Southwest flavor ignites Rogers home
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Julie Rogers’ favorite room of her house is the kitchen. Julie and her husband Louie did the interior work of the home themselves and incorporated the southwest style they love.
Photos by Candice Novitzke / The Chippewa Herald
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By CANDICE NOVITZKE
Thursday, October 4, 2007 9:09 AM CDT
The Chippewa Herald
The unmistakable flavor of the southwest permeates the Rogers home. The stucco exterior, the kiva-style fireplace and even a huge arched kitchen pass-through really spice things up.
When Julie and Louie Rogers planned to move to Julie’s hometown of Chippewa Falls, they knew their home had to be one-of-a-kind. So they took matters into their own hands, from start to finish.
The perfect lot at 407 Westwood Drive in Chippewa Falls looked anything but when things got underway in 2001.
The center of their building site was sunken in. But Louie, having worked in construction for years, knew it would work just fine for the home they were building.
Their home would incorporate a southwest element of design, which they’d come to love after living in Denver, Colo. for 25 years.
“It’s comfortable, fun architecture, so we thought we’d do that,” Julie said.
Separating the entry from the dining area is a stepped, stucco-textured partial wall.
In the corner of the living room is a fireplace with a kiva style or bee-hive design. Hay pressed into the wet stucco of the fireplace adds a unique texture.
It was just one idea she borrowed from elsewhere. Julie got ideas from all sorts of places.
For example, the raised display shelves in the banquet hall of the Fill Inn Station led her to create a similar area in her great room on which to display decorations and family collectibles.
Julie was once a cook by trade, so she knew exactly what she wanted in a kitchen.
“I love to cook and I love to be part of everything that’s going on at the same time,” she said.
Another favorite pastime of the family was shuffleboard. But after having trouble finding a new one, they decided to build one to put in the walkout basement gameroom and TV area.
Off to the side of the basement living space is Louie’s workshop, complete with a garage door for him to back vehicles in to work on.
Another exclusive element hiding in the home is barn siding that came from an old barn that collapsed on family property years ago.
The windows and doors in the basement are framed in barn siding. One whole wall in Julie’s home office is paneled with it, and it was used to make a picture frame in the living room.
Inside the picture frame is a painting created by Julie’s mother.
Julie’s parents, Barb and Fred Cook, took up painting later in life. Almost all the artwork in the home was done by them — Barb the oil paintings and Fred the watercolors.
Her brother Steven has started making glasswear, which is also on display in the home.
“It’s been a fun place,” Julie said. “It’s different than the pace of Denver, that’s for sure. I love the small town feel.”
The Autumn Home Tour is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Get tickets at the Cook-Rutledge Mansion or Gordy’s County Market, or at any home the day of the tour.
On the tour:
- Home of Jan and Ray Klimovitz, 9094 165th St.
- Home of Neil Goodall, 900 W. Columbia St.
- Home of Ruth and Bob Sather, 11010 161st St.
- Home of Julie and Louie Rogers, 407 Westwood Dr.
- Cook-Rutledge Mansion, 505 W. Grand Ave.
Reach Candice Novitzke at candice.novitzke@lee.net.
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