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Basement
Delafield-based Kowalske Kitchen & Bath was tasked with transforming the basement of a Wauwatosa home.
Built in 1933, the home had a dark and dingy basement that lacked functionality, according to Kowalske. The homeowners had a wish list that included a dedicated home office, full bathroom, cozy living room and dedicated storage area.
The renovation, which cost $87,734, resulted in a warm, bright space used by the entire family.
It has a new office with plenty of desk space, storage cabinets, under-shelf lighting and storage for their home library. The room that was formerly used by the owners as an office was turned into a living room, a cozy place for their kids to hang out and host friends and family.
The new laundry room includes fun laminate flooring, storage cabinets and counter space. The new bathroom gives the family another shower. Other highlights include a navy vanity, quartz counters, brass finishes, a Dreamline shower door and Kohler Choreograph wall panels.
Kowalske spruced up the staircase with patterned vinyl flooring and matching trim color. The separate storage space has custom shelving for organizing the homeowners’ camping gear, sports equipment and holiday decorations.
Kowalske is a NARI Milwaukee remodeler of the year award winner.
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Master Bathroom
The owner of this East Side Milwaukee home wanted to update a bathroom that dated back to the 1980s. Milwaukee-based design-build firm Angela Westmore LLC was tasked with remodeling the bathroom to reflect a classic traditional home. Other desires included maintaining the double sinks at the vanity, including a separate makeup vanity, installing a larger shower with bench and steam, creating a separate water closet and providing more overall storage.
There were challenges. The bathroom wasn’t large enough to accommodate all requests, and it wasn’t possible to relocate the toilet or expand the perimeter walls.
Angela Westmore tackled the job with the following solutions: creating a half-lite partition to offer privacy at the toilet while allowing natural light to pass, designing a curbless shower with full glass surround to allow the space to feel as large as possible, continuing wall and floor tiles outside the shower area to blur the delineation of spaces, and using mirrors extensively to enlarge the room.
Beyond the scope of the bathroom, Westmore also added cabinetry in the adjacent bedroom.
The project won Westmore a NARI regional contractor of the year award in the residential bath over $100,000 category.
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Kitchen
This English Tudor home in Elm Grove was full of charm in every room but the kitchen. It needed an update in form and function, according to Wauwatosa-based Refined Renovations. The challenge was to design the room to mirror the rest of the home’s Tudor architecture as well as improve the flow.
Refined Renovations relocated load-bearing walls, reconfigured mechanicals and designed a new kitchen layout.
Everything was specifically chosen to fit the space, including the walnut butcher-block island top, painted custom cabinetry, farm-style porcelain sinks, quartz countertops and oak hardwood floors. The knob-and-tube switches are perfect replicas. What’s more, the wood framework ceiling was exposed and embellished with fine details.
The new layout and details make the space feel reminiscent of long ago. And the generous use of natural materials gives the space a warm and inviting palette.
The remodel won Refined Renovations a 2021 regional contractor of the year award from NARI. The project cost was just over $200,000.
