, but it wasn’t in keeping
with the style of the house. A remodel by Cream City
Construction reconfigured the kitchen layout to make better
use of light and space. The dark hand-scraped prefinished wood
floor offsets the white cabinets. The slate blue accent on the
island matches the wall tile from Ann Sacks. Counters and
backsplash are marble and the top on the island is an oiled
walnut. In-floor heat keeps the space cozy in winter. The drum
light fixture adds a modern flair to the space that is
anchored by more traditional architectural elements.
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What started as a maintenance project
for their home in Milwaukee’s North Point Historic District evolved
into a restoration project that yielded some surprising discoveries
for homeowners Mark and Grace Thomsen.
As the self-described practical side of
the couple, Grace Thomsen says her ideas focused on maintenance and
repair issues. Mark, though, had a vision to restore the 1911 Tudor
house more closely to its original style. "Knowing we live in a
historic neighborhood, I wanted to make sure we were going to do it
right," Grace Thomsen says, "and that we would find the
right contractor to do those things."
In addition to practical matters such
as a new roof, copper gutters and downspouts, new windows, tuck
pointing, chimney repair, a new patio by Hawks Nursery Co., and more,
the renovation by Cream City Construction Co. improved the aesthetics
of the basement, kitchen and dining room.
The kitchen had been redone before the
Thomsens had purchased the house in 1994, apparently for a quick sale,
but the cosmetic changes were not in keeping with the style of the
house. "Functionally, it didn’t work well," Cream City’s
Jim Grote says. "We reorganized it and did a face-lift on the
whole thing."
By transforming a space between the
kitchen and dining room into a butler’s pantry, Grace Thomsen has a
spot to display her fine china and glassware. A back hallway area is
now a pantry for the kitchen and offers convenient storage for dry
goods.
"My favorite part about the
kitchen is probably the windows and all of the light and air that can
come into the kitchen with the new design," Thomsen says.
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The 1911 Tudor in Milwaukee’s North
Point Historic District was designed by Milwaukee architect
Frederick Graf. It was part of this year’s Milwaukee/NARI
Spring Home Improvement Showcase.
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When the crew hit the dining room, Mark
Thomsen asked it to cut a hole in the ceiling because he had noticed
that the ceiling heights in the living room and foyer were higher than
that of the dining room. A false ceiling had been installed to cover
up water damage from an upstairs bathroom, hiding the natural wood
beams in the process. Grote says the old beams were too damaged to
salvage, but provided a useful template for the new beams. In
addition, the crew had clues that a fireplace might exist behind one
of the dining room walls. They found the firebox, redid the flue and
installed a style-appropriate manufactured stone mantel and natural
gas option. "It became a completely unexpected treasure,"
Grace Thomsen says. "Every time we walk into this dining room,
(we get a sense of) what this room was intended to be when the house
was originally built."
Thomsen says she dreaded the idea of
living through a home remodel, but acknowledges it was not as
difficult as she envisioned. "It was so much fun to come home
every day to see the new things that were being done," she says.
She credits Grote for guiding the process. "I didn’t have a lot
of experience or interest in interior decorating or design, so he
presented various possibilities and we discussed them," Thomsen
says. "I developed quite of bit of confidence in his ability to
put something together of quality for the house."
Grote says his goal in renovations such
as the Thomsens’ is not to create a historical accurate museum
piece, but to update while paying credence to the past. "I think
those are always the best renovations when you can have old and new
and mix it together. It all works together as one piece." M
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