Building Classic Cottages in Wisconsin’s Northwoods
Luke Mohelnitzky, who founded Lumohs Home & Electric with his wife Hannah in 2021, grew up woodworking with his dad and spending time at the family’s Northwoods cottage.
“We did everything together–spinning the lathe, framing a shed, installing windows,” Luke says.
This instilled a deep love of working with his hands and a lifelong devotion to the Northwoods that Luke and Hannah share.
“The Northwoods is where you bring the people you love most, to have conversations around the campfire and magical moments,” says Hannah. “We know and love the culture of the Northwoods.”
Launching Lumohs Home & Electric
Luke attended Marquette University to study civil engineering, then realized he wanted to work with his hands, like he always had with his father, so he got into construction work, doing foundations. He earned his electrical license through a union apprenticeship and has spent nearly 20 years learning construction flow and project phase timing.
“I became a construction foreman and worked on huge-scale buildings from the ground up,”
Luke says. “The general construction flow is the same–you go from ground to concrete, frame and rough it, and then do all the finish work to make it a complete project.”
He began dreaming of starting his own electrical and home renovation company.
“I wanted to reach my full potential by having my own business,” he says.
“It took many years of preparation before we launched–you can’t launch a business out of thin air,” says Hannah, who worked in television for six years before becoming a communications professional for the City of Madison’s Engineering Division. “Luke’s experience as an electrician in the trades was huge. His portfolio of what he’s worked on prompted this–he’s had many different unique jobs, including data work, lighting design at Madison College, airport lighting, hospitals, courthouses, and paper mills. Everything he’s done over the past 20 years has led to this point.”
Luke became a Wisconsin-certified unrestricted general contractor, and the Mohelnitzkys began growing Lumohs Home & Electric in the Madison area, completing basement finishes, additions, commercial projects, and working with local builders to wire high-end homes. At the same time, they developed their list of preferred subcontractors and built strong trade relationships.
Lumohs Pine: Building Cottages in the Northwoods
When Luke’s family sold the family cottage in the Northwoods, Luke and Hannah began staying at rental properties in the area, enjoying their favorite restaurants and activities and dreaming about the type of cottage they wanted to build. They loved the older “right size” cottages on the lake and envisioned building cottages that size with Amish cabinetry, high-end countertops, and advanced lighting options.
“Cottages used to be built in a more minimalist and simple way, with just enough space to encourage more time outside on the lake and in the woods,” says Hannah. “We wanted to help others experience the Northwoods magic–being up there is amazing.”
They decided to expand their business to build cottages in the Northwoods, using the name Lumohs Pine.
“We noticed there were limited options for people who want to experience the Northwoods like we do,” Hannah said. “We knew we could build something better than what we were seeing at this price point, and in a way no one else could. We were ready to take Lumohs to the next level.”
Working with the SBDC
Once they decided to expand from Home and Electric to building cottages up North, the Mohelnitzkys knew they needed a business plan, so they joined the Small Business Development Center at UW–Madison (SBDC)’s Entrepreneurial Training Program (ETP).
“We started dreaming about trying to do this, and we decided we needed a business plan,” says Hannah. “ETP was huge for us and helped us figure out whether this business would work. They asked the hard questions. We have an amazing relationship with them to this day.”
During ETP, Luke and Hannah wrote their business plan and financial projections, then called Fortifi, their local small business bank.
“In our first conversation, Fortifi said we were organized, fully committed, and had the passion, smarts, plan, and drive to make it work, and they were willing to back it,” says Hannah. “Pine One, our first cottage, became a reality when the land came up for sale, and Fortifi understood our vision.”
The Mohelnitzkys were among a small cohort of ETP participants selected for a Badger Consulting student project, where a student team conducted market research on their behalf.
“That was extremely helpful,” says Luke. “It showed there is a market out there and how we can reach them, as well as the avenues open to us. We learned a lot.”
The Badger Consulting team’s market research gave Luke and Hannah critical information about housing inventory in the Northwoods.
“They found that the majority of building happened post-World War Two,” says Luke. “Many of the old cottages there, that are the size we like, are dangerous and not to code, so we have a plan to help clients build something up to date.”
The Mohelnitzkys found that much of the affordable housing stock in the area was comprised of teardowns that would require buyers to hire their own contractors and put money into remodeling, often waiting until a contractor became available. Lumohs Pine cottages start at 936 square feet and can top out around 3,000 square feet if adding a basement works with the land selection. They include two to three bedrooms, one to two bathrooms, a laundry room, a main room, a kitchen, and an attached or detached garage. The company offers limited spec designs and color options for clients to choose from. Retro layouts and spec cottage builds mean Lumohs Pine can streamline the construction process.
“Why not go with us, where we can build a new cottage in five to six months, weather depending?” says Hannah. “Plus, we’re open to ADA layouts–adjusting the shower to make it wheelchair accessible, making sure the kitchen island is at a proper height for someone to wheel up to, and making sure the door openings are the right width. We are honored to be part of people’s journeys.”
What’s next
Now that the Pine One model home is built and sold, the Mohelnitzkys are locking in builds for 2025 and beyond. The construction process starts now for clients who want to ensure they’ll break ground right away this spring.
“We’d like to start with four clients in 2025 and stagger the builds over the course of the year,” says Luke. “We plan to start small and grow with baby steps, so we can control the quality.”
“We’ve learned how valuable that first build is,” says Hannah. “Pine One is a great example of a high-quality retro build, and it has prompted so much interest from people who have land, have been waiting for a builder, and are ready to build. It’s clear how well Luke understands the build process. When you buy a Pine cottage, you get beautiful lighting, because he’s an electrician by trade, and features that set it apart, like Amish cabinetry. That’s rare, and it’s a huge credit to our relationships.”
Going forward, Hannah will manage the company’s public outreach efforts and digital footprint, Luke will focus on the construction, and they’ll make Lumohs decisions together. To date, they’ve relied on their professional relationships, experience and growth in the Madison area, and love of the North to bring their vision in the Northwoods to life. They’re leveraging the digital exposure their website provides, plus social media marketing, to tell their story. They’re confident in their product and excited to move forward.
“We’re tapping into our full potential with these Pines,” says Hannah. “We put out a great product because we control the quality of our process. We want to build for you what we would build for ourselves. We buy into it because we love it.”