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Artful Compromises

Perhaps it’s fitting that a real estate agent taught me one of my most memorable lessons in compromise. My husband and I were looking for our first house, and the whole experience had devolved into a saga of disappointment. After another long evening of visiting houses that made me feel more like washing my hands than writing a check, I remarked (whined, more likely) that this would be a lot easier if we were in a price range that didn’t require compromising. “There isn’t one,” our agent said flatly. “You have to compromise no matter what price range you’re in.”

He was right—most of us end up compromising, whether we’re buying or building. In a remodel, the structure of the existing home and style and material preferences invariably force compromises. Then, of course, there’s the budget. Most homeowners watch the bottom line out of prudence or necessity, but the savvy still end up with the remodel of their dreams. How do they do it?

This month, two Twin Cities families share their secrets. Both learned plenty about the fine art of compromise as they remodeled their kitchens, discovering where they could save and where they should splurge (page 54). Meet the Lowrys, who flooded their formerly cave-like Chaska kitchen with light by splurging on a wall of windows, but saved by using a commercial window system. Across the metro in Afton, the Huelsters toed their budget line by keeping kitchen mechanicals in place and the original pine floor and ceiling, but invested in Italian limestone countertops and fine subway tile.

Then continue to whet your appetite for a kitchen or bath remodel by perusing the new products introduced at this year’s Kitchen and Bath International Show (page 60). From the hundreds exhibited, we showcase a few of the most useful (the cook top from Electrolux that boils water in 90 seconds) and shapely (the sleek and pivoting kitchen faucet from Kohler). But these goodies are just a warm up for the parade of kitchens and baths that begins on page 62. Minnesota designers who are members of the National Kitchen and Bath Association show their stuff in these eight award-winning spaces. And you get ideas for designs, cabinetry, backsplashes, islands, and much more.

Enjoy the inspiration—and the lessons in the art of compromise.

Chris Lee
clee@mhmag.com