Cottage gets storybook makeover

For 12 years, Mark and Nancy Morris pined for the "mushroom cottage" on Lake Minnetonka's Gray's Bay.

They often drove by the ivy-covered early 1900s home that looked as if it belonged in a fairy tale. The fanciful gardener's cottage, designed in 1919 by Minneapolis architect Harry Wild Jones, was part of a massive estate on Bushaway Road. Over the years, the property was divided and the cottage became a single-family home.

The hand-hewn timbers and thatched roof reminded the Morrises of the cottages in Carmel, Calif., where they were married and often visited. "We loved the architecture and European charm of the Carmel homes," said Nancy.

When the home came up for sale, the couple got their chance to see it close-up.

They fell in love.

The cottage had small, comfortable rooms, beamed ceilings and a little greenhouse where the estate gardener had cultivated seedlings. Best of all, it was only a few feet from the water. They couldn't buy because they were moving to South Carolina, but they never forgot that slice of Carmel by Lake Minnetonka.

When they came back to Minnesota to visit, they always drove by. And, once a year, Mark would call the owner, who had taken it off the market, to ask if he'd sell. The answer was always "no."

The timing couldn't have been better. The Morrises had just sold their home in South Carolina and were returning to Minnesota. More than a decade after they had first looked at the house, the Morrises finally bought it.

Taking charge

Despite its romantic look, they understood the nearly 100-year-old structure would need work.

"We knew from the get-go we'd have to redo everything," said Mark. "But we wanted to keep the unique character of the original gardener's cottage."

They also were committed to keeping the cottage's modest size. Instead of expanding the 1,800-square-foot, two-story home, they wanted to make the best use of the existing space. And they weren't about to leave this labor of love to anyone: The Morrises wanted to be in charge of every aspect of the project — from designing the new kitchen to hiring all the subcontractors.

Because they had to find time between their day jobs (Nancy is an interior design consultant for Morris Interiors, and Mark has his own marketing and consulting business), they designed a three-phase remodeling project.

In the first phase, they tore out the old radiators, installed a new heating and cooling system, rewired and installed new plumbing. They also removed the original straw-and-horsehair insulation and put in new insulation. When it came to replacing the roof, they replicated the wavy look of the hand-cut asphalt shingles of the original. "It took a crew of five about a month to do it," recalled Mark.

During the second phase, they hired workers to gut and remodel the first- and second-floor bathrooms and widen the cramped entry. Then it was on to the kitchen.

"We really agonized over this room," said Mark. "It's so long and narrow and we couldn't knock down the wall because the fireplace was on the other side." In the end, they decided to move the "pump house," which held utilities, to the attic. That allowed them to double the size of the kitchen.

To give the space an Old World look, Nancy hired Westwood Cabinets in Minnetonka to create cabinets that mimic the look of Smallbone British kitchen cupboards and to build a antique-style hutch.

The Morrises capitalized on the living room's prime view of Lake Minnetonka by adding French doors and large picture windows. The home sits so near to the shore that they can hear loons calling and water lapping against the rocks when the windows are open.

"It's rare to be on Lake Minnetonka and be this close to the water," said Mark.

And because the living room fireplace was plain painted brick, they refaced it with natural stone reminiscent of fireplace surrounds in Carmel cottages.

The last phase, and finishing touch, involved designing and building an outdoor room, which they outfitted with a hot tub and an Old World-style stone fireplace, fueled by natural gas.

"I always wanted a fireplace in the kitchen," said Nancy. "But since that wasn't possible, I can see this one from the kitchen window."

"In the end, we have our own Carmel cottage on Lake Minnetonka," said Nancy.