Business Spotlight: Designing, contracting go hand in hand for French Country Pine

After life left her working for a paycheck, Kirsten Termuehlen went looking for her passion.

She found it in Santa Barbara, Calif., where a poet insisted she assess what she was drawn to and why.

"I kept going to all the places that I love," said Termuehlen, owner of French Country Pine & Design, 1423 Underwood Ave. "Antique shops. I found a home accessories shop with beautiful imported pine. Before I knew it I think I had taken 100 pictures of this shop, and I didn't even think about it. I just did it."

The revelation led not only to a lifestyle change, but also a professional reformation. So, after marrying a man from Wisconsin, she opened French Country in Wauwatosa in 2006.

"I had forgotten the very thing that feeds my soul, and I had just gotten away from it. So, it was scary to think I would do this on my own." But, Termuehlen said, "(I had) to decide, 'Are you going to get back into just making money or are you going to do something that means something to you?' I decided to do the latter. It was the best thing I've ever done apart from having my daughters."

Today, her business combines her education as an environmental designer and her experience as a licensed residential contractor to help people create spaces that speak to them.

"What I bring is the best of both worlds. I'm incredibly particular about details, which is great when it comes to being a contractor. But you also get the female designer in me, which means I don't just build you a kitchen and walk away. I look at how are you going to display your dishes? Are you a baker or a deep fryer?"

Her projects range from full remodels of existing homes to "white box build-outs," which involve taking a new house with only a completed exterior and building out the inside, adding everything from plumbing to electric to flooring to millwork. Termuehlen also provides interior design services, including overall master plans of entire homes and room-by-room makeovers.

In each case, her work leaves a home turn-key ready.

"I leave the space furnished, which means furniture, drapery, wall finishes and antique home accessories in place … right down to the flowers on the table."

And, although her work keeps her away from her shop, except for Fridays and Saturdays, that space is also filled with things that not only find their way into Termuehlen's work, but also fuel her soul — from antiques reminiscent of her childhood in Europe to the canary in her office, her personal reminder that the true beauty of a room comes from living in it.

"Something living and breathing — that's what makes a room come alive. And, yes, they are messy children and messy pets. But a perfect space is something that is lived in."

JUST THE FACTS

BUSINESS: French Country Pine & Design, 1423 Underwood Ave.

WEB:www.frenchcountrypinedesign.com

PHONE: (262) 853-1086

OWNER: Kirsten Termuehlen

INCORPORATED: 2006

TYPE OF BUSINESS: home renovation and interior design

PEARLS OF WISDOM: "There's something about Tosa with the bridges and the churches and the river that reminds me of growing up in Europe. We're always trying to market downtown Tosa as young and hip, but there's something old world about it."