The story of Kohler is interesting and inspiring and it is especially exciting to see how the company actively fosters creative design through their artists' residency program. The design center is a perfect place to browse and dream about all things plumbed. Designers' bathrooms and kitchens ring the top floor of this massive design center, a dazzling array of showers, toilets, faucets, bidets, sinks, showers and bathtubs fit for every imaginable taste and budget. Humor and whimsical presentations abound. More than just a manufacturer's showroom.
Nice place to visit when you are in Kohler. The ground floor is a museum where it showed the history of the city & the company as well as a display of old bathroom fixtures. The 2nd floor is a design center. Great ideas in different styles for bathrooms & sitting rooms.
James the gentleman that greeted us at the door has worked for Kohler for 47 years. He talked about the company with pride. That set a great tone for our visit. They have so much to see and such great ideas! We loved our visit there! So much more than we thought. Someone told us to go, we wouldn't have gone on our own. We are glad we went!
A very worthwhile visit to a design center that illustrates well the history of the Kohler company and the fantastic range of sinks, bathtubs, showers in all shapes and colors (and for all budgets if you plan a remodeling!). We truly enjoyed the visit.
The Kohler town is really like a college campus. It has its own town hall and fire department, and includes a 5 diamond hotel owned by Kohler. The story of the Kohler family, and the buildings on the property, is fascinating. While this is listed as just the Kohler Design Center, visitors can make reservations to go on a tour of the factory. They are only offered weekdays at 8:30 am, but it is well worth it if you appreciate seeing how things are manufactured and delivered to the end user. Tours are given by retired Kohler workers who can answer just about any question you have. The ceramic toilets and sinks are made in molds, but we were amazed to see that each is hand-smoothed with wet sponges once the molds are removed. The individual care that is given makes you realize why their fixtures cost as much as they do. Fixtures are hand polished after the plating process, again a very labor intensive process. We loved seeing the three-wheeled bicycles that maintenance used to get from one building to the next.Be aware that the tour is 3 hours long, children must be at least 14 years old, and there are stairs involved. Also the air is dusty at times, and those with sensitivity to particles or asthma should consider this (one woman had to leave the tour because she was not aware of this). The only regret was that the tour did not always follow the manufacturing process in order, but the tour guide noted that and apologized right at the beginning. Leave yourself time to go through the 3 floors and basement level of the design center. That can easily take another solid hour. We didn't eat there, but the tour guide recommended the bar and grill in the hotel for lunch... the table tops are made from the old bowling alleys they had in the old dorms that housed the mostly German immigrants. We stopped in just to take a peek... way cool.
What a cool village. It reminded me of a stepford village, so perfect. The design center is so cool. They have numerous bathrooms and kitchens designed by different designers. Check out the latest in design and technology. My husband, kids and I, all had our favorite. Its a quick stop on the way up to door county. We are really happy we checked it out. The only catch, trying to keep our kids from jumping in the filled luxury bath tubs. lol
Very interesting background history on Kohler. All of us wished we had more $$$ to come up with some of the designs - a bit out there but fun to look at.
After our Kohler Factory Tour, we had to visit and check out the Kohler Design Center. On the main level, it's a showroom of Kohler kitchen and bath faucets, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, shower base, and shower doors. Some of these are interactive and operational as you can test the water flow from the products. There were also some furniture, lawn mowers, engines, and generators on display. Unbeknownst to me, Kohler manufactured these products as well. Kohler also has designer consultants that can answer your questions that you may have as you go through the center.On the second level of the center, it a beautiful gallery of bathrooms and kitchens ranging from modern to traditional to classic to chic. All inspiring ideas for your home. Remember to stop by the lower level to visit the Kohler history museum, which is free of admission. It provides a fascination history of the Kohler Company and how it took care of its workersA great place to check out all the Kohler products on display if you plan on remodeling your kitchen or bath.
My husband and I visited the Design Center this week hoping to get ideas to update our kitchen. While there were lovely Ann Sacks tiles on display on the mail floor, we were dismayed to see the state of the design kitchens and baths. Many had banged up cabinets and/or cracked floors. They look like they haven't been redone in years and heavy traffic is showing. We left just plain feeling sad especially since in usually a place that we walk out of smiling and filled with ideas.
It's been a few years since I went through there. They rotate their static displays out fairly regularly so you're not looking at old technology. It's worth dedicating a few hours to go through if it's the first time through. Good to see made in American products!