Family Friendly Kitchen

By Philip Hide

This is one of the most dramatic kitchen transformation I’ve achieved in 20 years. It was such a pleasure working with Liv and Rolf.

Maple kitchen photo
Go with the flow

We started with a dysfunctional space that was starved of natural light by an earlier sunroom addition.  Worse, the awkward interior layout snarled traffic flow from every adjacent room.

Enhanced floor plan

The new kitchen area is actually a little bit smaller. But by integrating the dining room, eliminating the living room access and adding a sunroom pass-thru, it now feels bigger, brighter, has more storage and flows wonderfully. It Looks fantastic too!

The cooking wall features a unique seamless stainless steel backsplash — My alternative to the budget-busting stainless countertops Liv originally wanted. We also installed deeper cabinets so they would be flush with the stove and microwave giving a more integrated appearance and flush lines. 

The floor plan eliminates the small kitchen table and stubby peninsula and introduces a shallow hutch cabinet opposite the sunroom entry. This creates clear passage from the mudroom and the sunroom. The new dining room archway and the open pass-thru that replaced the old window at the sink stream natural light from the sunroom and the patio door. By creating a doorway between the dining room and the front entry, natural light now penetrates the hall.

Project tour

Liv and Rolf’s Wise Design & Remodel kitchen

Accessible kitchen storage

It was important to add storage space and work surfaces and make them more functional and accessible despite the slightly smaller kitchen footprint. We incorporated deep drawers and custom pullouts for spices, knifes and supplies. They bring order and eliminate countertop clutter.  

The clients especially like the built-in pantry cabinet that replaced the compromised closet with its slanted bottom over the stairway below. The pullout shelves in the new cabinet provide full access to the deep space.

Easy clean features

With two professional careers and young children, this family needed a kitchen that would be durable and easy to clean.  Now they can sweep crumbs and spills from the solid natural Quartzite counter into the Kraus undermount sink and rinse everything down with the spray-in-spout faucet. We also terminated base cabinet toekick into appliance furniture end panels so crumbs and pet hair can’t sneak under the dishwasher and stove.

We worked hard to incorporate personal design elements that would be meaningful to these family-oriented, nature-loving clients. The thick pine sill for the pass-thru was reclaimed wood from Liv’s childhood home. We also opted for natural materials in the light maple cabinets, flowing Quartzite counters and dark oak floor. Conversation continues over the hutch with it’s North Shore stone knobs which were a personal touch requested by Liv embracing their love of the great outdoors!

Outside the box

This kitchen forms the crossroads at the center of the home.  In addition to improving traffic flow, the remodeling makes all of the surrounding rooms look and function better. The living room, with its cozy wood fireplace, gains wall space and is spared through traffic between the main entry and the kitchen.  The bright dining room off the deck gets used daily, and Liv can keep an eye on her young kids at the table while cooking. The sunroom feels better engaged with the open pass-thru.

Hybrid cabinets

The hybrid design cabinets we used may be unusual for Minnesota but they are something I routinely created when remodeling kitchens in London.  Eurostyle/full access cabinets have no faceframes; doors fully overlay the carcass/cabinet. While this provides full access and better storage it forfeits the inset door look of high-end traditional inset cabinetry. I combine the best of both worlds by adding side panels and light valances around the Eurostyle cases flush with the door faces. This makes the doors look inset without compromising access. We also installed the upper cabinets slightly below the ceiling. It creates a pleasing shadow line and masks an uneven ceiling without fussy crown moldings.

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PPC, The Pride of Lindstrom

Lindstrom-based Plastic Products Company (PPC) prides itself on being 100 percent employee owned.  With 9 US facilities and a partnership in Mexico, PPC decided to reclaim and remodel its original building for a new headquarters this year to honor the legacy of founders Willard and Marlene Smith, who had demonstrated a personal commitment to their workers and the community since 1957.

It chose Wise Design & Remodel for the project because it trusted the Minneapolis remodeler to balance its vision for a modern, international caliber, no nonsense facility that would reflect its common sense, not too “flashy” culture.

“The goal was to create a functional space that did not look like the Taj Mahal because that’s not our culture,” explained VP Operations Greg Krueger. “At PPC, everybody’s got a job. Everybody is important in the organization. So to create lavish surroundings would not be who we are. I think Phil Hide really understood that when we planned this project.”

The long vacant building had started life as Willard’s Smith Metal Products shop and saw several additions over the years. Krueger turned to Hide to overhaul 8,500 sf of the space for executive and administrative offices and perform a complete exterior facelift. When demolition was completed only the floor, walls and roof remained. And, in time, even some of slab would go.

“The floor was a challenge. I think there were five or six additions in the footprint that we renovated. The floor levels changed up to 2 inches from one area to another. We had to take out segments of concrete to level the floor, but that enabled us to run all the pipes for the plumbing,” Krueger said.

Increasing light was a key goal in the remodel design. Wise started by installing windows in the solid exterior walls.  He fitted inner offices with glass walls and doors to spread the natural light from outside. Finally, he equipped the space with 147 LED ceiling lights controlled by motion sensors or dimmers.

“I worked with Phil and his suppliers to create the glass walls for the offices. The objective was to make sure we got the light inside the building and reflected throughout,” Krueger said. “In the old workplace we had very little natural light. Before this building was renovated it had no windows at all so adding windows was one of the suggestions. The glass walls worked out really well. It was economical compared to putting in hard walls and hard doors with windows and wood casings.  We do have some film on the glass for privacy, but it still gives the impression of openness.”

Wise and Krueger worked together throughout the project to control costs. By adding fireproofing and insulation, they were able to use the area above the ceiling tiles as a return-air plenum, thereby eliminating the need for ducted return registers in each room.

“We worked with the inspector for Chisago County and he made sure every ridge and ripple in the roof was tuck pointed so it is a complete 2-hour-burn firewall,” Krueger said. This eliminated the need for a sprinkler system. 

They also positioned restrooms and the main break room at the rear adjacent to a 20,000 sf space reserved for future remodeling so they can serve both areas.

 “Our thought process was that we can put in more offices for our engineering department, sourcing or estimating there or expand with higher technology production manufacturing without having to put in another kitchen or bathroom.”

Wise also worked with Krueger to select a combination of new, used and refurbished furniture and cubicles to create a professional décor keyed to PPC’s red, gray and black branding colors and optimize the budget.

“We were able to save money in all of the offices by going with used and refurbished items and reserved the new stuff for the high visibility areas,” Krueger said.

The company held its first quarterly, 30-person management meeting in its new conference room, which is furnished with four large screens that are interconnected with units in other offices and facilities around the country.

“Everyone fit very well. Phil identified what would be good for comfort: the chairs and the HVAC to make sure we didn’t have an overheated room in the winter or too cool in the summer,” Krueger said.

All that’s left on the project is to add the 10th  facility photo of the new headquarters to the conference room wall next spring when the gazebo is completed and the new landscaping emerges from its Minnesota snow cover.

See a full gallery of the PPC project here.

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Wise Design 2018 NARI Newcomer of the Year

Newcomer Blog - bar photo_cropped

Wise Design & Remodel LLC received the 2018 NARI Newcomer’s Award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry at the group’s annual CotY Awards Gala on November 13. It earned the honor because CotY judges gave Wise’s Contractor of the Year Award entry the highest score of any remodeling project submitted by a broad field of first-time CotY participants.

Wise President Philip Hide’s entry was part of a whole house remodel he designed and managed at the home of Robin Westin Schmitt in the exclusive Cottagewood neighborhood on Lake Minnetonka. Philip entered the family room portion of the remodel, which featured a unique sunken wet bar at the bay window bump out that preserved the lake view from the living room. He also installed a massive steel beam that enabled him to remove walls that had further blocked the lake view from the front entry and kitchen.

Robin had seen this sunken bar design in California and asked us to try to make it work at her Lake Minnetonka home,” Philip explained. “It was harder because the floor joists ran perpendicular to the area we needed to lower. That meant pouring new footings and installing a bearing wall in the basement to carry the weight of the floor.”

Robin congratulated Philip for his well-deserved recognition by the country’s largest remodeling industry organization.

“I cannot thank you enough for giving us this beautiful home! Your steadfast professional talent is reflected in the most fabulous outcome,” she said. “We never dreamed our home could be so perfect! Not only do we attribute it all to you, we will be forever indebted to all you have done for us to make our dream house more true.”

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The judges agreed. “Very nicely done.  The sunken bar is a great solution and opening the walls for direct views of the lake really enhance the property,” one judge wrote. “Cool idea,” another remarked. And the last offered, “I like the sunken bar to give the lake view. Looked like quite a bit of structural work was involved. Overall nice project.”

Robin’s goal was to create a welcoming, easy care entertainment space for large events and impromptu lake community visits. The practical luxury vinyl plank flooring looks like real wood but withstands lake traffic. But the bar, itself, features luxury appliances and fixture and custom tile and stone.

“With the low bar guests can sit and enjoy the lake view without the bartender blocking the scene and people in the kitchen or by the pool table can see right over the bar top,” Philip said.

Although Philip is new to entering the CotY Awards program as Wise Design & Remodel LLC, he is no novice to remodeling. He got his start remodeling homes in North London before moving to Minneapolis in 2014 and joining a larger General Contractor here. He is a preferred interior remodeling partner of exterior remodeling specialists Hoffman Weber Construction.

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