One of our Fox Valley-based designers, Mary Souther, has put the vision for her lakefront home to the task by featuring a ledgerstone tile that we sell on her own home’s exterior, and today she will tell us all about it!

Mary’s 1970’s home is on the shores of Little Lake Butte des Morts, and was originally set up as a camp home. Over the past three years of ownership and experiencing what works for them, she and her husband have been steadily working hard to remodel and update the look and purpose they have envisioned.

“The dark paint aged the home and became lost in the landscape and so we wanted to brighten the overall look to reflect more of a refreshed cozy cottage,” Mary commented.

There were a number of decisions Mary made to achieve a brighter cozy feel to the house, and a remodeled, covered outdoor alcove is what took on one of these most recent transformations.

The goal was to take this dark, unutilized and quirky area and redesign it into a relaxing space to enjoy a hot tub under a protected outdoor retreat.

As mentioned, the house was covered in dark cedar siding. The cedar siding itself was maintained and simply repainted a Savanna Tan to match the new garage and achieve that light and airy coastal feel.

Within the alcove they removed the wood siding and prepped it to receive Angora Beachwalk Ledgerstone for added texture and color variation. The ledgerstone was also used as an accent on the front of the new garage as a wainscot and surrounds the recessed third garage bay.  This is the repeated use of stone that has unified the overall remodel process.

The same stone was originally featured on the inside of the house. See more details on this project here.

A Moravian star light fixture was included to highlight the alcove area, and new white columns and a custom wooden barn door was installed to create privacy. They also replaced a window with a new door and side light as private access to the alcove. Ornamental grasses will grow tall to lend themselves to more privacy in the rock landscape.

Down the walkway and beyond the barn door privacy panel, the entry area featured a large three-pane casement window which had become damaged. The window revealed very little other than allowing light to filter in and an interior view of the neighbors brick wall. They replaced the casement window with an awning style that is more suitable on the water due to wind. This allowed Mary to highlight the entry by again featuring the ledgerstone on the exterior façade beneath a new window box, along with more white accents to tie into the new alcove. A beautiful new craftsman style door was the finishing touch.

“These remodel projects have been so fun and rewarding for us. Each update leads to the next vision for change.” She said family and friends are enjoying the use of this space, come rain, wind, or shine…we’re protected!

She said the family is already enjoying the relaxing nature of sitting and enjoying the updated alcove area.

For more information about exterior remodeling ideas and design trends, contact Mary today or visit a designer in our Fox Valley or Green Bay showrooms!

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After living in Maine for 20 years, I finally returned to my roots back home in Wisconsin. Throughout those years, I experienced my career evolve, built a marriage and a new home, raised children…And so our next life adventure began and there’s never a dull moment living with a designer.

We hit the ground running during our first month back to town.  We decided to settle down in a small lakefront “cottage” in the Fox Valley, near family.  We expected to make some changes when we purchased the home.

Our story started with the first change that needed to happen…a renovation of the much-outdated basement.  This renovation took place in late winter and needed to be completed by early spring when the youngest was planning to relocate here from Maine and stay in our basement.

Thanks to my very handy brother, who accommodated my ideas and schedule, what once was a basement is now an entertainment space, an extra bedroom and bathroom, and updated steps down to a hallway. All was completed just in time for Jessica’s arrival, and now that she has moved out and is on her own, we have plenty of room for guests.

Some of the materials used in the renovation are Melrose wool carpet, Armstrong Luxe planking, Beachwalk ledger stone and a Stanton area rug.

The next much-needed change…a bathroom remodel. Visit me at the Fox Valley Showroom for all of those details!

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A number of his employees were in attendance and shared their passion for their jobs. One gentleman was able to renew his long-lost relationship with his father through David’s guidance and commitment; David was bedside when this employee’s father passed away. It was very emotional to witness the blessings God bestowed on this family through the help of one of His followers (David).

We are all challenged by our daily commitments to God, family and career.  David’s faith-based approach to situations is where we can all find balance in our lives. His inspiration allowed me to listen more intently to those around me for the balance of that week. My mindset was more at ease and patient – qualities that we tend to lose on certain days.

David shared his approach to his vocation: the desire and the confidence to do the right thing in all we do is where we find our Anchor…that anchor allows us to chart our course and leads us in the right direction to find our North Star…the positive influences in our lives create our trade winds…and if we have our sails ready then our course and firm foundation will be our constant.

My family is my anchor, my North Star is eternal life with my maker, and between the beginning and the culmination of change, I will do my best to keep the wind in my sail.  May you find your anchor.

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Shapes and patterns, and patterns within shapes were another eye-catching design theme. Glass and the many combinations of glass continue to perform well. Natural stone and slate are making a comeback, along with the still exciting use of ledger stone. Introductions of gray tones in all of the mentioned tile selections add to the already wide range of options. Sizes of tile are increasing, and thin line tiles are making their way into the market as a more seamless option for floors and walls, with less of a transition thickness.  There is so much to talk about when it comes to product selections that I am certain there is a product out there to compliment your renovation or new construction project.

From tile options, to setting materials, to tools that make the installations possible, H.J. Martin and Son is innovative and we strive to provide design services and products that keep our customers informed of what is new and fresh in the flooring market. We have some new displays and concept boards on the way in both our Neenah and Green Bay Locations. Stop in to check them out!

I need to mention that not only were we able to view all of the fabulous products at Coverings, we were able to hold a baby kangaroo at one of our vendor booths!

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