SPONSORED CONTENT
Designing Dream Homes BARTELT IS HELPING HOMEOWNERS MAKE THEIR VISION A REALITY.
WHEN MARY SWEET, AN INTERIOR DESIGNER with home remodeling and design firm Bartelt, meets a new client, she starts out by just hearing what they have to say. “Listening is so important in this job,” Sweet says. “You have to find a designer who will really listen to every need, want and wish of their clients, no matter how small." That starts with Sweet’s first consultation. She meets with a homeowner, examines their space and talks carefully through their ideas, while bringing her own expertise to bear. Once a preliminary budget is ready and the first ideas have been thought through, Sweet moves on to one of her favorite parts of the process – presenting the illustrated plans for the new home. “That visual is what really gets homeowners excited,” she says. “They see everything that’s possible in their space.” Sweet approaches remodels with a design sensibility that she says characterizes all Bartelt’s work: timelessness. That means classic, natural style, such as hardwood floors, stone fireplaces and granite countertops. Sweet says that by avoiding short-term trends and using the best-quality materials, homes Bartelt remodeled over a decade ago still look like they were done just last year. But the most rewarding aspect of her work happens after a remodel is complete, sometimes years later, when a former client calls her up and says they want her to work on their new project. “They trust us with their homes two, three, four times,” Sweet says. “People are drawn to the quality of our work. Our designs are meant to stand the test of time.” BARTELT. THE REMODELING RESOURCE 528 Wells St., Suite B, Delafield | 262-646-8020 | BARTELTREMODEL.COM
86 milwaukeemag.com
DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT MARY SWEET has been working in home design for over 21 years. “I was always drawn to and inspired by beautiful spaces,” Sweet says. “I’ve never had an interest in anything else.” After receiving a degree in interior design from Mount Mary University, she worked at several firms. In 2010, while attending a remodeling industry event, she met Rick Bartelt. “He is so enthusiastic, and I thought, ‘I want to work for that guy!’ I asked if he was looking for designers, and it so happened that he was. I’ve been with them ever since.”