We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Klema a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Melissa, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
My husband and I, on a whim started looking at cabins a few years ago. It was when the market was going crazy, cabins were selling as soon as they hit the market. Probably not the best time to begin looking for real estate! We put offers in on two different places and didn’t get either of them. We happened to come across a bare lot in Wisconsin and decided pretty much immediately that we wanted to purchase this and build. Not have it built by someone, but to build and design it ourselves. We both have previous experience in different areas of architectural design, construction, and inter design. Our vision was to build a place our families and friends to gather, and to also host guest via vacation rental.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I have been in the design business for around 23 years. I’ve worked retail in home and interiors, and moved on to interior design and architectural design. Finally becoming my own boss and a business owner. I own a home interiors brick and mortar, called Adourn. I’ve been open for 10 years and offer interior design services, along with having a retail store where I sell home goods, accessories, gifts, refinished furniture and new furniture. My husband is an electrician by trade and is now a project manager for an electrical company. We’ve both had a lot of experience renovating. We renovated the shop (Adourn)that we own, and have completely restored our 1870 Victorian home that we live in. So this project was totally in our realm of experience.
Bring a business owner, I’ve always prided myself on client experience, and client care. To host guests at our vacation rental is something I absolutely love! Providing the best ambiance, surroundings and experience for people is so important. We want our guests to feel at home, to feel comfortable and have a magical and relaxing time. I specifically designed the interior and exterior of the home to give those aesthetics. Along with the beautiful lake we’re located on, and the beautiful surroundings, it’s a place you’ll never want to leave!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
My husband, with the help from his buddies, built the entire house. We broke ground late fall and were finished with the shell early winter. They went up to the site, which is 3 hours away from where we live, every single weekend to build. It was exhausting and hard work, seeing most of it was in the midst of a Wisconsin winter. At the time we were building, contractors and subs were so busy, that they ended up doing some of the work that they necessarily didn’t want to do. Hanging sheet rock was one of them. They all knew how to do it, but it’s hard work and the time line was getting tight. We couldn’t find anyone to hire for that job, so they ended up doing it. As soon as the interior was sheetrocked and painted, it was my turn to get in there, and I couldn’t wait! I had been planning the interior for over a year. I hunt for vintage and antique pieces for my shop, so I had a great collection of furniture that I had put aside for the cabin. My passion is to mix antique, vintage, and new to create a one of kind design. So while my husband was gone building on the weekends, I was running around picking up furniture and working on it to get it ready for the install. I chose a very eclectic design for the cabin. A feel of open and airy, pieces that have stories, and moody color palettes.
This was alot of work for both of, on top of our full time jobs. It was a blur of a year and a half! We finished in the late spring of 2022, and hosted some family and our first vacation rental guests that summer.
We still have a few exterior details to finish up, but it’s such an amazing feeling to know that our hearts and souls are in this beautiful build. A vision we had, a feeling we had and it all came together.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
I would say the best strategy for gaining guests and clients is word of mouth and reputation. I was lucky to have a following from my shop, which has been a great step into this new venture. I’ve met so many wonderful and amazing people from having my shop, and they all love interiors, so it’s been a perfect transition. The guests that have stayed have all be so amazed and have loved everything about the home, and their stay. We’ve gotten great feedback! I think it really does show that our hearts and souls are IN this property. We absolutely love it and I believe people can feel that when they stay.
Social media has also gained us some clients. We have an instagram page for our cabin and have had some collaborations with other small business owners that have helped as well!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @redcedarcottage
- Other: https://t.vrbo.io/dKuyB9QMCAb
Image Credits
@jonkreye Melissa klema