Kitchen
Lynn Tarrence, owner and lead designer at Milwaukee-based The Egg Design Group LLC, and her husband, Dan, bought their historic Milwaukee home about three years ago. While the whole house underwent an extensive makeover — infusing original details with modern conveniences and other enhancements — the kitchen is especially noteworthy.
The original kitchen was rid of things like its large radiators on two walls and the massive icebox. But other things were kept and made into key features of the room, such as the silver washing sink in the wet bar that proudly displays all of its original dents. The space between the kitchen and dining room was opened up, with a roughly 36-inch doorway becoming a seven-foot opening. They also installed in-floor heating, natural stone countertops that look like liquid and a large chandelier.
Tarrence said her favorite feature in the kitchen is the area that displays open live-edge wood shelves, which still have bark on their edges, being held up by galvanized plumbing pipe with caps on them. These shelves are placed next to an old chimney that was brought out from the walls to show off the cream city brick. Also displayed there is a piece of artwork the couple bought from a Milwaukee art gallery.
“It was very fun to do, and I get tickled every time I look at it,” Tarrence said of that wall.
Backyard
Waukesha-based Swimming Pool Services Inc. was recruited by Pewaukee homeowners to completely re-envision their backyard pool area. They were unhappy with the existing fiberglass pool and felt like it looked like an afterthought to the home. The task was to make this area look like it was part of the original construction of the home and serve as a place to entertain guests.
The pool was replaced with a vinyl-lined pool that better handles the freeze and thaw cycles of the Wisconsin climate. Also, the existing retaining walls, which were too short and did not prevent water from washing dirt into the patio area, were redone. The new retaining walls were pushed into the hill at the shallow end of the pool, and one part of the wall was kept shorter to create a seat wall.
The entertainment space includes a barbecue island, a bar island, a covered area and a fire pit. Added to the pool was a diving board and sundeck. Without many options for the location of the homeowners’ desired covered area, the contractor decided to weatherproof the underside of an existing overhead deck. The covered area provided for a great location for a bar island.
The covered bar area and main patio area made the space more functional by offering the family and guests other options for activities beyond just swimming.
Master suite
This new master suite was just one component of a whole-home remodel in Greendale that J&J Contractors I LLC performed for clients who loved their neighborhood and large private yard, but with an expanding family, needed more space.
As part of this project, one objective was to expand the lower level to have a full basement, as the majority of the home only had a crawl space underneath. In expanding that crawl space, the original plan was to keep the existing back of the home intact and excavate below while lifting up the existing structure. Once construction began, it became clear the most effective way to perform this work would be to instead remove 900 square feet from the back of the home, excavate the basement and rebuild.
However, this gave the clients the ability to redesign the main floor layout and add an extra bedroom, as well as design a true master bedroom suite, complete with a walk-in closet and bathroom. The suite features a tall, arched ceiling, with a chandelier light fixture hanging over the bed. And at the center of the master bathroom sits a large tub, with an additional large glass shower stall behind it.
Other work performed on the house included opening up the main living space, adding a bedroom and bathroom, redesigning the existing play room and family room, and adding more entertainment space.
Basement
AB&K Bath & Kitchen was tasked with transforming a Mequon homeowners’ basement into a “light, bright man cave.” What started out with dated cabinetry, appliances and countertops in a dark basement was turned into a bright, fresh and multi-functional space fit for many types of occasions.
A storage closet located in the center of the basement had divided the large room into two smaller spaces. Removing that closet, as well as reorienting the bar, opened the basement into a true family entertainment area.
The bar was recreated with white countertops that stood out in contrast to the dark, cherry-stained and more modern-looking cabinetry, which provided more storage space for different types of bar supplies and drinkware. Behind the bar, which can seat half a dozen people, the contractor added a sleek new beer and soft-drink fridge right underneath the countertop. Stacked stone accents on the front of the bar, around the column and on the back wall add a great texture to the space. Unique lighting accents the split-faced stone, and generally brightens the whole basement area.
Near the bar area is now an expansive space to be used for wine storage with wine racks, shelves with similar materials to the bar cabinets and more tabletop space. Elsewhere, behind a wall of glass is a fitness area, equipped with weights, cardio equipment and plenty of open space for any type of workout.
