The way a home feels, looks and lives like home is different for everyone. For one owner, home is a sustainable new-fashioned farmhouse. For another, it's a remodeled midcentury rambler ... or a family cabin overlooking Lake Superior.
These homes and more are among this year's Home of the Month selected projects. The 12 designs by AIA Minnesota (American Institute of Architects) professionals were chosen from 37 submissions. And starting in June, readers can get an inside look at the dozen residences on the first Sunday of the month in the Star Tribune Homes section and at startribune.com.
The architects and homeowners will share behind-the-scenes details of each project, along with a gallery of photos to inspire your own building, remodeling and decorating plans.
1. COTTAGEWOOD BEACH HOUSE
Designed by Peterssen/Keller Architecture
The casual, yet sophisticated plan boasts open spaces for entertaining, gallery white walls to showcase artwork and a wraparound deck delivering panoramic views of Lake Minnetonka. The design team and landscape architect worked within DNR guidelines to make the 1½-story home fit the narrow lakefront site and scale of the neighborhood. The classic-meets-modern interiors are a blend of light and dark finishes, shiplap paneling, rolled steel doors and handcrafted Italian plaster walls.
2. SIDE STREET SUITE: XTRA SMALL
Designed by Christopher Strom Architects
A 640-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU) lives large, thanks to strategically placed glass on four sides to experience the path of sunlight throughout the day. Yellow-painted sliding doors open to a bedroom suite equipped with a walk-in closet, bathroom and washer/dryer. Playful, bold colors enliven the interiors, which are warmed by heated Marmoleum floors.
3. URBAN FIT
Designed by Rehkamp Larson Architects
This new home's architecture was inspired by the clapboard-sided older homes on the established Minneapolis streetscape. Yet the large casement windows and paneled front-entry porch are a nod to today. Inside, the clean white palette and minimalist millwork are infused with pops of color in cabinetry, tile and furnishings.
4. SANCTUARY IN AND OF THE WOODS
Designed by Charles R. Stinson Architects and Modern Oasis
This modern residence emerges out of the wooded site, taking advantage of the elevation change as the land drops from the moraine top to wetlands and Lake Minnetonka. The wood flooring is from white maples felled on the site. Clerestory windows frame the full height of the trees, creating dramatic visual depth. The exterior Venetian plaster is revealed as it moves inside — forming the fireplace hearth, the staircase wall and the back wall of a media center and lower-level patio. A two-story bank of rear-facing windows illuminate the living spaces.
5. MENDOTA MODERN
Designed by Rehkamp Larson Architects
A dark, cramped midcentury rambler gained improved functionality and light with a reconfigured floor plan, larger windows and new mudroom. For extra storage, a built-in bookcase lines the living room wall. The exterior was updated with a new front canopy and steps, wide four-panel door, glass garage door and a fresh coat of paint.
6. COASTAL MODERN
Designed by Swan Architecture
Inspired by the laid-back midcentury modern California style of residential developer Joseph Eichler, this light-filled Edina home has a "fun, casual and welcoming" vibe. Expanses of glass open up sightlines from the front through the back of the home. The backyard swimming pool, a summer magnet, is its own architectural feature. A glassy breezeway connects the multifunctional pool house to the main home, turning it into a sun-filled game room or a quiet getaway in the winter.
7. SNOSKUR
Designed by Kell Architects
SnoSkur is a family cabin high on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior, which connects the family to the land through thoughtful use of material, form and structure. A ramp provides an accessible zero-clearance entry to the cedar-clad retreat. The main level is a communal gathering space and guest bedroom encircled by an exterior elevated deck. The upper level is the owners' sanctuary, boasting dramatic expanses of glass toward the lake views. The family can stargaze through skylights in the roof.
8. SUBURBAN SERENITY
Designed by Albertsson Hansen Architecture
A 1960s two-story Colonial Revival was refreshed with deep navy siding, white trim and a citron-hued front door. Larger windows were added to the reconfigured kitchen and dining areas. The modified floor plan creates a smoother flow from space to space. A rarely used formal dining room was repurposed as a mudroom/laundry room. Smart aging-in-place features function now and for the future.
9. HUNTINGTON RESIDENCE
Designed by Peterssen/Keller Architecture
Modern melds with tradition in this Wayzata home nestled into a hill. Two classic gable forms, clad in cedar shakes, are connected by a modern metal form. The linear open plan features a cozy sunken living room and a sleek cabinet wall. Garden light wells and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a patio create a strong indoor-outdoor connection.
10. TONKA BAY NET ZERO INFILL
Designed by SALA Architects
Design goals for this new home ranged from welcoming spaces to accommodate large gatherings, while feeling intimate for two, and sustainable features for net-positive energy production. A geothermal heating and cooling system was paired with a 40-panel solar array on the home's south-facing roof. Smart design strategies store and slowly infiltrate stormwater, including rain gardens, green roofs and a stormwater retention area beneath the deck. Accessibility was a priority, including wide doorways, a main-level owners' suite and ramped entryway.
11. FARMHOUSE REBORN
Designed by Rehkamp Larson Architects
This farmhouse-meets-barn is practical, natural and soulful. The new house and garage are sited to complement two existing barns. Sustainability features include a steel roof, T-mass-insulated concrete foundation and geothermal heating and cooling. The homeowners added personal touches, such as a fireplace composed of fieldstone hand-picked from the property and handmade kitchen backsplash tile. The owners' pottery studio has a charming view of their sheep pen.
12. WEE-ELY
Designed by SALA Architects
This rustic cabin sits on 20 acres adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Some of the construction elements were prefabricated off site and quickly assembled on site. The structural system easily accommodates open sleeping lofts heated by a wood stove. The off-the-grid cabin uses gas appliances, lantern light and a hand-pump well. Solar panels are planned for the large southern roof. A sauna echoes the timber-frame retreat.
