After traveling to Ethiopia to adopt their daughter Charlotte, Jamie and AJ Fink fell in love with the country’s culture and people. Their affinity for Ethiopia not only inspired their design aesthetic, but drew them back in when they wanted to adopt again. They endured a long, painful, and discouraging process, but in the end prevailed by bringing home their two baby boys. The Finks became a family of seven plus two dogs and were in need of a space large enough for everyone.

With the right number of bedrooms and baths, a side entry, 2.5 car garage, extra recreational spaces for the kids, and set on an acre less than 20 minutes outside of Milwaukee, WI, the Finks found their dream home. Despite feeling like the home was in a time warp from 1968, the couple decided to take it on as a fixer-upper.

The house was a full and complete gut job. “The day that we closed, AJ and I walked through with tears in our eyes and almost immediately began tearing out the wall-to-wall carpeting!” Jamie recalls. In order to accommodate seven people and four animals, an open-concept floor plan was a must. They tore down walls to open up their formal living and dining room, giving them space to create a huge open-concept kitchen and dining area. They also removed paneling in the living room and basement, painted every wall and ceiling, installed all new hardwood and tile throughout the house, and replaced a former closet with a first-floor laundry. After 10 solid months of nonstop work, the Finks were able to get their house to a place where they could move in and decorate.

Enhancing the newly remodeled home, Jamie aimed for a “clean, eclectically modern” aesthetic that tells stories by “incorporating personal items collected through travels or moments.” As you and explore each room, it’s easy to recognize that the Finks designed their space to maximize their family’s life in both the shared and private spaces. —Tawnee Madlen Walker (Design Sponge)