Marine Terminal : Bringing the Outside Inside

Huge windows, long balcony open up condo visually....

By Joanne Kempinger Demski of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Apr. 25, 2009

When Tim and Sue Frautschi first toured their future Third Ward home, it was like a breath of fresh air- and not just because they'd be moving from a historic east side mansion to a very contemporary condo.

They actually were standing on the open-air roof of the building, where a two-story addition would soon create their new home. That day, they strolled around the roof of the former Marine Terminal Building and saw lots of potential and incredible views: the lake and the Hoan Bridge to the east, Broadway and the Milwaukee Art Museum's Calatrava addition to the north and the river to the west.

That was six years ago, when the Frautschis became the first to buy a condo in what is now the Marine Terminal Lofts. Although they moved in just two years ago, it didn't take them long to create a stunning two-story home filled with light and works of art.

The space is so distinctive that they were asked to participate in Spaces & Traces: Third Ward Classics and Urban Chic, a tour put on by Historic Milwaukee on May 16.

What sets their 3,600-square-foot home apart is that two sides have floor-to-ceiling windows and a 125-foot-long balcony that wraps around them. When they relax in their open-concept living room dining room with its 19-foot ceiling, they have spectacular views of the city. The same holds true for their kitchen, den, exercise room, master bedroom and office.

Easier to Change

Because they opted for a unit on the top floor, they were able to make changes to the floor plan more easily than their neighbors in units below them, who had to deal with structural elements such as large cement support pillars.

"We moved some walls around. We made changes to get better views," said Tim Frautschi, a retired attorney for Foley & Lardner.

"We designed it according to our lifestyle," added Sue Frautschi, a community volunteer.

When the space was finally completed, they decorated it with a house full of contemporary pieces they had been collecting for years. Sue Frautschi said that when they lived in their last home - the Eschweiler mansion on Bradford Ave. -they collected contemporary furnishings and art and used them in the Jacobean-style mansion.
"We didn't know we were collecting for this house at the time," she joked.

Pieces they brought to the new home include 1950s white plastic Panton chairs, an antique Irish pub table, 1950s plywood Cherner chairs, an antique workbench once used by Tim Frautschi's greatgrandfather and a sofa and love seat designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and manufactured by Henredon.

Accents from Travels

They also accented with unusual pieces they collected while traveling. Large antique vessels were shipped from Greece, Mexico, Guatemala, Portugal, Spain and Africa. While traveling in Ronda, Spain, they also purchased a thick, antique wooden door with brass studs that now accents a wall on
the second-floor landing.

In almost every case, the cost of shipping far outweighed what they paid for the pieces, Tim Frautschi said.
Contemporary pieces include a three-dimensional metal sculpture commissioned from Milwaukee artist Richard Taylor that looks as if it's floating near a wall; two large fiberglass cherries that accent the kitchen island, two paintings and a photo of the Hong Kong racetrack that measures 100 by 52 inches.

They also commissioned an artist to design a backsplash made of tempered brass for their kitchen. Tim Frautschi also designed several pieces, which were made by Sup Design, 3275 N. Pierce St., a firm that specializes in hardwood structures and furnishings. They include bedroom furniture,
bookshelves, den furniture and the fireplace.

He said plans originally called for a granite fireplace, but he designed a fireplace made of Lannon stone and maple. "I wanted a lighter look than the granite. A fireplace with all
that granite looked heavy," he said.

The couple and Phoebe, their black Lab, recently offered a tour of their home and talked about the pieces in it:

Q. What was the biggest change you made to the floor plan?

Tim: We put the master bedroom upstairs. By doing this, the first-floor bedroom could be used as a
private suite by guests.

Q.Why did it take four years to move in?

Tim: Ours was the biggest apartment. The builders used it for storage.

Q.Describe the layout of your home.
Tim: On the first floor we have the living room, dining room, and the kitchen looks out onto these
rooms. There is also a den, a guest bedroom, a full bath and a half bath. The floors are Brazilian
cherry, and we have Oriental-style rugs.
A wide stairway leads to the second floor, where there's a landing that overlooks the living room, the
master suite, an exercise room and an office.

Q. Can you describe your terrace?

Tim: It's 125 feet long, and we also have a patio. The entire area is lined with planters. In them we plant tough stuff: grasses, yucca, Russian sage, butterfly bushes, trees and sumac. We also had an automatic watering system installed.

Q.Do you use your terrace often?

Tim: All the time, weather permitting. We eat breakfast and dinner out there every morning and night,
we read, we can even sit out there in the rain if the wind is blowing in the right direction.

Q. Where do you find your favorite pieces?

Sue: We got our cement side tables, a steel-and-glass dining room table and a decorative light from Flux Design, 811 E. Vienna Ave.,which is a firm started by students of MIAD and is located in the building next to ours. We got the cherries at the Lakefront Festival of Arts. We also find pieces at the
Contemporary Art Society of the Milwaukee Art Museum Biannual Art Auction Gala. We also find
things at galleries in New York, Chicago and Milwaukee.

Q.Who's the woman perched in your bathroom?

Sue: We call her Ms. O'Keeffe, after Georgia O'Keeffe. We got her at a now-closed restaurant and art
gallery, Barclay Gallery. She was originally a mannequin, and she was painted. We named her Ms.
O'Keeffe because she's painted in the O'Keeffe style. People who have contemporary art just love her.
We move her around. She has a Santa hat and a Pilgrim hat.

Q.What is the history of the worktable in your living room?

Tim: It was from my great-grandfather, and it was used at Frautschi Furniture and Funeral Home, which was the business he founded. It was on King St. in Madison.

Sue: It has had different purposes over the years. In the previous home we had the base of the workbench replicated but made it shorter so we could use it as a coffee table. Later we used it in the exercise room for storage. Now we put the original base back on it and have it behind the sofa.

Q.What is your style of decorating?

Sue: Eclectic contemporary, with some really old pieces.

Q.I understand you're both involved in the arts.

Sue: We're both involved in various community organizations including UPAF, and we're both past presidents of Skylight Opera Theatre. I'm currently president of Renaissance Theaterworks and an emeritus docent at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Tim is president of Danceworks and was president of
Present Music and Next Act Theatre.

Q. What's the best part of your home?

Tim: We had such a hand in designing it. It's very personal.

Sue: In other homes, I always felt like I was inside something. Here I feel like I'm inside and outside
at the same time.