This Mequon Farmhouse’s Design Project Includes a Dream Garage

The clean lines and natural materials create a connection between the home and the outdoors.

For a new-construction Mequon home, two things had to happen: a design that riffed off of the meadow setting and a garage large (and stylish) enough for the owners’ classic-car collection.

“They are fans of modern architecture,” says interior designer Teresa Manns about the owners’ desires for their 5,000-square-foot home, “and wanted to maintain a connection to the outdoors. We interpreted that as clean lines and materials that were not so harsh.”

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Built on a slope, the home features three bedrooms and 3.5 baths. As empty nesters, the homeowners wanted a house large enough for entertaining and gathering, but wouldn’t feel huge when just the two are at home. Beams make the white, vaulted ceilings feel cozy, while still allowing in lots of natural light. An 18-foot-long dining table commissioned for the home was born out of structural barn boards and features a steel base, further bridging modern design with nature. “Old-growth wood is more stable and (this way) we could get the larger boards,” says Manns.

Establishing a seamless flow between the garage and the home was another goal. In the hallway connecting the two, polished-concrete flooring was stained a brown-green and shelves painted British Racing Green (similar to hunter green). “That relates to the soil and the turf outside,” says Manns, about the floor stain. “We definitely didn’t want anything jarring. We wanted it to feel natural.”

That same shade of polished-concrete flooring carries through to the garage, and framed car-show posters hang on the walls. Similar to an art gallery, “it really helps to give the feel of a white box, to put the focus on the cars,” says Manns. Baseboards were painted black and a stripe in the same British Racing Green carries through on the walls.

The homeowner’s antique wooden desk further cozies up the space, and is practical as he often works from the garage. Avoiding the intense lighting you might find at a car dealership was another aim, “so it’s illuminated and not ‘cold,’” says Manns. Mullions on the windows were painted bronze to pull one’s eye out to the view.

“It has a nice warm glow inside, even in the dark,” says Manns, about the garage.

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