A polished gem

Lots of couples consider downsizing when they're getting close to retirement. Mary and Barry Lazarus did just the opposite.

They left their low-maintenance townhome and bought a Victorian mansion that needed work, to put it mildly.

The former roominghouse, which had been neglected for decades, needed basement-to-attic rehabbing, including replacing all the mechanical systems. But at 5,000 square feet, it had the space the Lazaruses wanted for hosting their frequent fundraising parties.

When they first toured the Minneapolis home, it was Barry's image of a fixer-upper nightmare. The main floor was filled with broken furniture and junk surrounded by stacks of old newspapers. Orange shag carpeting covered the staircase. There were piles of mildewed laundry in the basement and several cats had the run of the third floor.

"I asked Mary if she was out of her mind," Barry recalled.

But Mary was enamored of the home's period charms, such as the marble fireplace surround in the living room, the French silk-screened wallcovering in the dining room and a charming breakfast room with walls of windows.

"The house talked to me," said Mary, who until 2008 was co-owner of Caldrea, a Minneapolis company that sells household cleaning products. "I could see the beauty through the trash."

Although he didn't quite share her vision, Barry, then a Minneapolis attorney, agreed that the interior could be refurbished and restyled, but what about the exterior? Concerned about the lack of curb appeal the stripped-down facade offered, he wondered if the Lowry Hill home was worth salvaging.

On Mary's urging, the couple enlisted interior designer Barbara Fogel, who specializes in historic restoration. Fogel, in turn, enlisted architect Rehn Hassel to freshen up the front of the home.

Hassel, who drew inspiration from a book on homes of the Garden District in New Orleans, designed a two-story, French colonial-style veranda. When Barry saw the design, he was sold. And 18 months of renovation began.

Nearly every surface in the house was touched -- from stripping and painting the woodwork to refinishing the birch floors. The kitchen, as well as the second and third floors, were gutted and rebuilt.

The Lazaruses are so pleased with their remade mansion that they installed an elevator so they can stay in the four-level home, even when they can no longer climb the stairs.

"I call it the My Fair Lady house," said Barry. "We took a street urchin and turned it into a grand old lady."

Lynn Underwood • 612-673-7619