Modestly modern

Provided by Shelter Architecture, Star Tribune

Before and after

A Minneapolis architect updates her home with a thoroughly modern floor plan while maintaining an exterior that fits in with its traditional neighborhood.

By ELIZABETHE FOY LARSEN, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: October 17, 2009 - 10:04 AM

Sometimes the best opportunities are in your own back yard.

That's what Shelter Architecture founding partner Jackie Millea discovered when she and her husband, Dan, overhauled their 1920s home in south Minneapolis. Millea had her work cut out for her. There were birds in the walls and the one-and-a-half story house had only the faintest hints of insulation. "It was falling down," she admitted.

Another challenge was the out-of-code staircase that connected the main floor to the warren-like second story. "You had to duck every time you went up or down," she said.

It would have been tempting to tear down the entire structure. Instead, Millea turned the project into her own personal renovation lab, reconfiguring every floor of the house with an open floor plan.

The original dining room was converted to a library, complete with a bumped-out skylight that sends a shaft of light into the cozy space. While the room flows easily into the living room, the library also has gone from being an unused space to one of the most popular parts of the house.

Millea anchored the first floor of the home with a stunning kitchen and dining room, both accented with dark-stained oak and handmade tiles from Minneapolis-based Mercury Mosaics. "Using local artists was important to me," she said.

Home as experiment

She also used the first floor to experiment with a few concepts she wanted to fine-tune for clients who were interested in "aging in place." Instead of relying solely on high cabinets, Millea designed deep-storage drawers into the oversized kitchen island. She also installed the microwave oven at the cabinet level and designed a home office behind a set of cabinet doors. To further extend the life of the house, Millea created space for an elevator, should she and her husband ever need one.

Until that time comes, the Milleas will use the two-story staircase, which is the most striking feature of the entire renovation. Encased in a tower of glass, it acts like a sculpture that connects the kitchen to the master suite.

Upstairs, Millea created a master suite with a sanctuary-like feel. There's a screened-in porch where the couple read and chat after long working days. And the bathroom includes indulgences such as a soaking tub and a rain shower. It's a gorgeous, light-drenched space with pale blue glass tiles that glint in the late afternoon sun. The effect is so tranquil that it's easy to understand why Millea thought that buying just the right tile for the bathroom was more important than renovating the garage.

While Millea transformed her house, she was conscious of keeping its scale and style in line with the other modestly sized homes in the neighborhood. So while the interior feels decidedly spacious and modern, the exterior blends traditional stucco and double-hung windows with modern cubes. The bulk of the addition extends into the back yard in a way that is almost invisible from the street.

"Our neighbors appreciated that we wanted to do something modern, but on the outside it's in keeping with the proportions of the other houses on the block," Millea said. "The house is a good neighbor."

Elizabeth Foy Larsen, a freelance writer, lives in Minneapolis.