It Takes a Team to Bring a Remodel to a Successful Finish

In my last blog I talked about how relocating the laundry room led to a whole-house remodel and our home being on Milwaukee/NARI’s annual tour of homes, the Spring Home Improvement Showcase. I touched a little bit about enlisting the help of an interior Design Consultant to pull things together and coordinating with other craftsman on the project.

Even though I am in the home improvement business, I don’t profess to have a vast knowledge of interior design and the step-by-step process and finishing touches that go into making a home beautiful and special. That’s where our interior Design Consultant Faith Wolf comes into play. We were introduced to Faith by a neighbor and, after some conversations, we knew we could work with her to create the living area we always wanted. Coincidentally, Faith worked with two of our Callen Design Group Design Consultants when all three were employed at another firm. Getting a thumbs-up from the Callen Design Consultants solidified our relationship.

I do want to point out that our Callen Design Group Design Consultants were very involved in our kitchen, bath, and sunroom remodels with space design, fixture and appliance layout, and assistance with choosing countertops and cabinetry. They also were involved with other aspects of our main floor remodel including the laundry room, the starting point for this project. But even with attic and lower-level conversions, our Design Consultants leave furniture placement, accessories, and the like for the homeowner to decide. That’s why for our living room project, we needed someone whose expertise was not only space planning, but also her ability to select furniture, drapery, window treatments, and accessories taking in account our lifestyle and the purpose of the room.

The process began with Faith asking us many questions on how we saw the room being used, how many people we envisioned seating and what type of feeling we wanted to impart. Those were the starting points. Then, she worked with our construction crew as our fireplace was gutted to the studs and window replacement eliminated an unused window seat, giving us additional living space.

But as can happen with remodeling projects, there were a few surprises. The soffit we wanted to remove in the fireplace area was actually housing a second-floor support beam. Our project manager’s solution was to put a footing in the basement floor and a new support beam. Relocating that support beam gave us additional ceiling height and room to put recessed cabinets on both sides of the fireplace.

After the construction, it was time to begin pulling all the living elements together with the help of Faith. Bonnie and I chose a granite hearth for the new gas-burning fireplace and that was a starting point for color. Faith and Bonnie went furniture shopping and selected pieces that were comfortable when it was just the two of us at home, but also additional pieces that would add seating when we had company.

An advantage to using a professional like Faith is that she had access to Design Centers, was familiar with all the materials and fabrics, and was able to streamline the process for us. Besides furniture and paint color, she also helped with lighting, window treatments, area rugs, selecting fabric for pillow covers, vases and all the extra touches – plants, art work, and tabletop accessories.

And last but not least, when we decided that our home would be on the tour, Faith was able to make sure every element of the room, large or small, arrived in time and was placed where it should be. Bonnie and I of course wanted everything picture perfect for the tour-goers and Faith made sure the tiniest detail was taken care of. But a home is meant to be lived in, not just looked at. That’s what made having an interior Design Consultant so critical. Not only is everything simply beautiful, it’s also simply easy to use. We can relax and be comfortable as well as entertain either casually or formally. We like that.

Everyone worked together on this project to give us the remodel we wanted. Our fireplace installation from Best Fireplace in Oak Creek, our Callen carpenters and trade contractors, Callen project manager, Steve Turzinski, who made sure everything ran smoothly and communicated with Bonnie every day, and Faith who took our input and created a room that was exactly what we wanted.

And that’s how a project comes together – team work between all involved.