It could have been a teardown. The 1958 in Minnetonka had seen better days when Bob Boyer, owner of Boyer Building Corporation , first looked at it.
"It was in pretty rough shape," he said. "That's always the question — tear down or fix."
But Boyer saw potential. The low-slung California ranch-style home was "nicely placed on the lot," he said, a desirable location with "a private wetland, beautiful big trees on all sides, in an established neighborhood [Hermitage]."
And the home was solidly built, despite years of deferred maintenance.
"The basic bones were good," he said.
Inside, the foyer was small, the kitchen was outdated, and the rooms felt "squatty," with low ceilings. There was even a '50s pink-on-pink bathroom.
But the rooms were spacious, and the floor plan, with a walkout lower level, offered potential for a midcentury modern-style makeover. "It lent itself to that look," Boyer said.
The builder replaced the 8-foot ceilings with tall, vaulted ceilings with beams, bringing volume and light to the formerly low-set spaces. "Now it has a spacious lofty feel," Boyer said.
A small addition in front created space for a larger, more inviting entry. Another 6-by-14-foot addition extended the living room, adding more room for dining. Boyer also reworked the bedrooms to create a master suite, with a walk-in closet and a master bath.
The main level now has an open floor plan with new flooring — red oak with a gray stain — throughout.
There's a kitchen, with base cabinets of smoked cherry and upper cabinets painted linen white. The perimeter countertops are black granite, while the island is topped with Cambria quartzite with a honed matte finish.
Systems and mechanicals also got an upgrade, including a new high-efficiency furnace and water heater, new Marvin windows and two new decks.
The reworked ranch was scheduled to be featured on the Remodelers Showcase earlier this spring, before the event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The home was staged for its debut by designer Stacy Johnson of FIX Design Haus.
Now the 3,252-square-foot home is on the market, priced at $895,000.
"It really turned out to be a nice home," Boyer said.
Joe Boyer, 612-685-0100, Coldwell Banker Burnet, has the listing. A purchase is pending.