Tom Rauscher, owner of the residential design firm Rauscher & Associates in Minneapolis. But a remodel can bring out the critical eye in every player — owner, designer and builder. And in this case, all the players saw room for improvement, over every square inch of the house. At the center of the home — and the remodel — the kitchen was lacking space and personality. “It was all just white cabinets and very plain,” says John Kraemer, director of sales and marketing of John Kraemer & Sons, a custom home building and remodeling
firm in Edina. But with the addition of an oversized custom-built alder island with a wenge countertop, custom alder cabinets, a distressed pewter range hood and countertops, and top-of-the-line appliances, the kitchen acquired character and convenience. And with the installation of an expansive 14-foot-by-5-foot window over the sink, it captured the view outside. “It overlooks the 18th green at Bearpath,” says Gary Kraemer, president and owner of John Kraemer & Sons. “And it’s one of the client’s favorite things about the house,” John finishes the thought. Creating more room in the kitchen meant nicking space from the home’s existing dining room. That led to a facelift for the original dining/living room space. Spanning from an open foyer at the front door all the way to the back wall of the home, the expansive room is the natural focal point of the home; it was only fitting to begin the home’s new aesthetic statement there. “She is contemporary, and he is traditional,” Rauscher says of the owners. “But they both loved the homes of Montana and Colorado. So we blended the two together.” A marriage of styles, the living/ dining room décor became a combination of the couple’s rustic and urban sensibilities. At the other end of the main floor — and on the other side of the kitchen — the family room got a facelift to make it more inviting. The vaulted ceiling was fitted with reclaimed timbers, a small wine room with an arched stone ceiling was tucked into a space that was originally a mechanical room, and rich browns and hearty materials were used to give the entire room warmth. The project began to escalate beyond the family room, where the existing three-car garage was expanded with an additional stall and space for a golf cart. That opened the door to possibilities the family had been considering but hadn’t yet acted upon. “We tore up the existing garage, created a sport court underneath the garage, built the new garage and added a bonus room above the garage,” John summarizes the sequence. The bonus room grew into a movie theater with lounge seating for eight, bar seating for four, and a guest room and full bath. Downstairs, the sport court swelled from a simple dream into a voluminous reality. “They asked us, ‘Would this be possible?’ and we said what we always say: ‘Anything is possible,’” Gary laughs. He wasn’t kidding. The family got a space where their three active sons and their friends could blow off steam playing floor hockey and basketball. “The kids love it,” John says. “They’re down here every day.” To complete the gymnasium effect, an existing bathroom near the sport court was transformed into an ersatz professional locker room, complete with a urinal, bathroom stall and lockers. The parents realized a dream of their own on the lower level: a dedicated wine cellar. “Their wine room was just a space under the stairs where they kept boxes of wine,” John recalls. Not anymore. Now, an up-to-the-minute, temperature-controlled cellar with custom iron doors, stone trim and intricate woodwork houses their extensive collection. Along with the additions, the entire lower level was updated: The ceilings were raised to a lofty 10 feet, the public spaces were redone in a more casual version of the main floor’s aesthetic, a powder room was added and each of the three children’s bedrooms was given an extensive facelift. “A lot of people start out with one idea, and then they say, ‘Well,
Artful-LivingMag.com Artful Living
| Autumn 2011
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