Bergum home holds treasures of yesterday, today and tomorrow

by Alison Stucke

Tom and LaDonna Bergum designed a one-level home that fits their lives today and going into the future. This stunning Craftsmanstyle home is a showplace of natural materials, including wood, steel, glass and stone, as well as a fabulous collection of antique furniture and European decor. Its practical one-story layout makes all rooms accessible and easy to enjoy.

“We wanted a new home with the warmth and charm of an old home,” LaDonna said. “It took us about five years to think of all the components we wanted to incorporate.”

The Craftsman style originated in the first years of the 20th century and is defined by “many fine details and excellent workmanship,” according to antiquehome.org. The style includes lowpitched gabled roofs with broad eaves, exposed wooden structural elements, natural materials and exceptional craftsmanship. All this is certainly true of the Bergum home. The style was believed to allow the homeowner to “return to a simpler, less pretentious style [that] would lead to a healthier, more comfortable and productive life.”

Like the Bergum home, most Craftsman-style houses are one- to 1½-story bungalows. But this home doesn’t feel like a bungalow. It has a “big” feel with lots of design, storage and space for daily living. It’s located within the Duluth city limits, but it has an “out in the country” feel since it sits on a beautiful wooded property. The Bergums even built a big red barn near the house.

A striking entrance

There is much to see and enjoy upon entering this inviting home. Straight ahead in the open-concept layout is the living room area where wood, stone and iron mingle. An oversized gas fireplace is surrounded by designed iron, white stone hearth and tall, painted white wood cabinets (one of which hides a television). Atop the cabinets are antiques purchased by the couple on their travels, including glass gas lanterns, a glass butter churn and an adorable wood carved donkey with wicker saddle bags bought recently on a trip to Mexico. A contemporary overstuffed leather sofa and large ottoman invite relaxation or reading by the fire.

The back wall is made of windows that bring in light to the cherry hardwood floors, and an additional soft glow is provided by strip lighting along the base level of a tray ceiling. Antique tables — one a bank table with cubbies for deposit slips, and the other two salvaged from an old building in Duluth — hold plants, including a succulent collection and antique pieces. A collection of Red Wing crocks sits beneath one table. An adorable antique child’s roll-top desk sits up against the window, and Tom and LaDonna’s little granddaughter loves to play there.

A dazzling kitchen and helpful butler’s pantry

To the right is a kitchen that grabs the eye, with Bianco Antico white granite countertops speckled with browns and off-whites, and dark rustic cherry cabinets and stainless-steel appliances that make this kitchen pop.

The tall cabinets were designed to hold pots and pans, as well as racks of beautiful serving trays. Oiled rubbed bronze cabinet handles and faucets and a backsplash of granite and glass in golds, off-whites and browns give the kitchen additional sparkle. Double convection

Continued on page 52 ovens (set on the diagonal with cubbies on both sides to hide appliances) and a handy warming drawer are designed for joyful cooking.

The home’s master bedroom is grand with dark-stained wood, wrought iron fixtures and decor in shades of brown.

“We share the cooking. Tom does most of the everyday cooking, and I like to practice different things,” said LaDonna, who makes lefsa as one of her specialties. “We also cook together with me as Tom’s sous chef.”

As she designed the kitchen, LaDonna dreamed of a round antique table that she could place by the window as a charming spot to have coffee or to share a meal with just a few people. She found one in a local antique shop, with beaded wood trim, and then she found bead-edged dishes to coordinate, proving a knack for finding just the perfect antique piece. A large antique wooden butter churn stands on its own legs nearby, and an impressive vintage rolling pin collection hangs on the adjacent wall.

Next to the dazzling kitchen is a helpful “butler’s pantry,” which provides more storage space with tall cabinets and glassfront cupboards, as well as an additional sink and dishwasher, and a wine cooler. Step out of this room, and you’re in the dining room, so entertaining couldn’t be easier. Repeated in the dining room is the mix of metal, wood and glass — a

Continued on page 55 meeting of elements, including a brass chandelier that hangs above the table, and two modern but vintage-looking china cabinets that stand against the wall.

“I have everything possible for cooking and entertaining either in the kitchen or in the butler’s pantry,” LaDonna said, and she specifically planned the rooms that way. “I didn’t want to have to go to the garage to get the crockpot or the basement for the waffle iron.”

“Buddy’s Room” aka “The Travel Room”

To the left of the home’s entrance is what looks like a sitting room, but it actually can be used as an extra bedroom. It’s called “Buddy’s Room” because it’s the favorite hangout of Buddy, one of two dogs (the other is named “Maggie”) who live in the home. Buddy likes to lounge on the loveseat in this room and look out the window.

“This is actually the dogs’ house, but they let us stay here,” LaDonna joked about their two adorable Labs — Buddy is a chocolate Lab and Maggie is a yellow Lab.

The couple like to travel and buy mementos from the various places they have visited. This room holds many beautiful pieces acquired during these trips, such as an exquisite tapestry bench from Italy and an elaborately-carved cuckoo clock from Germany. Leadedglass display curios hold framed photos and additional souvenirs. “Pocket” doors close off the room when it’s being used as a bedroom.

The master bedroom and granddaughter’s room

The home’s master bedroom is grand with dark-stained wood, wrought iron fixtures and decor in shades of brown. Another tray ceiling provides soft

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