Real Family: Improving on a Classic
Seven years ago, Jeremy, Yvette and their toddler settled into the ’30s Colonial they’d purchased in Edina’s Country Club neighborhood. The classic symmetry (“staircase right in the middle”) mirrored their preference for balanced, timeless design.
But time did not stand still. By and by, there were two more children underfoot and the home’s original footprint screamed for more than a pedicure. Living within Edina’s Historical Preservation District meant a McMansion expansion was out of the question. But…what?
The couple came to w.b. builders with no defined redesign in mind. They’d chosen the company after admiring its work on a neighbor’s project and examining its Remodelers Showcase renovations. “Let’s see what these guys come up with” was the open-ended mandate for the project, which, Jeremy says, “started big and ended up even bigger.”
The main floor now sports a larger living room, new office and mudroom, and a completely gutted kitchen that also gained space.
The former garage, attached at an awkward angle, was replaced by a new, freestanding structure. The basement, gutted down to dirt, now hosts a new family room and completely renovated mechanicals and infrastructure, all energy-efficient. On the second floor there’s a new master suite (consuming another existing bedroom) with master bath and walk-in closet, aside three additional bedrooms.
The beauty of it—well, the bonus beauty, says Jeremy: “They really improved the flow of the house without those changes screaming ‘Addition!’ We love how they seem part of the original house. They also had a good sense of design features, like the kitchen’s built-in buffet, we wanted to preserve.
Visit this home on the Spring Remodelers Showcase (#R37)
This blog was adapted from an article written By Carla Waldemar