urban living 2014

edits + words | Thom Fountain, Tom Giffey, Lindsey Quinnies • photos | Andrea Paulseth • design | Kaitlyn Bryan, Thom Fountain

WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE SOMEWHERE, and many Chippewa

Val l ians have decided they want to l ive in the c i ty. As Eau

Cla i re ’s downtown cont inues to grow and more and more

upper lofts are renovated, i t ’s n ice to know that a neigh-

borhood isn ’ t just a b ig yard and a p icket fence anymore.

With urban l iv ing though comes some chal lenges , In th is

sect ion, we take a look at what you need to know about

moving, l iv ing, and decorat ing in an urban environment .

Let’s talk art. Not paintings on a canvas art or marble bust of George Washington art; I’m talking furniture in your living room art. Now, a lot of the run-of-the-mill sofas and dining room tables aren’t going to be particularly arty, but that’s where Eau Claire’s new furniture and decor shop Urban Galleria comes in.

“A lot of the designs are elegant, streamlined designs,” Scott Rugotzke said. “They’re not overstuffed. They’re refined. And they cater to the urban crowd.”

Scott and Robin Rugotzke opened Urban Galleria in November as a place to showcase unique, modern design in furniture and decor – something the Chippewa Valley hasn’t always had great access to. The pieces that flow through Urban Galleria are often one-of-a-kind to the Eau Claire area, if not the world.

“We’re finding that – really in the Eau Claire area – we’re the first ones bringing retro-modern into the mix,”

Scott Rugotzke said. “Obviously it starts on the West Coast and East Coast and makes its way to Wisconsin, so we think Eau Claire is ready for modern, more European looks.”

The modern furniture offered is punctuated by bold design, with bright colors, sharp edges and luscious curves, but also benefits from a superior quality. Rugotzke said he looks for pieces that offer 100 percent top-grade leathers, single-pieces of certified fine woods and small manufacturers that he can get to know. Urban Galleria has exclusive contracts with a number of small furniture makers from around the Midwest, guaranteeing unique

pieces of handmade furniture.Urban Galleria’s ever-changing

collection is the perfect fit for modern, urban apartments. Rugotzke said the shop always has a collection of smaller pieces that work better in the sometimes small and awkward spaces that come with a downtown loft. Items such as pub tables and small sofas are perfect ways to expand the space in your home and make a small room seem more spacious.

So what are the hot trends to keep up with?

“We’re seeing young people really embracing color, away from your traditional brown sofa and having fun with color,” Rugotzke said. “It’s really fun with contrasts, accenting pillows and accenting cushions.” He said there’s also a push for organics, like reclaimed products and woods, which can be contrasted with bright colors

and abstract patterns.The nice thing about Urban

Galleria is the custom possibilities. Many of the pieces are customizable and made to order, allowing you to branch out and get something truly unique to you and your home’s style. It also lets you break the norm and have an interesting arrangement.

“The days of buying a loveseat, sofa, and chair are gone,” Rugotzke said, explaining that – especially in an urban environment – functional pieces that can be moved and changed and reutilized are popular.

Urban Galleria’s modern design sense certainly isn’t for everyone, but it fills a niche in the Chippewa Valley for people who want a functional, modern, European-style in their home.

“When you step into our store it’s pretty obvious what we’re all about.” Rugotzke said. “Some folks come in and say, ‘Well, this is fun but it’s not really me.’ and that’s fine. We’re pretty edgy and people figure that out themselves after a couple seconds in the store.”

Urban Galleria is located at 2839 Mall Drive and is open at 10am Tuesday-Saturday and at 12pm on Sundays. You can find more info at EauClaireFurniture.com.

VolumeOne.org Mar. 6, 201430

picking furniture for a modern loft can be tough and Urban Galleria wants to helpBefore you haul it up the stairs

“A Lot of the desiGNs Are eLeGANt, streAmLiNed

desiGNs. they’re Not overstuffed. they’re re-

fiNed. ANd they cAter to the urbAN croWd.”

-scott ruGotzke, urbAN GALLeriA

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living above A bAr

living above A LAW office

living above A coffee shoP

Through the floorliving downtown can often mean living above something; we talked to a handful of residents

about their experiences being the upstairs neighbor

“Me and one of my roommates got to know one of the bartenders at the bar because he would be outside smoking at the same times as us and he would hook us up with cheap drinks.” –Brandon

--

“When the front door was closed I couldn’t hear anything, but if I opened it up I could clearly hear if there was a band playing or if the bar was busy. It made the decision of whether or not to go out a lot easier.” –Daniel

Pros:

“The noise from the bar got pretty bad, especially on weeknights when some of us had to get up early in the morning. Thursdays and Sundays were especially bad because there was karaoke night at the bar, and most people can’t sing for crap. ... There was a time when we were com-ing back after bar close with pizza and a bunch of the customers were out back hanging out after bar close. They saw our pizza and chased us into the apartment trying to get some. We had to have three people pull the door shut behind us.” –Brandon

coNs:

“Because the office closed at 5pm every day and was never open on weekends, we didn’t have to worry about noise much after those times. Being a musician, that made practices really easy.” –Carolyn

Pros:

“There wasn’t anything cool or easy about it. Unlike a restaurant or coffee shop or something, it’s not like I could stop down quick and grab something ... from the lawyers.” –Carolyn

coNs:

“Easiest morning boost with no effort except to throw some slippers on and walk downstairs. Also, we could snag Internet when it wasn’t really busy.” –Tyler

Pros:

“Really, the only downside is that I definitely spent too much money on coffee that year instead of just making it myself. That ease of access is dangerous.” –Tyler

coNs:

Who wants to buy a house when the temperatures are below zero and the streets are swathed in ice? And who wants to sell one at a time of year when it’s hard enough keeping slush off the car-pet, let alone maintaining floors pristine enough for an open house?

Well, it turns out that some people actually do want to buy and sell houses even when the snow is flying. In fact, if you’re looking for the best value in buy-ing a home, the time to look is right after New Year’s Day, advises Krag Blomberg, president of the Realtors Association of Northwestern Wisconsin. Christmas causes chaos for many people, but once the holidays are over, it’s time to start house hunting, says Blomberg, a Realtor with Re/Max Affiliates in Eau Claire.

seAsoNAL shiftsThat’s not to say that home sales are

constant throughout the year, especially in an extreme climate like ours. According to Blomberg, a good rule of thumb around here is that 20 percent of annual home sales will be between January and March; 30 percent will be April-June; another 30 percent will be July-September; while the final 20 percent will sell October-December. “It’s definitely a curve there, but it’s not as extreme as some people would think,” Blomberg says of the sea-sonal sales pattern.

This winter’s unusually cold weather has cut into home sales, Blomberg says, but that doesn’t mean you should despair if your domicile is on the market at the moment. There may not be a lot of buy-ers on the prowl, but there aren’t many houses for sale, either, meaning there’s still a relative balance between supply and demand.

“If you put a house on the market right now and it’s priced right and pre-sented well, it will sell,” Blomberg says. For a motivated seller, anytime is the right time to sell, he adds.

seLLers’ mArketThe region’s real estate market has

heated up in recent years after the post-recession slump. Blomberg says that a six-month supply of houses equates to a relatively balanced market. Today, in northwestern Wisconsin there’s less than a six-month inventory of homes priced up to about $250,000. For homes between $100,000 and $250,000 – a range that includes most houses in the region – there’s less than a three-month inven-tory. Translation: Despite the unappeal-ing weather, sellers have the balance of power at the moment.

Then again, not everyone wants to slog between open house and open house

during parka season, and even fewer rel-ish the though of lugging their personal belongings through snowdrifts into a new home. “Obviously most people would like to look at houses when the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming,” Blomberg says. Likewise, the warmer weather is when people like to market their houses: “The best time to sell is whatever time the house presents itself the best, which in this market is spring through fall,” he adds.

hiNts for buyersIf you’re considering buying, the

good news is you should be able to find something in this market that fits your needs within six months. Blomberg rec-ommends that house hunters get pre-approved by a lender before they start: This will allow them to act quickly when they find their dream home, as well as to know what kind of price tag they can afford. Connecting with a Realtor early

in the process can help as well, because a professional can assist potential home-buyers in narrowing their options easily, he says. (Online real-estate search ser-vices – such as Trulia and Zillow – can be helpful, but the information they contain isn’t always current.)

mArket moversAs noted earlier, according to

Wisconsin Realtors Association data, the slowest month for home sales in western Wisconsin is January. (In January 2013, only 355 homes changed hands in the 12-county area that includes Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Dunn counties). February is slow, too, but by March things begin to pick up, reaching a crest in June, July (790 houses sold!), and August, then beginning to taper off again as fall and winter arrive. Prices follow a roughly similar pattern: In 2013, the median sale price in January was $127,500, while the median price peaked in June at $154,000.


there’s no magic to the Chippewa Valley real estate market, but simple tips can help buyers and sellersWhen to buy and when to sell

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living downtown often means sharing a floor with the business below, for better or worseWill you be my good neighbor?

in some residential neighborhoods, the word “renter” is a dirty word. When some homeowners and property owners mut-ter the term it’s accompanied with a scowl and is unfurled off the tongue with a very specific intonation that screams pessimism. They see all renters in their community as the same. Regardless of how good you might be, to some you are another in a never-end-ing breed of residential cockroaches. (OK, so maybe it’s not that bad. But it’s bad. And you should care.)

Now, granted, part of the problem is that some homeowners paint everyone with the same brush. But that stereotype does come from someplace, so being a renter who understands their mindset can just as easily reverse it.

“Education is a big part of it,” said Sharyn Moss, onetime president of the Historic Randall Park Neighborhood in Eau Claire, an area with lots of renters.

Renters, by definition, are people who pay another for the use of their property. While this could be permanent, the likely scenario is that this arrangement is tempo-rary. So the deduction based on those two tidbits is that renters don’t care about their property or neighborhood nearly as much, and their resulting behavior makes property

values go down and their area appear trashy. So the bad news is that, before you ever

even meet your neighbors, some are already loathing your presence. But the good news is that it’s easy to win them over and reverse their thinking. At least until the next renter moves in …

Many of the complaints that come through Moss’s association (or she hears through her husband’s rental company, General Property Management) are simple things that a renter needs to be prepared for. “In general, just have a sense of respect for (your) house and neighborhood … and a sense of responsibil-ity and self-sufficiency.”

The neighborhood associations and city have specifically outlined guidelines to fol-low (listed in the box next to this), but those merely list legal responsibilities. Being a good renter and neighborhood resident is about doing more than just avoiding tickets. Take a degree of pride in your new home. Try to take the time to interact with your neighbors. That doesn’t mean going door-to-door with fruit baskets. Just say a simple “hello” or respectfully chit-chat every so often. And if you’re really ambitious, get involved in your neighborhood association or help with various neighborhood better-ment efforts.

All buildings must be maintained in a state of good repair (paint-ed at regular intervals, clean and sanitary, etc.).

Weeds and grass may not exceed 7 inches in height.

Sidewalks need to be free of obstructions and snow cleared within 24 hours of a snowfall

Don’t leave parked cars in the same spot on a street or alley for more than a day

Dispose of garbage in a sanitary manner

Dispose of yard waste and return cans within 24 hours of pickup

Don’t be unreasonably loud or disorderly

Keep animals leached when off premises

Have no more than three cats and two dogs

Promptly remove animal droppings

To report a violation, call the appropriate city department: Health (839-4718), Police (839-4972), Fire (839-5012), Streets (839-4963), Community Development (839-4914), or Building Inspection & Zoning (839-4947).

tiPs from ec’s NeiGhborhood

brochure


Living downtownevery year you can take an opportunity to peruse

some of Eau Claire’s best downtown homesWith new buildings popping up

on North Barstow and more down-town lofts being renovated every year, there’s always new things to see. Luck-ily, whether you live downtown, want to live downtown, or are just curious about the spaces, Eau Claire’s Urban Living Committee hosts an Urban Living Tour annually during which you can pop into some of the many apartments downtown.

Every June the committee organiz-

es a tour of a handful of loft and apart-ment-style homes, fully decorated and liveable. The apartments range from new construction on North Barstow to renovated, historic lofts above South Barstow businesses in downtown Eau Claire.

You can find more info on the Ur-ban Living Tour and living downtown in general atDowntownEauClaire.com or by following DECI on Facebook. –Thom Fountain

urban living 2014

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