Your idea to create a grand getaway in a remote location?
It’s not crazy. Well, not completely crazy.
Perhaps you’ve dreamed of it: that place where family and friends gather year after year, where the stories told for generations are written.
At TEA2, we’ve created many such retreats. Our experience can make your experience better and the result, absolutely breathtaking.
From landscape and siting to managing local builders, there’s an enormous list of considerations, and we consider each one. Carefully. Like, how to integrate the outdoors in every season, or how to create entire compounds—boathouses, bunkhouses, remote offices, etc. that inspire connection and create private escapes, too. We’re here through the construction process, ensuring build quality, ensuring that every specification is met, right down to the nails used. Most of all, we understand that a retreat is not just a high-end, custom home in a rural setting: it’s a place designed for relaxation, rich experiences and lasting memories. Let’s talk about your dream retreat. Visit us at TEA2architects.com
BLUEBIRD | Photography by Vondelinde
photography by steve henke photograhy
view our design gallery online at mint-design.biz see updated projects on instagram @mintdesignbiz
From the Publisher
Dear Friends,
In many ways, the road trip to my cabin on Okoboji is like the process of creating a new issue of Lake Society Magazine —always familiar, yet full of anticipation.
So, when I opened the first box of Cabin issues and saw this rustic and evocative
cover image, it
was as thrilling as opening the door to my cabin and smelling the fresh lake air!
Our Cabin issue feels like the most amazing summer road trip, as we visit a modern home way Up North, an art studio near the Knife River, a classic ranch house on the prairie, a lake home in the wilds of Cass County, a tiny guest cottage on Lake Owen in Wisconsin and a luxe alfresco retreat here in the Twin Cities.
Being entrusted to design and build a custom cabin is a special honor, and I’m grateful to the architects, designers and builders and their clients for sharing their private retreats with LSM.
I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I enjoyed curating it.
Karen
–Karen Stoeckel, Publisher
healthy smiles for a lifetime
ON THE COVER
Channeling a scrapbook of memories from Tamahay Camp for Girls in Akeley, Sara Whicher of Chisel Architecture turned a decrepit old cabin into a whimsical Northwoods guest cottage.
PUBLISHER
KAREN T. STOECKEL
GRAPHIC DESIGN
SHEBA CONCEPT & DESIGN, INC.
ART DIRECTION
KAREN T. STOECKEL
SOCIAL MEDIA
PATTY BURLEY
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
KELLY CARUSO
ANDRÉA DIXON
ANDREW FLESHER
RICHARD MERCHÁN
MELINDA NELSON
JEN ZIEMER
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
STEVE HENKE
CHELSIE LOPEZ
SPACECRAFTING // BO CARLOCK, ROB GROSSE
Lakesocietymagazine.com
Lakesocietymagazine@gmail.com @lsm_magazine
Photo: Spacecrafting
Contents SUMMER 2025
34 IMAGINATION STYLE
Artist Richard Merchan celebrates our annual Cabin issue with ROSé all Day, inspired by a relaxing Midwest summer evening with crickets, frogs and a refreshing bottle of wine.
36 THE TASTEMAKER DIARIES
For interior designers Andréa Dixon and Jen Ziemer of Fiddlehead Design Group, summer is all about swimming, cocktailing, playing backgammon, needlepointing and causing a very stylish racket.
38 CAMP WIGGIE
Together with contractor Jake Kinnunen and interior designer Lucy Penfield, Sara Whicher of Chisel Architecture reimagined an old cabin with a charming Northwoods spirit of place.
46 THE REAL DEAL
Charlie Flynn, founder of Francis King, Ltd., brings a fearless spirit and lifelong love of adventure to his family’s trio of showrooms in International Market Square.
50 FOUND TREASURES
Interior designer Maureen Haggerty updated a classic ranch house with layers of warmth, texture and meaning, creating harmony between the interior spaces and the lush prairie landscape.
58
WILDLY CREATIVE
Kristine Anderson, designer and principal of PKA Architecture, finds energy and inspiration in Yellow Door Den, her treehouse-style art studio in her modern cabin near the Knife River.
62
ANDREW ON DESIGN
When Andrew Flesher’s clients found a historic home with an old potting shed, he created a private retreat for swimming, entertaining and making the most of summer.
64
INTO THE WOODS
Charlie Simmons speaks the language of tall trees, gravel roads and big skies, so he felt an immediate kinship with a remote wooded property in Cass County.
70 REGARDING TRAVEL WITH KELLY CARUSO
Cabin Issue
74
Interior designer Kelly Caruso shares her favorite places on the south shore of Lake Superior, where the windswept pines, rocky beaches and shifting skies inform her designs.
NORDIC MODERN
Designed by PKA Architecture and crafted by Nor-Son Custom Builders, a modern family home in northern Minnesota reflects the homeowner’s Scandinavian heritage and refined aesthetic.
IMAGINATION
Style
ONCE UPON A SUMMER NIGHT
When my son was about two years old, I used to read Winnie-the-Pooh stories to him before bedtime. One of my favorite stories described a cozy cottage in the country. While sitting down to write this feature – focused on cabin life – the warm memories of Winnie’s cottage in the tree came flooding back.
While the inspiration for this painting did not involve a cute bear character, a relaxing Midwest summer evening did inspire this painting.
ROSé ALL DAY, is a 36 X 24 inch acrylic on canvas depicting one of those evenings after a hot Summer day. All the windows are open, crickets and frogs are entertaining us with their soundtrack, and a refreshing bottle of Rosé comes out as the sun goes down.
I’m sure most of us associate cabins and cottages away from the city as a time to indulge in nature, round up family, grill on the barbeque, and hopefully use less technology.
In the country, the sky is always darker and doesn’t compete with the city lights, making it a perfect setting for stargazing. The vast, nightly show is impossible to ignore.
Weather permitting, some folks traditionally head to cabins in May driving out every weekend until Labor Day. Families pack up their tribes on Friday’s, fill up the gas tank and flee the city. No judgement of course, but people here in the Midwest have to endure a hellish cold climate for way too long.
Many of the family cabins are time capsules that have been passed from generation to generation and are adorned with all sorts of mementos like fishing poles, canoes and vintage photos – all adding charm to the overall experience. With long days of sunshine and the occasional sweetsmelling rainstorm, the Midwest is the place to be, no doubt.
Part of the experience includes getting to the cabin. There are small towns to pass through and if the traffic is bad, maybe you can stop at a local farmers’ market, a small-town sidewalk sale or a summer festival.
The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set in the fictional Hundred Acre Wood, in Sussex, England but our Summer story begins here in the heartland of the Midwest.
Richard Merchán is a painter and sculptor creating in Minnesota and California. Learn more @ richardmerchan.com
Merchán is represented by Hollie Blanchard hollie@artgirlsmpls.com 612.834.6565
CAMPWiggie
Sara Whicher of Chisel Architecture brings memories of summer camp to a whimsical guest cottage in the Wisconsin Northwoods. written by melinda nelson, photography by rob grosse // spacecrafting
SSara Whicher has an internal compass that always points north. When she’s not designing modern homes and rustic cabins in the Chisel studio or training with the Minneapolis Rowing Club on the Mississippi River, she loves spending time in the Wisconsin Northwoods with her longtime clients Nora and Doug O’Leary. With her rowing shell balanced like a magnetic needle on the roof of her car, Whicher heads north to Cable, where she and contractor Jake Kinnunen and interior designer Lucy Penfield have turned an old cabin on Lake Owen into a whimsical guest cottage known as Wiggie.
Early in the morning, Whicher launches her boat and rows nine miles up the lake and back, feeling the wind and watching the sun as it sparkles on the water. After her row, Whicher walks back to the cottage, the dew on her feet bringing back memories of Tamahay Camp for Girls in Akeley, where she and her sisters spent many childhood summers.
“Summer camp gave me freedom, as well as a sense of comfort in being surrounded by nature,” says Whicher. “I learned the closeness between the trees and the lodge, and the shapes and textures of the cabins, which always find their way into my designs. Most importantly, I learned that if there’s dew on your feet in the morning, it’s going to be a beautiful day.”
When Whicher first saw Wiggie, the cabin was in rough shape. Once upon a time, it belonged to the former Island View Resort, but it hadn’t had any TLC for decades. Putting pen to paper, she sketched a picture-perfect cottage with cozy pine paneled interiors, a stone fireplace and yellow cabinets inspired by the color of the sun on the lake. When the O’Learys saw her drawing, which she’d adorned in Tamahay style with moss, birch bark, acorns, oak leaves, rocks and pine needles, they were all in.
Kinnunen started demoing the interiors for the renovation, but when he pulled off the old pine paneling, he discovered there wasn’t much structure in the walls. And, when he started taking down the kitchen ceiling, a raccoons’ nest fell down and landed at his feet. “At that moment, Wiggie went from a simple renovation to a new construction project,” says Whicher. “While it wasn’t what Nora and Doug were expecting, it allowed us to look at the cabin with a fresh perspective to make this teeny space work really well for guests.”
Wiggie required a brand new foundation, which gave Whicher the creative freedom to add a hot cocoa bar, a screen porch and a deck overlooking the lake. Kinnunen rebuilt every inch of the cottage, including the stone fireplace, which he reconstructed with the original rocks. To give Wiggie a true Northwoods spirit of place, Whicher and Penfield drove into Cable and went shopping at Rondeau’s, the local hardware store, where they bought mugs for hot cocoa, hooks for swimsuits, lanterns for nighttime walks and other thoughtful details to make the cottage feel like camp.
“Summer camp gave me freedom , as well as a sense of comfort in being surrounded by nature.”
“Most importantly, I learned that if there’s dew on your feet in the morning, it’s going to be a beautiful day.”
adventure to Francis King in International Market Square. written by melinda nelson, photography by chelsie lopez
FFrancis King, Ltd. is like no other design showroom in Minneapolis—or even L.A., Chicago or New York.
Spanning three, gallery-like spaces in International Market Square, it’s home to an elevated and eclectic collection of artisan textiles and rugs, handcrafted furnishings, art, lighting, window fashions, outdoor furniture and unusual finds from around the world. Curated by Charlie Flynn, founder/CEO, with daughter Susan Flynn, Director of Sales, Lynn Diedrich, Head Merchandiser/Buyer, and their team, the Francis King aesthetic is refined yet raffish, luxe yet laid-back.
While the three showrooms are constantly evolving, the vignettes are an effortlessly elegant mix of classic English country house style with an exotic, Bali-meets Bondi Beach surf vibe and a frisson of mid-century modern glamour. In one corner, a modern tartan chair chats with a blowsy flowered sofa and an ottoman covered in a Turkish rug, while in another, a bevy of Windsor chairs reimagined in a bright green hue converse with a comfy indigo ticking-upholstered sofa illuminated by a beachy rattan chandelier.
“The Francis King look is collected and unexpected— what my Irish father would describe as hurly burly,” says Flynn. Francis King is Flynn’s middle name, a gift from his father and British mother. While Flynn inherited his talent for sales from his dad and unerring eye for beauty from his mom, his fearless spirit was nurtured by endless summers surfing on the Jersey Shore and hitchhiking hundreds of miles around the Northeast to see the Grateful Dead live in concert.
“Everything that feeds my soul, from surfing and being a Deadhead to skiing in the mountains with my family, is ultimately about adventure and community,” says Flynn. “There’s no better feeling than being together with like-minded people, having fun, laughing and celebrating. I may not know them, yet we all know each other.”
The same thing happens when Flynn goes to High Point Market, except that he knows everyone in the industry, from the furniture manufacturers to the textile, wallcovering and lighting designers. Together with his team, Flynn is on a never-ending quest for unusual pieces from Hickory Chair, where he worked for many years, Lee Industries, Woodbridge Furniture, Thayer Coggin, Taylor King, Old Biscayne, Hartmann & Forbes and other fine brands.
“We’re looking for the real deal,” says Flynn. “We’re striving for authenticity and meaningful experiences, which is why 95% of our vendors are family-owned. Good design is organic and we just know it when we see it. We’re always thinking about our interior design clients, so everything we buy is designed to be riffed on. We love choosing special pieces that we know they’re going to have fun with, reimagining in different fabrics and finishes to reflect their own unique design aesthetic. Whenever a new collection arrives and we invite our interior designers to experience it in our showrooms, it’s an incredible moment. Gathering all these great people and great products that come from a place of love and passion is like catching the perfect wave. It just feels right.”
“Everything that feeds my soul, from surfing and being a Deadhead to skiing in the mountains with my family, is ultimately about adventure and community.”
–CHARLIE FLYNN
FOUNDTreasures
Interior designer Maureen Haggerty updated a classic ranch house with layers of warmth, texture and meaning.
written by melinda nelson, photography by rob grosse // spacecrafting
WWhat happens when you’ve gathered colorful folk art, vintage textiles, weathered barn wood and other intriguing artifacts, but you’re not sure how to weave everything into the rich tapestry of your life?
You call Maureen Haggerty, of course! Haggerty, an award-winning interior designer, is known for creating layered, deeply personal living environments, so when the callers described their collection of found treasures, she was immediately intrigued. And, from the moment she saw their home, a classic ranch house on 20 acres of restored prairie with a handcrafted teepee to boot, she was enchanted. She was greeted by Jax and Lily, purebred Toy Poodles, and as the homeowners shared their stories, she learned they’re professional horticulturists and stalwart stewards of Mother Earth.
“They revere the sprawling prairie and the wetlands inhabited by trumpeter swans, songbirds and other wildlife,” says Haggerty. “They wanted to update their main level to exhibit their fanciful collection of special items sans clutter, while creating harmony between the interior spaces and the landscape.”
Taking her design cues from nature, Haggerty selected a nuanced color palette that reflects the soft blues of the marsh and gentle greens of the tall prairie grass with accents of chamois, cinnabar and driftwood. She lightened the interiors with organic grasscloth wallcovering, handwoven natural window shades and earthy, understated rugs from Woven Arts. A screen porch had been serving only as a pass-through space, so she reimagined it as a destination for bird watching, reading and afternoon siestas with an extra-long daybed that she designed with Nicole Kappus Solheid of NKS Artsource and commissioned custom furniture maker Willie Willette to fabricate.
Haggerty was delighted to discover the homeowners share her appreciation for wabi-sabi, a centuries-old Japanese aesthetic that celebrates beauty and meaning in age and imperfection. She transformed their antique Belgian linens into custom handstitched window panels and reupholstered vintage persimmon rattan chairs in a homespun ticking-inspired fabric that sparks a lively conversation with an heirloom dining table. The couple had collected vintage European ceramic wall pockets in their travels so she helped them select the most meaningful pieces to display. She also added an aged mercury glass mirror backsplash to their built-in china cabinet, where it reflects the charm of their antique china and glassware.
Among Haggerty’s many favorite moments, she and Kappus Solheid and the homeowners painstakingly reviewed every plank of salvaged barn wood that had been stored for many years. After they’d chosen the pieces with the most character, including one that bears the signature of the man who’d built the original family barn, Haggerty and Kappus Solheid designed a rustic, oversized cocktail table for the living room and had it crafted by Willette.
“It was a joy to work with such wonderful people who wanted the very best, tailor-made interiors for themselves and their pups,” says Haggerty. “Their profound appreciation of nature and collections of random treasures were prominent features within the design composition. Hearing their stories and the history of each piece made it a really special experience.”
“It was a joy to work with such wonderful people who wanted the very best, tailor-made interiors for themselves and their pups.”
–MAUREEN GRACE HAGGERTY
project credits: • interior design: maureen grace haggerty, mint, inc.
art and consulting: nicole kappus solheid, nks artsource
custom furniture: willie willette works
area rugs: chelli ray, woven arts
CREATIVE Wildly
Kristine Anderson, the “A” in PKA Architecture, recharges her trademark creative energy at her modern cabin near the Knife River.
written by melinda nelson photography by rob grosse // spacecrafting
SSomehow, Kristine Anderson, designer and principal of PKA Architecture, manages to be everywhere, all at once. In between designing luxe custom homes and rustic cabins for clients across the country, making site visits to check on projects and speaking at architecture conferences, Anderson shares her talents with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), where she serves on the Board of Trustees and the Academic Affairs and Development Committees. She’s also a longtime adjunct faculty member and mentor at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture.
But, designing, speaking, teaching and mentoring are superpowers that require frequent recharging, so whenever Anderson’s peripatetic schedule permits, she and her husband Tom and their two Corgis decamp to their cabin near the Knife River. Designed by Anderson, the discreet black cabin reflects her passion for sustainable modern design with corrugated metal panels, Kebony trim and boards and vibrant red window frames that hint at the colorful creative spaces within.
On Saturday mornings, after an invigorating walk in the woods with Tom and the Corgis, Anderson retreats to “Yellow Door Den,” her art studio on the second floor. Several years ago, the room was nothing more than a blank canvas, but Anderson envisioned a treehouse-style space that would nourish her creative practice, expand her thinking and inspire every aspect of her work.
In addition to being an award-winning architectural designer, artist, sculptor, musician, photographer and expert dumpling maker, Anderson is a Jill-of-all-Trades. She and Tom installed oak flooring, tongue-and-groove birch paneling from a local mill and birch plywood countertops. She added repurposed modern cabinets with accents of teal, her signature color, and filled the studio with easels, paints, canvases, stacks of paper, art by MCAD alums Dani Wagner, Sara Evenson, Suyoa Tian and Maura Doyle, plus a guitar and an amp for impromptu jam sessions.
Surrounded by the forest, Anderson can fully disconnect from daily distractions and refocus her mind. “In every season, the quiet rhythm of nature becomes part of the work itself, inspiring the forms, textures and patterns that I explore in my art,” she says. “Whether I’m immersed in a project or simply taking in the work of other artists around me, my studio mirrors my creative identity—unhurried, curious and open to discovery. Often, these moments of free exploration spark unexpected ideas that filter into the projects I’m working on at the office. Sometimes they lead to exciting “a-ha” moments, other times they quietly inform my approach.”
After a long weekend at the cabin, Anderson returns to the Twin Cities, supercharged with her trademark creative energy and enthusiasm. “Yellow Door Den continually reminds me of the value of artistic risk-taking and the transformative power of design,” she says. “Being in my studio helps me stay grounded in the student experience and understand the ever-evolving creative process. It also reenergizes my commitment to supporting emerging artists and designers and advocating for MCAD, the College of Design and other environments that matter so deeply to our community’s cultural and creative future.”
“Yellow Door Den continually reminds me of the value of artistic risk-taking and the transformative power of design.”
–KRISTINE ANDERSON
ANDREW DESIGN on
My clients love Southern California, so when they invited me to update their historic home, I was thrilled because their family’s relaxed lifestyle reminded me of my childhood. My parents didn’t have a cabin so instead, they put in a pool and made our home feel like a year ‘round vacation retreat. On summer evenings, we’d swim, eat hors d’oeuvres before dinner and talk until the sun set. Inspired by these fun memories, I worked with my clients and Lars Peterssen and Bob Le Moine of PKA Architecture and Scott Ritter of Topo to create a casually elegant outdoor environment for swimming, entertaining and enjoying the long summer days.
with Lars
and
PKA Architecture, I reimagined an old potting shed as a stylish pool house.”
“ My clients love Southern California, so when they invited me to update their historic home, I was thrilled because their relaxed lifestyle reminded me of my childhood.”
–Andrew Flesher, interior designer
“The clients love entertaining alfresco, so we created an inviting outdoor living room with lush vines, bluestone paving and a fireplace.”
“I reupholstered these antique chairs in deep blue cotton velvet and Kirby, the family’s Wheaton terrier, loved sitting in them and watching the world go by.”
“I mixed vibrant textiles with sleek furniture to give the pool house a playful SoCal-meets-St. Tropez vibe.”
photography opposite page by steve henke photography
“Together
Peterssen
Bob Le Moine of
“French doors, a rustic table and mossy green chairs make the dining room feel like an extension of the garden.”
photo by bo carlock // spacecrafting
INTO the Woods
Inspired by his Montana childhood, Charlie Simmons of Charlie & Co. Design creates a new modern home on a northern
lake.
written by melinda nelson photography by rob grosse // spacecrafting
CCharlie Simmons speaks the language of tall trees, gravel roads and big skies, a vernacular he learned while growing up in Montana. “I spent half my life in the middle of nowhere,” he says. “As a young human, the experience of driving through the mountains— and boom!—suddenly seeing a magnificent vista had a visceral impact on me, which continues to inform and inspire my cabin designs.”
When a Wayzata couple sent him the survey for a property in Cass County, Simmons felt a kinship with the land. “It was completely virgin land that had never been built on,” he says. “It had been logged out more than a century ago, and the only access was a gravel road that wound through a dense forest of secondgeneration pine trees that were 90 feet tall.”
Half of the five-acre parcel was protected wetlands and there was a steep bluff that sloped down to a lake, but Simmons was undaunted. After conferring with the county and the DNR, he found the only flat piece of land on the property. It was small relative to the rest of the parcel, but perfect for the clients’ goals.
“They wanted a clean-lined modern home hidden in the woods, where they could entertain friends or just sit with their two wonderful golden retrievers and experience their surroundings,” continues Simmons. “They wanted it to be more than a building, so we envisioned a series of interconnected pods with expanses of glass to bring the outside in.”
Simmons designed a public pod with an open living, dining and kitchen area on the main level and a bunkroom, sauna, gym and golf simulator on the lower level. A private pod encloses the bedrooms while the garage, boat storage and mechanical systems have their own pods. To create an organic connection to the land, he arranged the pods on a gutsy stone foundation that appears to have been nestled in the forest for decades. Inspired by all the different tree species on the clients’ property, he gathered an eclectic collection of reclaimed timbers for the materials palette.
“The story of the wood is just as important to me as the gradients and textures, so I love mixing Douglas fir, oak, elm and ash from Manomin Resawn Timbers with silvery weathered corral wood from Montana ranches,” he says. Balancing modernity and rusticity, he clad the pods in Douglas fir, juxtaposing vertical boards with a bevel and a strong horizontal banding motif, and modern floor-to-ceiling windows with narrow vertical frames that allow the glass to dance across the elevation.
Just as Simmons intended, the home always takes the clients and their guests on a journey of discovery. Leaving their luggage in the auto court until later, they follow the dogs’ wagging tails along the boardwalk into a light-filled hallway, which leads to the soaring living room overlooking the water. Captivated by the magnificent vista, they walk out to the patio, down the steps and through the trees—and boom!—there’s the lake.
“ The story of the wood is just as important to me as the gradients and textures.” –CHARLIE SIMMONS
“They wanted a clean-lined modern home hidden in the woods, where they could entertain friends or just sit with their two wonderful golden retrievers…”
–CHARLIE SIMMONS
Regarding Travel
The South Shore of Lake Superior is a place of quiet beauty and raw inspiration— where the rhythm of the seasons shapes both the land and the creative spirit. Interior designer and travel correspondent Kelly Caruso discovered this region through longtime friends and collaborators Kate and Kerry Hage of Hage Homes. Together, they updated a secluded log cabin, @lakesuperiorshorehouse, that now serves as a base for exploring the wild shoreline and nearby islands. The area’s natural elements—windswept pines, rocky beaches, shifting skies— inform Kelly’s design style. In every season, she finds fresh perspective: the soft, muted palette of winter; the lush greens and golden light of summer. The South Shore’s ability to evoke calm and clarity is endlessly inspiring. As Kelly says, “Nature resets the mind. It strips away distraction and reveals what’s essential—that’s where the best ideas begin.”
with KELLY CARUSO
A Creative’s Guide to the South Shore
~Apostle Islands Lighthouses
Striking examples of 19th-century maritime architecture perched on remote, wave-swept islands—equal parts function and beauty.
~Bayfield Historic District
A walkable neighborhood showcasing restored Victorian homes, heritage storefronts, and thoughtful preservation.
~Madeline Island Art School
A creative campus hosting seasonal workshops in painting, photography, and textile arts—perfect for recharging the imagination.
~Thoughtfully Designed Cabin Stays
From rustic log homes to modern retreats, local rentals showcase architecture in harmony with the land.
~Sea Caves
Nature’s own sculpture garden— weathered, hollowed cliffs offering endless inspiration in form, texture, and rhythm.
~Local Maker Studios
Artisans in Cornucopia, Washburn, and Bayfield offer ceramics, fiber arts, and woodworking with regional soul.
~Wild Rice Retreat
Scandinavian-inspired wellness center with serene architecture, holistic interiors, and a deep connection to nature.
NORDIC Modern
Designed by PKA Architecture and crafted by Nor-Son Custom Builders, a modern family home in northern Minnesota reflects the homeowner’s refined aesthetic. written by melinda nelson, photos courtesy of marvin
SSomewhere between Minnesota and Manitoba, there’s a modern home nestled between the trees and a meandering river. Clad in vertical gray and white siding with large windows, a metal roof and a sky blue front door, the house appears to have always been part of the northern landscape, the quiet color palette reflecting the homeowner’s Scandinavian heritage and refined aesthetic.
“The design of our home represents our family’s lifestyle,” says the homeowner. “We wanted a warm, Nordic-inspired home with calming, streamlined interiors that allow us to live seamlessly, indoors to out.”
Designing and building a custom modern home nearly 400 miles north of the Twin Cities is a unique logistical challenge. But, the homeowner is immersed in the world of architecture, design and construction, so she knew that NorSon Custom Builders and PKA Architecture were the ideal partners, as both firms have extensive experience working in remote locations, as well as a longstanding collaborative relationship.
“Nor-Son is known across Minnesota for their custombuild capabilities with exceptional attention to detail,” says the homeowner. “Chad Rushin, Nor-Son’s VP of Construction, and his team brought great communication and a strong understanding of the project and our budget to help us make the right, informed decisions.”
As a design aficionado, the homeowner and her family appreciated PKA’s personalized approach. “The way that Kristine Anderson, designer/managing principal, Corey Schmitt, architect/project manager, and their team brought our family’s aspirations to life was incredible,” she says. “They thought about the placement of our home on the land, how we could take advantage of river views from every corner, and how we wanted to live. Kristine and Corey involved our kids in the project and then created a design to enhance our life experience as a family and as individuals in our home. And, they became our friends along the way.”
“The homeowners cared deeply about creating a space that truly felt like home,” says Anderson. “They brought trust, curiosity and a genuine openness to the process. We had honest conversations, shared inspiration and made decisions together that were grounded in who they are and how they live.”
Now in the midst of their second summer, the family is completely at home. They love hanging out on the rooftop patio, sitting in the Skycove, a sun-filled window nook overlooking the oak trees, and grilling on the outdoor patio, where retractable screens provide mosquito-free alfresco dining. They also find themselves gravitating to the kitchen and family room space, where they enjoy wood fires in the fireplace and views of the river through the large windows and scenic doors. “From sunrise to sunset, it’s where we connect as a family,” says the homeowner. “Every detail is so good.”
“We’re proud of our collaboration with the homeowners and the PKA team,” says Rushin. “Modern design demands the highest quality craftsmanship, and this home showcases our strengths as architectural custom builders. At the end of the day, there’s only one way to build a beautiful modern home, and that’s the right way.”
“The homeowners brought trust, curiosity and a genuine openness to the process.”
–KRISTINE ANDERSON, PKA ARCHITECTURE
“At the end of the day, there’s only one way to build a beautiful modern home, and that’s the right way.”
