Revival redux

It was as if someone took a Sharpie and scrawled a mustache on a Botticelli maiden.

The façade of the 1920s Mediterranean revival home featured some of the grace of the style -- except for the southwest corner, where previous owners had tacked on a sunroom that could have come straight from a fast-food franchise.

So when Todd and Nancy Noteboom decided to remodel their home near Minneapolis' Lake of the Isles, they considered simply doing away with the offending addition and extending the terrace in the front of the house. But as unappealing as it was from the outside, from the inside the light-filled space was still a favorite place for Todd, Nancy and their two kids, ages 4 and 6, to relax.

So with the help of architects Tom Ellison of TEA2 Architects and Andrea Peshel Swan, the Notebooms decided that a sunroom was worth keeping; the task was to make it fit the rest of the home, inside and out.

The solution blends so seamlessly with its surroundings that the casual observer wouldn't know the room hadn't always been there. Ten new windows echo those on the rest of the home, as does the sloping roof clad with red-clay tiles. The house also boasts a new front terrace and front door, a new balconette and a new chimney top as well as copper gutters and downspouts.

Let there be light

Inside, the archway leading from the living room to the sunroom has the same delicately notched details as the archway connecting the living room and the kitchen and family room in the original part of the house.

The sunroom's light, airy feel was a key part of its appeal, and the Notebooms wanted to bring that feeling to the living room, as well. So, about 1,500 square feet of the approximately 6,000-square-foot house was gutted to the studs.

In the living room, new windows were put in to add natural light, and a carefully conceived lighting scheme heightened the sense of space. The architects added accent lighting on the mantel so that colors from the artwork could subtly bounce off and soften the walls, now painted a neutral cream. Other lighting included directed low-voltage halogen lighting set into the ceiling; "wall-washing" lights, also set into the ceiling on the interior wall; two bowl pendants; and a series of sconces that give off the warm light of lamps.

While the Notebooms kept the firebox in the original hearth, they jettisoned an oddly shaped brick-and-plaster mantel/surround for an elegantly simple limestone surround. That turned out to be no mean feat. Todd explained that the floor had to be reinforced to support the limestone surround, which took eight men to lift into place.

Lightening up the study on the west side of the entry hall was another goal. To do so, they installed new wood floors that match the original walnut floors in the living room, added a new arched doorway that echoes the arches that frame the living room, and added built-ins along the rear wall and a pocket door leading to the kitchen.

Other interior renovations included completely wiring the house for sound (with volume control in each room), installing an HVAC system, renovating the guest room and bathroom on the second floor, and bumping out the basement to make an exercise room.

In a nod to the neighbors, the front yard also got a face-lift. A new retaining wall keeps street and home separate without disconnecting them entirely. In warm weather, the Notebooms set up a table and chairs on the new terrace. "We practically live out there," said Todd.

And, he adds, several neighbors have stopped by to thank them for getting rid of the "Burger King sunroom."

Judy Arginteanu is a Minneapolis-based writer and editor.