BREAST CANCER SHOWHOUSE DELIVERS 25,000 SQUARE FEET OF HISTORIC GRANDEUR
The former UWM Alumni House is striking on so many levels. At 25,000 square feet, it’s huge for a single-family home, and it’s considered one of the finest examples of Tudor architecture in the Midwest. North of Lake Park, on a bluff overlooking the lake, it looks a bit like a castle from the outside. And from the inside, the views are spectacular, as are the rooms. Next month, anyone can tour the house, when it will be this year’s Breast Cancer Showhouse. The event, from June 4 to June 19, is a fundraiser for breast cancer and prostate cancer research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Visitors can see how the new owner, entrepreneur and philanthropist Andy Nunemaker, is restoring the structure and how 28 designers have transformed 41 spaces, said Ellen Irion, board chairwoman for the Showhouse.
“Andy brought back to life much of the interior that was hidden while the house was owned by UWM, and he is working closely with the designers . ...
“I think he really loves this home. It shows in the changes and the improvements and the bringing back to life that is occurring through the Showhouse. And this is just the beginning of what he is going to do with this property,” she said.
Nunemaker has been a supporter of the event for years, and this is the third house he has owned that has been a Showhouse. One was in 2012 and another in 2017.
“It’s a good fundraiser for a worthy cause, and it seems like everyone wins. The public gets to see these historic homes, the showhouses raise money for cancer research, and I get some great design ideas,” Nunemaker said.
He said he’s been working closely with the designers.
“Because there are strict historical easements on the interior of the house, many of the designers were limited in what they could do. We had to keep true to the original historic look. For example, walls that have original wood could not be altered. … they could only paint walls that had already been painted.
“But even though they were limited, the end result is still very good. They used their creativity with carpets, furniture and decorations,” he said.
One room that could be changed in some ways was the billiards room, which was formerly a library.
“We basically took the original library, and sprayed and lacquered the woodwork a bluegreen. It’s a darker, richer color, and we redid the top of the historic billiards table in a charcoal-colored felt. Then I had Brass Light Gallery build a historic-looking billiards light for the center light fixture,” he said.
He loves a light added to “the corner observatory” and said he plans to buy it after the Showhouse ends. Designer Nick Konzal, of Nicholas Carl Designs, also added leather to the walls
of that room, which used to be an office, he said.
Nunemaker, who bought the home in January 2021, plans to move in after the Showhouse’s run ends.
“I’ve been doing a very extensive renovation for the last 18 months. We ripped out all the internal mechanics. We redid the HVAC, the plumbing and the electrical. It’s been unlivable” until now, he said.
A rich and varied history
Kay Brogelman, historian for the Showhouses since 2006, said this home is unique because of its amenities and its history.
It was built for Myron T. MacLaren and daughter Gertrude Schlesinger Roller MacLaren by architect Fitzhugh Scott Sr., she said.
The permit to build the house, issued in July 1920, shows an estimated cost of $85,000. The final cost was said to be $335,000. Construction started in 1920 and was completed in 1923.
The homeowners spared no expense. “Gertrude traveled to Europe like she was going to Madison,” Brogelman said. “It was back and forth with her father. They brought all the materials for this house back with them, like the chandelier in the dining room that came over in five suitcases . ... There’s also a cast iron fireback in the fireplace in the living room. It’s from 1588 A.D … all the firebacks in the house came from castles and manor houses in Europe.”
Historical information, along with memorabilia, will be displayed in the “history room” at the Showhouse.
Nunemaker’s memorabilia includes photos of the original owners and residents of the house when it was a dorm, as well as political figures and Hollywood stars.
Eleanor Roosevelt, in Wisconsin to deliver a speech on women’s rights, visited in 1959. Milwaukee native Spencer Tracy stayed at the house some weekends, and Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, friends with Gertrude and Myron, stayed many times. Pickford based her home in California on the MacLaren house, Brogelman said.
Room for dazzling design
Jeff McEathron, a district design manager at Ethan Allen stores who is on the Showhouse design committee, said more designers worked on the home this year than in the past because of its size.
McEathron, who has been volunteering at Showhouses for 21 years, designed the first floor conservatory with designers Marilynn Dal Porto, Lisa Hanseter and Wendy Williams, all from Ethan Allen Brookfield.
While a conservatory is generally used for plants, they turned it into a combination living room, music room and entertaining room, he said.
“It’s the largest room in the house. It has terrazzo floors, lots of crown moldsink, ing” and because it’s on the south end of the house, it has
western, eastern and southern exposures.
He and the other designers kept the piano that was already there, plus a single plant. Then they brought in new pieces that give the room a contemporary look but go with the style of the house.
Jessica Bertoni, owner of House of Bertoni in Milwaukee, said she has been donating her time at Showhouses since 2015.
This year she designed the home’s billiards room, about 315 square feet. It has built-in bookcases, heavily layered crown molding, thick floor molding, hardwood floors, a fireplace and large leaded-glass windows with views of the lake.
She added wallpaper behind the bookcases, brought in large area rugs and worked with Nunemaker to arrange furnishing and accent pieces already in the room.
Pieces already in the room included a billiards table custom made in the 1950s for the owner of a billiards table company in Chicago, chairs and a console table. Bertoni said the room, originally painted beige, was re painted in different sheens of teal.
She refelted the red top of the billiards table in a color similar to the walls, and she added metallic watercolor wallpaper.
The rugs are in tribal and traditional Oriental styles in a modern color palette. “They have vibrant tones that are kind of unexpected,” she said.
“As soon as the rugs were put in there, it made everything look complete. The room wasn’t flat anymore. It needed that boost of color.”
Make it look like it belongs
Colleen Thompson, an interior designer and owner of i.e. Design, has worked on four previous Showhouses.
This year, one of the rooms she designed was the first-floor bathroom, done in black and white.
She said the room originally had very basic fixtures.
“I wanted the new vanity to be centered on the outside wall where the window is. I put in a new vanity with a white a new white toilet and new accessories. The vanity is black with gold accents, and it’s on legs. It reminded me of a tuxedo. It has very classic lines.
“I also added wallpaper. It’s called Indian Flower and it’s a botanical print that’s mostly black and white,” she said.
Other additions include gold sconces with white shades on either side of the vanity, a black-and-white marble mosaic floor, a large leaning floor mirror and a Cambria quartz countertop that’s white with flecks of gold and amethyst.
“When I design, I like it to look on purpose — like it’s always been there. I want it to look like it belongs, not trendy,” she said.
Alexandra Wood, owner of Alexandra Wood Design in Madison, took a casual approach in blue and white when she designed the home’s breakfast room. This is the third time she has designed a room for the Showhouse.
She said the space, about 15 by 15 feet, is off the kitchen and connects to the dining room. It has two walls filled with windows facing the lake, two walls made of stone, and crown molding.
“The breakfast room is meant to be a casual space where you can enjoy coffee or breakfast with the family. It’s not meant for entertaining guests.
“I love the classic and timeless feel of blue and white. When I first saw the space. I immediately thought of that color scheme,” she said.
She added two large, matching cabinets found elsewhere in the house and filled them with accent pieces mostly in blue and white.
“The table is fully set for breakfast. I used a lot of lettuce ware there as well as in the cabinets. The room also has two very large wicker urns on pedestals that have plants on them, and there is a floral centerpiece for the table. The room has layers of rattan and blue and white materials,” she said
A fountain, a garage and a sunken garden
There also will be a lot to see outside, where a three-car garage is being built and large portions of the 4-acre property are being restored.
The Showhouse boutique will be in the garage, which eventually will be clad in stone found buried on the property. It’s the same stone as was used on the home, Irion said.
The home’s original 120-by-28-foot pool had been filled in. “That has been dug out and is now going to be a fountain. It will be just as big but not as deep. People who attend the Showhouse will be able to get a sense of what it will look like,” she said.
One of the four terraced walls of the sunken garden will be finished, said Irion, who is the owner of Landscape by Design and is working with Nunemaker on the restoration.
She said the Showhouse, which started in 1998, is in its 23rd year. It was canceled for two years during the pandemic.
“Over the years, we have invested $7.09 million in breast cancer and prostate cancer research at the Medical College of Wisconsin” she said.