Old mixes gracefully with new in family’s spacious new home
For years Mark and Jessica Stanmeyer lived in historic homes they restored and filled with antique furnishings they loved.
When they decided they wanted to buy a larger home so their two sons could have more space to play and their dog more room to run, they ended up buying a contemporary-style farmhouse on one acre in the Town of Delafield.
The couple said that when they first saw the home, which was built in 1992, they liked many aspects of its interior. But it was the home’s large and beautifully landscaped backyard with a pool that they loved.
So, in the summer of 2015, they sold a cottage they owned on Pewaukee Lake to get funds to purchase the new house and to do renovations to the second floor, while they continued to live in their Story Hill neighborhood home.
But from the very start, there was one major concern.
What would they do with all the antiques they had collected over the years — many of which were family heirlooms?
“We thought we would have to get rid of them or store them someplace,” Jessica said. “We didn’t think they would fit in this house.”
Fortunately, they found an interior designer who was able to help them merge their old pieces with some new furnishings, thereby turning their home into a striking and comfortable space on which to live.
“Dawn (Adamec) told us we should use our antiques, and she helped us find places for all of them but one,” said Jessica. “We even used 80% of the accent pieces we had.
“We put all of them in the basement and Dawn ‘shopped the basement,’ picking out pieces that she knew would work in our new home. But we also bought some new accent pieces.”
By combining these elements, “the style of our home is now farmhouse chic, with a bit of industrial modern, she added. “It makes the house warm and cozy.”
Adamec is an interior designer with Steinhafels Decorating Solutions and is based at the firm’s Waukesha location.
Jessica Stanmeyer works in finance for Accenture, and Mark is recently retired. He worked as a captain for the Milwaukee Police Department.
But before they were able to begin decorating their 3,600-square-foot home, there were some fairly major changes that had to be made.
After selling their cottage but while still living in their Story Hill home, they repainted nearly every room on the second floor and redid their master bathroom on that floor as well as a second full bathroom.
“We wanted to do as much as we could before we moved in,” said Jessica. “There was a lot of painting to do. The wall in the second-floor hallway was a bright orange, and another room was dark brown. We also wanted to do as much as possible right away so we could enjoy the house — so we could sit back and relax.”
By the end of 2016 they had sold their Milwaukee home and moved in. Then, just a few months later, they started renovating the first floor.
Although they didn’t change the footprint of the space, the area took on a whole new look, especially their kitchen.
“This was the fourth kitchen we’ve renovated,” said Mark. “When we renovated before we used mainstream products, but we always wanted to go highend. When we did this kitchen, we figured this was probably going to be our last renovation, so we decided to make it the kitchen of our dreams.”
Changes they made included reconfiguring a large island and adding a large farmhouse sink to it, new white custom cabinets with oil-rubbed bronze hardware, granite countertops, a Wolf fourburner range with a built-in griddle, a grill, a double oven and a stainless hood, and a built-in Sub-Zero refrigerator.
They also added a butler’s pantry with a wine refrigerator, granite countertops, cabinets with glass inserts, under-cabinet lighting and shelf lighting.
“We put in all slow-close doors and drawers, a sound system, and we got a commercial-grade Keurig coffeemaker unit that fills with water automatically,” he added.
Work they did on that level included a major renovation to their living room fireplace, refinishing of the hardwood floors and the addition of new floors to match. All new lighting was installed, and every room was painted.
Once the remodeling was complete, the couple worked with their designer to find spaces for their antiques and to select new pieces.
“We have an early-1900 sideboard that’s in the dining room,” Mark said. “We got it for our Story Hill House. We almost sold it because we thought I wouldn’t fit. Dawn convinced us we could mix the old with the new.”
“Almost everything else we had was a family piece of significant meaning to us,” added Jessica.
Those pieces include a large Philco radio from Jessica’s grandfather that they believe is from the ’40s and now sits in their entryway; and a small dresser from Mark’s great-grandparents that is used as a TV stand in the first-floor office.
“We also have a backwards clock made for a barbershop by my greatgrandfather,” Mark said. “He was a jeweler and a clockmaker.”
In the master bedroom there’s a large dresser from Mark’s great-grandparents, an elegant bishop’s chair from his parents in their reading nook, and an antique table — also from his parents — near the door that accesses the room’s porch.
New pieces on the first floor include the dining room table, an Amish table in the breakfast nook, a leather sofa in the TV room, and a large sectional sofa in the living room in a cream color with a matching side chair. They also got four new area rugs.
The couple recently talked about their home while sons Daniel, 13, and Matthew, 12 played with their Golden Doodle, Abby, and their 19-year-old cat, Mattie, relaxed in the sun.
Q: What are some of the things you loved about your backyard?
Mark: We have a large brick and cement patio, a wrap-around porch, a hot tub, a wood-burning fireplace, and an inground pool is 20-by-40. Behind the pool
we have a grassy area and beyond that you can see the Lake Country Trail. Behind the trail there is the Naga-Waukee War memorial Golf Course. We can also see Pewaukee Lake.
Q: How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have?
Mark: We have the master bedroom/ bathroom on the second floor and also a full bathroom for the boys. Each of the boys has a bedroom and we have a guest bedroom. We also have a half bathroom on the first floor.
When we redid the first floor we redid the half bath. Jessica took one of the old cabinet doors and turned it into a picture frame and put hooks on it so people can hang their bathing suits on it. This is the bathroom people would use when they come over and use the pool.
Q: How did you change your secondfloor bathrooms?
Jessica: In the master we put in an Lshaped counter and there is a sink on each side. We also added a Kohler bubble jet tub.
In the other bathroom we put in new flooring, a new vanity with a granite top and new tile. We also removed a soffit and added a Solatube that brings in light.
Mark: The floor in the master is ceramic and we added in-floor heating.
Q: How would you describe the new island in your kitchen?
Mark: It’s L-shaped on one side with an arched walnut counter area for eating on the other side. The L-shaped side is topped with granite.
The island has two levels with a raised center. We wanted to make the raised center a design feature, so when we added
lighting in the kitchen we added 12 ceiling lights, including one that can be turned on individually to light the island centerpiece.
Q: How did you change your fireplace?
Jessica: We took out the raised hearth and added white tile and custom millwork on the sides and a walnut mantel. Before the fireplace extended out more, and we pushed it back. We also added a new gas fireplace insert.
Q: What kind of flooring do you have on the second floor?
Jessica: It has the original off-white carpeting.
Q: What are some of the colors you used when you repainted?
Jessica: Primary colors downstairs are called “Agreeable Gray” accented with “Spaulding Gray.” In the master bedroom we used a color called “Natural Linen,” then accented it with a “Jogging Path,” which is a green/gray.
The master bath is “Simply White,” and the boy’s bath is called “Duck White.” The overall theme is warm gray hues. Daniel’s room has gray walls and it’s accented with some orange pieces.
Mark: Matthew wanted to paint his room silver, so we compromised and he now has a silver feature wall. His room is accented in lime green.
Do you, or does someone you know, have a cool, funky or exquisite living space that you’d like to see featured in At Home? Contact Fresh home and garden editor Nancy Stohs at (414) 224-2382 or email nstohs@journalsentinel.com.