HOMEOWNER'S COMMENTS CONTINUED

more memories, she asked if we had any thoughts about a future design. So then the great debate over teardown versus addon came out. She listened quietly to our pros and cons and all the memories that we still clung to in those knotty pine and cedar walls and the wildlife through the slider windows and the sounds of the lake waves and loons at night from the futon bed on the screen porch. At the conclusion of our discussion, she said she had some ideas and wanted to digest our wish list and set another meeting for two weeks out.

When Heather returned with drawings rolled up under her arms and tracing paper sheets in hand, she shared with us her design plan which was the best of both options: Keep the old cabin, the heart of our home, and build up around it. Those memories could be kept and flow into the new structure built over and around the existing small cabin! It would not be a “bolted on” addition but rather a cocooning of our existing space inside of the newer structure with a new roof built over the existing and new passageways created to flow from the old cabin into the adjacent new great room and entrance foyer. The existing knotty pine and cedar walls and ceiling would remain as well as the two bedrooms, bathroom, and utility room just as they were. The small kitchen would become a bunk room for our special kiddo visitors, and the dining/living room would become our new office and game room area! We loved it immediately and by repurposing the existing space, we were going to be able to stretch our budget further.

It took us about three meetings with Heather to finalize the design for a construction bid. At each meeting, she would come in with updated drawings and would trace rough-ups of potential changes over those as we discussed options for layout changes to provide more storage or functionality (e.g. incorporating the raised dog wash to actually function as a utility sink with an adjustable countertop for storage of towels for outdoor shower). By asking questions about how frequently we would use something, she helped us eliminate items or figure out how to create dual purpose space (e.g. a four season room becoming three season without dedicated heat source, or moving a small wood stove and creating a nook adjacent to the kitchen for coffee/wine/beverage center for guests). This way we were able to maximize her design suggestions and more quickly settle in on final details for a construction bid package.

Once Heather prepared the final detailed structural design drawings, I married the material specifications that I had selected for the exterior finishes and interior finish selections with it as a bid package for construction bids. We wanted to give contractors as much detail as possible about our material specifications so that we and they could prepare a thorough bid. Our approach has always been to have an itemized bid prepared, working with the contractor to ensure they are providing the types of materials we select so we can avoid surprises and change orders as much as possible. Having run a manufacturing business, I know that I would rather know and understand the clients’ specifications so I can provide the most accurate and complete bid for the project and offer some alternatives which provide some timing and/or cost savings as alternatives to the bid. Everyone deserves to make a profit and wants to do good work and meet or exceed clients expectations. Having a clear itemized bid that you and your contractor discuss up front leads to a win-win scenario versus confrontation and disappointment later. In our case, we came to understand that we could not afford initially to build the three-car attached garage. So Heather made slight modifications to the design so we could easily remove and reuse a window and included routing of all HVAC/plumbing work into the future garage wall so that it could be easily added later.

Our final design yielded a 3,900-square-foot, five-bedroom, three-bathroom home featuring a grand entry cedar hallway (with hanging space for family picture gallery) leading to a 22-foot vaulted ceiling great room/kitchen/dining area with a beautiful view of Island Lake. There’s plenty of room for guests to enjoy a breakfast at the custom made live edge dining table of yellow birch over 100 years old retrieved from the bottom of Lake Superior, a 22-foot stone fireplace with eye level viewing from any part of the great room, a three-season porch to listen for the loons, a balcony for the telescope to see the Milky Way, and a mudroom with dog wash and outside shower for fourlegged visitors — all done with a “mountain modern” design of low sloped roof lines encompassing the original cabin and all of its memories.

What was your favorite portion of this remodel?

First and foremost is that the old “cabin” is still at the heart of the new lake home! The design retains all of the original old cabin complete with the signs of past memories of small marks from card games, indoor parades during winter, and images of favorite pictures faded in place. The two bedrooms and bathroom are exactly as originally constructed, the small kitchen is converted to a three-bed bunk room for little ones, and the original living room is now the home office and game area. Old family game boards of Chinese checkers, carom, and checkers fill out the space surrounded by puzzles and books. As we walk through the large passageways from the old cabin into the new “lake home,” it has a natural flow and feels like a home blending our past with the future.

How was it working with your designer? What made you choose their business?

Heather is hands on, attentive, realistic to help design for best function and value, and is very knowledgeable about the local construction market, suppliers, and the construction methods and features for our climate. And she is fun, tunes in quickly to the different style preferences of her clients and is also quick to help call out a design element that may require some extra work or attention for ongoing maintenance and/ or present some construction challenges. Heather’s approach to detail in her architectural design is solid for a contractor to develop a bid and is detailed enough for specifications and buildout while leaving it up to the client to take the lead on selection of materials/styles/finishes.

What advice do you have for prospective homeowners thinking about taking on a remodeling project?

Understand what you really want to accomplish with the remodel and set a budget range. If you have these things in mind before you start to meet with prospective architects/ contractors, it will help you focus on getting the results you want and provide your architect/contractor with parameters that can guide the design/material options for the best function and value. We had some initial “wishes” that were outside of our budget, but by setting this up front, they were able to select other options/approaches to stay within budget. Also, leave 10-12% contingence fund in the budget for those inevitable surprises.

Did you research other remodels for tips?

Once we started dreaming about making the lake our home, we spent time browsing books about modern cabin designs, attending Parade of Homes events and Home Shows, and subscribed to Dwell magazine and Architectural Digest. Anytime we saw a feature or look or unique construction technique, we would add it to our design file. Then as we got into the actual interior design, I started to reach out to local suppliers/artisans/craftspeople to source Minnesota-made services and products. An example is Solid Rock Masonry. Eric Moshier is within 10 miles of us and does amazing masonry projects all over the U.S. He came into the empty shell during construction and we spent an hour sketching on a notebook page the design he constructed of the 22-foot-high asymmetrical stacked rock fireplace with modern light mantel. Eric even had the sandstone material, which looks like wood, for the lintels buried in the snow outside his shop. I always ask artisans who else they have worked with and/or could be a possible resource. You will be surprised where it can lead you!

What amenities were must-haves? What were some you wanted but ultimately discarded?

We were focused on achieving two goals: creating a welcoming and special place for family and guests to gather and stay AND create a living space that we could “age in place” with a dog and enjoy and maintain for the next 30-40 years. So our must-haves were guided by those two goals.

Must Haves:

• Wheelchair accessible doorways, and shower entries and easy grip knobs and pulls — designed to age in place

• Walk-thru master closet near laundry room

• Great room with open floor plan to kitchen with island bar seating, dining room with table to seat 12

• Wood fireplace in great room at eye level with wood storage built in

• At least four bedrooms with at least three bathrooms; all with showers

• Cedar walls and ceilings in most areas

• Dog wash and dog supplies storage area with direct access to outside

• Four-season porch with retractable glass/screens

• In-floor heat with AC

• Easy maintenance interior and exterior materials that do not need painting or extensive cleaning: stained concrete floors, sliding fiberglass windows, LP siding and galvalume with aluminum soffits

• Mountain modern design with simple, bold lines, minimizing passageway space and maximizing access through use of barn doors and pocket doors and hiding HVAC work

• Attached three-car garage with bonus area for future additional apartment and balcony for telescope

Discarded/Revised/Delayed: Mostly due to cost and working to stay within budget:

• We revised the build design so that the attached three-car