It's that time of year. Mice are seeking shelter from the weather. Think your house is mouse proof? Probably not. Here's a little excerpt from a story in the Wall Street Journal by J.S. Marcus about what one couple did when they discovered a mouse - or hundreds - in the house.

"A mouse infestation is every homeowner's nightmare, but for Swedish architects Gert and Karin Wingardh, it proved to be blessing in disguise. Addressing a rodent invasion forced them to redo their coastal retreat north of Gothenburg, Sweden, transforming an existing hodgepodge of old and new structures into a striking contemporary home.

The couple bought the house, which dates to the 17th century, in 1992 for 1.3 million Swedish kronor, or about $182,000. A lawyer had been using the structure, originally built as a traditional Swedish cottage, as a summer home when the Wingardhs found it. The 750-square-foot house was ramshackle, but a teardown wasn't an option. A new couple, they needed the house immediately as a year-round residence for their blended family, including three children from previous marriages and a new son on the way.

"We both had just divorced," says Mr. Wingardh, now 63 years old, "and when you're divorced, you're devoid of money."

In just a few weeks, Mr. Wingardh had a solution: add two wings to the house, one for the children's bedrooms and sitting room, the other for an open-plan studio. The work, which took about nine months, tripled the size of the house. A few years later they redid the kitchen and added a ground-floor library. Around that time, they acquired a neighboring plot of land for about $14,000.

The house became a weekend home and summer refuge in the late 1990s, when their young son reached school age and the family relocated to Gothenburg proper.

But there was a problem. An ad hoc 1980s extension by the previous owner had provided "a freeway" for mice to enter the house, says Mr. Wingardh. By 2007, the problem had gone from bad to worse.

"The construction engineer told us to tear the house down," says Ms. Wingardh, 60, "because it would be easier just to rebuild it." But the couple was attached to their layers of additions, especially the cozy library, painted a deep red, and the quaint, low-ceiling kitchen. Plus, they had already spent more than $400,000 on the various renovations.

Click here to see photos and the rest of the story.