USA TODAY International Edition
Renovation vacation: Plan a trip or a kitchen
Kohler is a destination for home and away
KOHLER, Wis. – For five seasons, loyal viewers hung on every detail of the home renovations undertaken by Chip and Joanna Gaines, the hosts of HGTV’s Fixer Upper. The charismatic couple parlayed their home improvement popularity into a lifestyle platform that includes a magazine, retail stores, B&Bs and a restaurant.
But the Gaineses were not the first to merge the hot trend of home renovation with travel, food and lodging. Destination Kohler has been offering inspiration and expertise to those undertaking kitchen, bathroom and home building projects for years, and with a wide range of homeownerfocused offerings, is riding the current wave of “renovation vacations.”
Interest in home renovations is growing, fueled by the economy and the explosion of television shows on the subject, and last year 120,000 visitors came to get kitchen and bath ideas and assistance from the Kohler Design Center.
“I see a lot more people now who come in and say, ‘I saw this on TV,’ and the shows definitely inspire people,” said Ericka Sprangers, an interior designer on staff at Kohler. Michael Smith, the Design Center’s manager, agrees: “People are a lot more interested in staying in their homes and remodeling rather than trading up in the past few years, and I do think the shows are part of that.”
In this vein, 23 display bathrooms and kitchens intended to inspire ideas ring the upper level of the three-story, 36,000 square-foot facility, and one of the newer ones was designed by Alison Victoria, host of HGTV’s Kitchen Crashers. The ground floor and mezzanine display just about every fixture, jetted tub, sink and toilet the plumbing giant makes, and many of the fixtures are functional, making it possible to see all them in action. “We feel the best way to envision these things for your home is to see, touch and feel them,” said Smith.
Also displayed are products from other home product companies Kohler owns, such as Ann Sacks tile and the budget-oriented Sterling plumbing products. What they don’t have is anything you can buy on site, which minimizes sales pressure. But the most surprising element of the Kohler Design Center is its staff of interior designers available to help visitors plan renovation projects – for free.
Kohler arguably is the world’s bestknown plumbing brand, and since 1900 this company town has been its global headquarters. In 1981, then-CEO Herbert Kohler Jr. decided to expand into the hospitality industry, and converted the original workers’ dorm into the American Club, a luxury hotel with over-the-top bathrooms showcasing the company’s products. Kohler developed a resort integrated into the town in a manner that co-exists with the stillfunctional factories and foundries. A free factory tour is offered daily.
Known collectively as Destination Kohler, the resort today includes two full-service hotels, the luxury American Club and the more affordable but still bathroom-focused Inn at Woodlake. The company’s third hotel is the new Lodge Kohler in nearby Green Bay, adjacent to famed NFL stadium Lambeau Field.
The Kohler Waters Spa is the only Forbes 5-star spa in the Midwest.
There are more than a dozen bars, restaurants and cafes, from fine dining to a Midwestern-themed pub. The resort may be best known for its four world-class golf courses, including Whistling Straits, a Scottish-style links course along the banks of Lake Michigan which has twice hosted the PGA Championship. Other outdoor activities include target shooting, fishing, horseback riding and stand-up paddleboarding.
“You can combine a great vacation with all their resources for a home renovation,” said Tom Connor, a fan of home improvement TV shows who lives in Wisconsin and visited Kohler with his wife to plan a project. “They did rough layouts of three different options, then we picked one and they fine-tuned it, not just a bird’s-eye floorplan but a detailed 3D rendering that really helped us envision the final outcome.”
The Connors had the work done by a contractor, but the renovation vacation experience at Kohler also caters to do-ityourselfers on lower budgets. Some resort guests have no renovation plans at all until they visit, like Pat Gallagher, a financial executive who came from New Jersey for the golf. But he was drawn to the design studio — “once you get into those showers, you want a rain head of your own at home” — and his visit also inspired him to add a wet bar to his basement.
According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the average cost to renovate an existing bathroom is around $10,000, with deluxe remodels running more than $20,000. Kitchens can be $45,000 for a major remodel.
With such money on the line, the cost of a research field trip can be seen as a relatively small investment.
“The renovation process can be overwhelming,” said Connor. “To have someone holding your hand, (Kohler’s) just a great place to start.”