Kohler Design Vacation

Imagine being able to make great progress on planning your new house while enjoying a weekend retreat full of golfing, fine dining and relaxing in a luxurious spa. That’s exactly the scenario that the Kohler Company has created in their hometown of Kohler, Wisconsin. They call it the Home Design Experience at Destination Kohler.

If you’re building a new home or remodeling an existing home, there are many interesting, but often difficult choices to make when it comes to the design of your kitchen and bath. Do you want classic European opulence and elegance, historic American Arts and Crafts, ultra-modern Feng-Shui, or something unique that doesn’t fall within an existing category or style?

Imagine being able to explore all these options, and more, while enjoying a retreat in a world-class resort. That’s the concept behind the Kohler Home Design Experience, a two-day package for two at Destination Kohler. The package combines a relaxing resort stay, a consultation with interior design experts and the ability to "test drive" and experience first hand the products that guests may decide to choose for their homes.

Kohler Company and the Home Design Experience at Destination Kohler

Kohler is one of America’s oldest and largest privately owned companies, with a rich history that stretches back to the late 1800s. The ceramic factory, the foundry, the corporate headquarters, a significant residential development and an expansive and elegant collection of hospitality destinations are all located within a relatively small area in Kohler, Wisconsin. The company has been located in Kohler since shortly after its founding almost 130 years ago by the family patriarch John Michael Kohler, who was a bold and ambitious 29 year-old immigrant from Austria when he founded the company.

The firm began as a manufacturer of ornamental iron pieces and cast iron and steel implements for farmers. Then one day a local farmer asked John Michael and his workers if they could bake some enamel onto one of the firm’s horse trough/hog scalders and turn it into a bathtub. That was how Kohler got into the plumbing business.

Alice Edland, Kohler’s Vice President for Hospitality and Real Estate says that the Kohler Company’s focus is providing gracious living, and the Home Design Experience is aimed at providing guests a first-hand experience in gracious living.

Guests stay at Kohler’s American Club Resort Hotel, the Midwest’s only AAA Five Diamond Resort Hotel. The American Club is a classic building that was originally built to house the immigrant workers in Kohler’s factory and foundry. After several decades of limited use, the facility was completely remodeled, rejuvenated, and re-purposed as the world-class hotel and restaurant facility that serves as the center for Kohler hospitality today.

As part of the Design Experience, guests are encouraged to try out the Kohler Waters Spa, which features all the amenities of a classic high-end spa, plus the latest in Kohler’s water product innovations.

The central part of the Design Experience is a visit to the Design Center, where virtually every product Kohler makes is gathered in a breathtaking display that stretches over three floors. Whirpool tubs, multi-jetted showers with waterfall features, faucets of every description, sinks, toilets—you name it, all are found here. On the Mezzanine level, a series of kitchen and bathroom vignettes put together by some of the world’s top designers showcase breathtaking combinations of products from Kohler and companies in the Kohler family that market under widely recognized names such as Ann Sacks, Kallista, Canac and Sterling.

The Kohler Home Design Experience is offered year-round and includes a face-to-face design consultation with one of Kohler’s design experts at the Kohler Design Center.