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Today's
Videos |
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 Treetop
adventures
Dustin
Feider is building a business based on a simple question: Who
doesn’t love tree houses? "It immediately draws people back
to their childhoods," says Feider, owner of O2 Treehouse.
"People love to tell their tree house stories." |
 Double
decker
When
the warm weather finally arrives, Dana and Tom Schreibel don’t
waste a minute of it. From their home on Lake Keesus they have
views of Marshall Bay and two outdoor living spaces from which to
enjoy it. "We entertain quite a bit. We actually hosted a
wedding two years ago," Dana Schreibel says. |
 Extreme
Pool Party: Fox Point Edition
Fox
Point’s tree-lined streets and quiet neighborhoods now disguise
its former status as a social hub during the early 20th century
when a popular golf club attracted socialites to the area. Though
golf ended in the 1930s, reminders of the country club remain,
such as the beach house, swimming pool and tennis courts. |
 Set
in stone
Tom
Halquist didn’t want to be a slave to his garden, so when he
hired Ginkgo Leaf Studios, Cedarburg, to renovate the landscape at
his Menomonee Falls home, he made that point very clear. |
 Prairie
reinvented
"I
knew right away," recalls the owner of the 1950s Bayside
home, about the day she first saw it. The 3,000-square-foot Frank
Lloyd Wright-inspired home is at the end of a winding driveway and
tucked into a wooded landscape. After a walk-through with the
Realtor — during which she saw past the dated décor — she was
even more smitten. |
 Element
of surprise
Walk
inside the suburban Cedarburg home and prepare to be surprised.
Peabody’s Interiors interior designer Emily Winters helped a
young couple create an urban sophisticated space to showcase their
extensive art collection. "I feel so strongly that your home
should reflect you and your personality," Winters says. |
 Waterfront
revival
You
might say fate led Gwen Adair-Strangohr and her husband, Jim
Strangohr, to the doorstep of their Lake Keesus home in 2007.
After the tragic death
of their friend, the couple purchased the home where their friend
had lived. "I think she always wanted me to have this
house," Adair-Strangohr says. |
 Design
trends: Bold colors, patterns prevail
They
make our surroundings beautiful, and they do it with aplomb, ease
and wit. They take an idea and whip it into a space that
flourishes with vibrant personality and charm. That’s why we
tapped a few of the area’s interior designers to share their
choices of the latest home design trends. |
 Moderne
Man
Rick
Barrett is doing something no other Milwaukee developer has ever done.
He’s building a high-rise development in downtown Chicago. |
 Rebuilding
Shorewood
The
village of Shorewood is reinventing its business district with a
series of mixed-use developments. The landlocked community that
encompasses one square mile on Milwaukee’s North Shore began buying
parcels and razing buildings along Oakland Avenue in 2005 in hopes of
attracting new retail projects and residents. |
A
sense of luxury
The
words wallpaper and opulent might not seem to go together, but
times and designs have changed. "Wallpapers are not what they
used to be. |
 Divinely
designed
There
is beautiful, and then there is divine. The modern ranch that
sprawls across more than 200 feet of waterfront in Egg Harbor is a
robust package of Old- and New-World charm. |
 Right
sizing your home
McMansions,
those 3,000-square-foot-plus monstrosities that seemed to swallow
up suburban landscapes in the early 2000s, are quickly becoming a
thing of the past. According to the National Home Builders
Association, the average size of a new home is expected to shrink
to 2,150 square feet by 2015, which is down 10 percent from 2009. |
 Down
time
Ro Sham
Beaux Malibu chandelier, The Home Market, Milwaukee Palecek decorative
screen, Peabody’s Interiors, Brown Deer. |
 Bathtastic!
Extreme
sports lovers Bonnie Hammond and her husband, Kelsey Starks,
wanted to incorporate their love of the water and water sports
into the redesign of their Mequon home’s lower level. Deep sea
diving relics, beach finds and murals help to provide a seaside
feeling. |
 Tropics-inspired,
Country-approved
After
years of living in a 100-year-old farmhouse in rural Cedarburg,
Tom and Jeri Johnson were ready to move — but not too far.
"We gave some consideration to finding a home on a southern
beach, but while my wife wanted a new home, she made it clear that
we were going to stay close to our children and
grandchildren," Tom Johnson says.
|
 Curbside
finds
Cruising
through Oconomowoc on a scooter, Leanne Rische scours curbs for
tossed-out furniture. She returns in a van to scoop up the finds.
As one of a group of women behind Green Garage, which was founded
in 2008, Rische works tirelessly to curate wood furniture with
unique lines and architectural interest that are just in need of a
little TLC.
|
 Shop:
Frill
After
15 years of designing stores for Harley-Davidson, including
nitty-gritty details like signage and displays, Lynn Knutson quit
that job for the ride of her life.
|
 Fridge
facts
When it
comes to refrigerators, there’s an ever-expanding array of
options. From the traditional top-freezer to the stylish
French-door bottom freezer models, today’s refrigerators are
equipped with myriad amenities designed to make life easier.
|
 Study
in white
Refreshingly
light and natural come to mind when you enter the kitchen of this
Silver Lake residence. The homeowner desired an organic feel for
the interior when planning the custom house built by Colby
Construction.
|
 Darkness
into light
Transforming
a home from traditional to contemporary style in 10 weeks sounds
like a daunting task. "The homeowners, who love contemporary
design and also love to entertain, wanted a much sleeker and more
open space," says Molly Madsen of AB&K in Greenfield and
Mequon, the contractors who took on the job.
|
 Home
goods
When
Clinton Street Antiques in Milwaukee opened its doors in 1992,
country primitive and Victorian pieces were all the rage among
collectors. But during the past 20 years, Douglas Quigley, who
co-owns the shop with Curtis Peck, has seen a monumental shift in
the market.
|
 Pinpoint
your holiday persona
Are you
a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist who decorates for the holidays
exclusively in red and green? Or perhaps you yearn to experiment
with a new style and color scheme, but aren’t sure just how to
reconcile your existing things with a new look.
|
 Purplelicious
Asking
interior designer Kelly Neumann of Vyolette Design and Consulting
to choose the favorite room in her house is like asking a woman to
pick her favorite pair of shoes. The sparkly, the comfortable, the
sexy — each is a favorite in its own way.
|
 Center
of attention
At
holiday time — and at just about any gathering of family and
friends — the focus is on the dinner table where most of the
festivities occur. Like a landscape, a tablescape creates the
backdrop for your meal. "A tablescape should draw you in with
a variety of interesting details," says Pam Stasney, photo
stylist, set decorator and interior designer.
|
 Vintage-inspired
decorating
You don’t
have to put all your ornaments on the tree, says Dawn Adamec,
designer at Steinhafel’s. She has a collection of antique
ornaments she likes to display in different ways, such as placing
them in a milk glass serving dish.
|
 Spacious
retreats
Consider
the lowly lower level. It can be the most difficult part of a
house to decorate. It may be dark and sometimes damp — and it
tends to become the dumping ground for old furniture and other
items. But the right design can make these spaces as beautiful and
important as any other spot in the home. Here are four stunning
lower level redesigns that elevate the basement experience.
|
 Remodeler's
dream
Jake
Ruiz endured a serious house hunt — from Hartland to Wauwatosa
— before putting in an offer five years ago on the 1937 Lannon
stone fixer-upper on a dead-end street in West Allis. Yet the
house was no dead end: its good bones realized Ruiz’s remodeling
dream.
|
 In
the spotlight
The
lighting in your home is one of those things you might not think
much about until you realize it leaves something to be desired.
Whether you are highlighting a well-loved piece of art, a food
preparation area or your latest shade of lipstick, lighting can
make all the difference. Consider these tips on how to achieve the
best possible lighting in your home.
|
 Light-bulb
moments
Although
Christopher Poehlmann may not have intended to cultivate an
international reputation as a designer of cutting-edge light
fixtures and home furnishings, the former Milwaukee resident has
accomplished just that during a prolific career that spans over
two decades.
|
 Kid-tested,
mother approved
In
remodeling their 1922 Shorewood Mediterranean-style house,
homeowners Greg and Becky wanted the interiors to be livable for
their family of five.
|
 Refined
Rustic
Authentic
materials, a design vision and amenable homeowners allowed
Renaissance Design and Renovation to create a showplace for a
Chenequa couple that reflects the homeowner’s love of the
equestrian life and the Southwest lifestyle.
|
 Inside
the design
For its
"in-the-moment" space in the coach house, designer Mara
Wierschke and the Warren Barnett team approached the design with a
yin-yang concept in mind.
|
 Collected
casual
The
1954 Cedarburg ranch wasn’t what Allen and Jody Washatko were
looking for, but once they saw the property along the banks of
Cedar Creek and the adjoining three-acre woodland, they knew they
had found their next home.
|
 In
balance with nature
When an
Iowa couple gave the nod to an open canvas for Doug Wells to
express his creativity, the result was an architectural
masterpiece nestled between two kettles on a wooded lot in Elm
Grove.
|
 Red
envelope
In this very
traditional house off of Lake Drive in Milwaukee, Peabody’s
Interiors designer José Carlino infuses bold color into the
library with bright red walls and a crisp color scheme.
|
 Milwaukee
represents
You don’t
need to travel to New York City to find furniture and accessories
designed by leading-edge firms. Milwaukee is home to some highly
regarded design firms with reputations that go far beyond the
Midwest.
|
 Chic
spaces
It’s
worlds colliding, in the best possible way. Fashion
trends — straight off the runway — are popping up in interior
design in a variety of ways this season. From furniture to
wallpaper, room accents and paint colors, look for a barrage of
imagery straight from high fashion to your home.
|
 Bowled
over
Six
years ago, while shopping for homes, David J. and Jane Frank didn’t
know what to think about the odd perk — a full-size bowling lane
in the basement — in a Fox Point 1950s ranch.
|
 On
trend
"A
design trend that I’m enjoying is the use of bold color,"
says Mara Lisa Wierschke, interior designer with Warren Barnett
Interiors in Brookfield. "Color is one of the best ways I
know to make a statement that is personal and expressive.
|
 Building
character
Ken and
Cindy Gear saw the potential when they pulled into the four-acre
property on Waterville Lake. The decrepit home and barn,
constructed in 1850, would have to go — but not without
salvaging everything they could and giving it away. The couple
kept a few things for themselves, including the four front columns
and hardwood floors.
|
 Cottage
Redefined
A
photograph of Pat and Louise’s cottage on the shores of Lake
Michigan just north of Milwaukee hangs on the wall of their master
bedroom. The beloved cottage gave way to this new vacation home
for the Hinsdale, Ill., family.
|
 New Nest
When
Tanya and Daven L. Hines Sr. sold their River Hills home two years ago
to move into a glossy new condo inside The BreakWater Condominiums on
Milwaukee’s East Side, they vowed to retain coziness.
|
 Modern
Milwaukee
Moving into the North End apartments in Milwaukee this spring, Matthew
Mackai and Jeffrey Raddatz brought just a handful of furnishings with
them. "We wanted a fresh start being that it was our first time
living together," Mackai says.
|
 Islands of
calm
In the master
bedroom, closet and bath redo of Gregg and Susan Achtenhagen’s
Oconomowoc home, space wasn’t the issue, but the layouts were
cumbersome and not very efficient. Enter Jake Ruiz of Quality
Remodeling Specialists, who worked with the homeowners to improve the
layout and update the design of the rooms without changing the overall
footprint.
|
 From Earth
to rebirth
When Julilly
Kohler curls up in a comfortable chair near her fireplace reading from
her grandfather’s cherished book collection on the shelves beside
her, it’s more than a Rockwellian moment.
|
 The lure of
nature
A sense of calm
seems to take over when you head up the steep, winding drive to Moon
Valley Farm. At the top of the hill is Melody and Tim Narr’s home,
with a breath-taking view of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. The
first thing you want to do is plop down in one of the Adirondack
chairs and put your boots up. It’s the perfect place to watch the
sunrise and, later, the moon, peaking over the horizon.
|
 Depth of
field
As husband and
wife photographers — he advertising and she architectural — Steve
Puetzer and Tricia Shay have been like-minded in the design of their
farmhouse in a rural Oconomowoc subdivision. "We’ve been
through a couple of different building projects in the past,"
Shay says. "We reclaimed an 1850s log cabin and put all the
details in. We work well together and our choices are really similar.
It’s as much him as it is me."
|
 Inner farm
girl
Sheila Kruepke
has come full circle from the 16-year-old teen who was
"devastated" when her parents sold their multilevel modern
house and bought a condemned farmhouse. "I thought my mom and dad
had gone bankrupt," Kruepke recalls, noting her bedroom had
"nothing old" in it.
|
 Lake effect
Don’t call
this downtown Milwaukee condo a "man cave." The homeowner, a
single 50-something business executive, bristles at the suggestion.
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