Highly-Detailed Remodel and Addition | Minneapolis, MN

Historic Transformation

The homeowners loved the character of their 100-year-old home near Lake Harriet, but the original layout no longer supported their busy family’s modern lifestyle. When they contacted us, they had a simple request: remodel our master closet. This evolved into a complete home renovation that took three-years of meticulous planning and tactical construction. The completed home demonstrates the overall goal of the remodel: historic inspiration with modern luxuries.

Kitchen

One of the family’s top priorities was making the kitchen more functional by including eat-in seating. This was difficult due to the small room size and the inability to expand into the neighboring rooms. We explored many floor plan iterations before arriving at the final solution which includes a 4’ addition that created enough space for a large kitchen island with sufficient seating. Other modern amenities include double dishwashers which alternate between serving as the “clean” dish storage and serving as the “dirty” dishwasher. Another hidden convenience is the shades on the west windows which tuck into the ceiling coffers and are controlled electronically through a wall switch.

The coffers themselves are a custom work-of-art which took meticulous planning by us and exceptional craft by the builder. The coffers align exactly with the trim between the windows. The wood is a “cerused” white oak -- a complicated application of liming wax and stain – that needed to be finished in the shop and installed on-site without any visible fasteners. Custom wood outlet covers match the trim and blend in the code-required locations.

Butler’s Pantry

The lacquered-wood butler’s pantry adds a touch of whimsy and shows the homeowners’ fun personality and love of entertaining. A window illuminates the sparkling space from behind the glass shelving, which is reflected in the lacquered walls and polished metal.

Front Entry

An original intersecting window muntin pattern in the front attic window inspired many new elements, including the stained-glass front door which provide the owners’ desired privacy in a beautiful, historically accurate manner.

Owners’ Bedroom

The second-story owners’ bedroom is an addition located on top of the existing sunroom below. Three wall of windows line the bedroom, with the fourth wall having a custom built-in wall of storage.

The windows in the bedroom are intentionally spaced to replicate the historic rhythm of the home. Although none of these new windows needed to be placed 4” apart, we intentionally did so to preserve the historic spacing, which was previously necessary to allow for window sash weights.

Owners’ Closet

This project began with a simple request from the homeowners: a master closet remodel. This expanded to the neighboring rooms, and eventually grew to encompass the entire home.

Owners’ Bathroom

The owners decided to turn their cramped bedroom into a spacious owners’ bathroom. The focal point of the space is the hand-made Moroccan tile which covers the floor and walls. It’s bold black and white patterned wall tile expresses the clients’ fun and eclectic taste. At the entrance to the bathroom, the thick floor tile with in-floor heating meets the wood floor which covers the rest of the owners’ suite. To create a flush floor transition, the floor joists were surgically shaved-down to account for the additional thickness of the tile and in-floor heat. Thus, the tile appears to be original to the home.

The space has plenty of storage, including medicine cabinets hidden behind the vanity mirrors. Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry lines the entry to the bathroom. The large walk-in shower, mirrored tub, and custom double-pocket door entrance add to the feeling of luxury.

Daughters’ Bathroom

The daughters’ bathroom is a bright, sparkling space, perfect for two young girls. The original intersecting window muntin pattern in the front attic window, shown in the image below, inspired many new elements, including the peak of the timber framed porch.

Timber Framed Porch

The homeowners sought an indoor-outdoor backyard hangout that is integrated with the architecture of their historic home. To accomplish this, we designed a screen porch made of beautiful Douglas Fir timber.

Key to making the porch feel united with the 1900’s home was replicating the home’s historic window pattern in the gable end of the porch. There are three layers of structure: heavy beams, rafters, and purlins. Because there is no hidden structure, everything must be both functional and beautiful. Wood pegs and mortis and tenon joints are used to connect the various structural elements. No “modern” nails or screws are visible.

The resulting timber framed structure gives the clients modern amenities (tv included!) with the craftsmanship and detail found in the rest of their home.