Saturday, September 29, 2018 C1
Park Rapids Enterprise
Fall Home Improvement
David and Amy Andersen’s new home overlooks Fish Hook Lake. It has a two-car, attached garage and woodshop, along with a detached garage. (Photos by Shannon Geisen/Enterprise)
Fish Hook Lake home evokes timeless character By Shannon Geisen sgeisen@parkrapidsenterprise.com Dr. David and Amy Andersen moved into their new house in July, but it already feels like home. It may have helped that they lived on a neighboring Fish Hook Lake lot for 24 years. Plus, they are utterly satisfied with their finished lake home, designed with the help of Land’s End Development. At this point, they can’t think of they would’ve done differently. “I think we got it right,” Amy said. When the three-acre Eagle Point Drive lot came up for sale in December 2016, the Andersens purchased it knowing an older, smaller house would be torn down to make way for a larger one. The new home is roughly 4,000 square feet. An attached garage and woodshop add another 2,000 square feet. It all rests about 200 feet from Fish Hook Lake, a large, green lawn sloping to the beach. Construction began July 2017, with the Andersens moving in one year later. “We had an idea of what we wanted. We wanted a home that we could grow old in, so we didn’t want any stairs,” Amy explained. “Everything we did was with the thought we’re going to get old and need to be able to live in the home.” Amy also sought a natural, everlasting look.
The Andersens love to entertain. David built the pine dining room table, which seats 10. Amy likes the open floor plan so she can visit with guests while cooking dinner. “When we looked at designing, I didn’t want a home that screamed 2018. I wanted a home that was more classic, that you can come in in 10 years and say ‘OK,’” she said. There are a lot of design elements that are a clear indicator of the year it was built, she said. “I tried to stay away from that and went with more timeless features.” The Andersens incorporated red pine salvaged from their property for the living room’s main feature: a stone fireplace. The mantel is constructed from “a huge, beautiful Norway pine” that was struck by lightning. “We were told it would die. We didn’t want to cut it down, but
we did, then had a miller friend who has a portable saw cut it up for the mantel,” David said. The stones were set using recessed, black mortar joints. This style is repeated on the home’s exterior as well. “This, I thought, was really unique. I like not having the mortar and seeing the black underneath,” Amy said. “The guys that did this were amazing.” An entire wall of sliding glass doors open to a three-season, lake-side porch. The porch screens are also retractable, “so at night when the mosquitoes come out, we can just put the screens down,” Amy said. “It’s like having the outside inside.
It’s very nice.” They use the space for grilling and entertaining. David built the 10-foot-by-4foot dining room table, which seats 10. It’s made of reclaimed pine. He spent about six months on the project – cutting, planing and sanding. Lots of sanding. “That’s the biggest part,” he explained, in order to make a seamless and level table. A thin layer of bark trims the edge. “It makes it unique. It’s not just a board,” he said. The result is a heirloom, albeit hefty, piece of furniture. It took eight men to hoist the tabletop onto its legs. “It’s probably in the neighborhood of 500 pounds,” David said.
He also built a bench, plus two end tables for the living room. One of them doubles as a dog kennel for Skylar, their black Lab. A dentist by trade, David says woodworking is strictly a hobby. “Keeps me out of trouble,” he joked. “When we’re not building a house, I have something to tinker on.” Amy has already requested a coat rack for his next project. “He’s made a lot of stuff for me, which is fun,” she said. “For me, it’s neat. I can go out and buy stuff, but to have him make and us to design it together is really special.” A wine bar in the dining room includes pull-out coolers for pop and adult beverages. “We’re not having to run to the refrigerator; we built them right in,” Amy said. While the deck, windows and garage were a priority for David, Amy honed her attention on the kitchen. “I love to cook, so I wanted a very useable kitchen. I wanted lots of cabinets, so we have room to put everything in. The kitchen really was important,” she said. The center island features an induction glass top stove – an idea the Andersens discovered at a friend’s house. “There are a couple cool things about it. One, it won’t heat up without a pan, and you have a
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Designer finds healing in mini-camper redo By Shannon Geisen sgeisen@parkrapidsenterprise.com Theresa Otterness wants to tell her story. She is dealing with major depressive disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. After trying to hide her struggles from family and friends, Otterness said she now wants to be open and honest in the hopes it will help someone else with depression. Depression is a chemical imbalance and an ongoing battle, Otterness explained. “Depression and burden – you can mesh those words into one – because that’s what we think,” she said. “Depression is a liar and a thief, but perception is reality, so if I perceive that I’m going to be a burden in everyone’s life, that’s my reality. My brain is lying to me. My brain is not working right because I’ve got chemicals dumping into it every time I go into that fight-or-flight mode, and it’s distorting my perception of things. It’s no way to go through life.” The past several years have been difficult ones, with Otterness facing divorce, neck and back surgery and a stress-related heart attack at the age of 46. Her poor health, in turn, forced her to quit a job she loves – interior design. Help – and hope – came from a psychoneuroplasticity center in Texas and a local support network. She learned breathing exercises, prayer/mindful-
Otterness said she’s excited about the DIY hacks she’s learned and accomplished on her camper. She plans to live and travel in it. “It’ll get me out hiking and in better shape,” she said. ness, daily affirmations, positive imagery, quiet meditation and other techniques related to sleep, exercise, diet and music to break her “ruminating loop,” an onslaught of Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs). “I need to work really hard and not believe that depression because it’s a liar.It steals your joy, your pride. It takes everything from you,” she said. To avoid isolation and loneliness, Otterness set a goal to contact a friend once a day and get out of the house at least once a week. Otterness said her dogs also “play a huge role in helping to manage my mental health.” Bentley, a pitbull/coon-
Theresa Otterness remodeled her Jayco Hummingbird camper to create her “oasis and safe place.” (Photos by Shannon Geisen/Enterprise) hound, is a rescue from the Headwaters Animal Shelter. Jax is an Australian shepherd/blue heeler mix. She found that nature, too, is healing. And that is why Otterness is embarking on her next adventure. She purchased and remodeled a Jayco Hummingbird camper. It will become her new home as she travels across the state and country. “I learned I want a better life. No one is going to give me that. I need to grab it,” she said. She wants to see ocean waves crash. She plans to visit her son in Utah. She wants to be surrounded by nature, saying she envisions an eagle, “because you can’t get any more free than that. My
goal is to soar in that camper.” Do-it-yourself camper “hacks” have allowed her to apply her interior design abilities. “I haven’t been able to run my business, but I found a small piece of my passion back because I’ve been able to decorate that camper,” she said. She discovered a Facebook group of Hummingbird owners and another called “Fabulous RVing Women.” Both groups offer technical guidance, inspirational stories, encouragement and DIY tricks. Many of the women are experiencing
REDO: Page C7