Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Thoroughly Modern Minneapolis Retreat
Palm Springs meets Frank Lloyd Wright meets Minnesota in this midcentury-inspired home
A Minneapolis lot with an abandoned house was transformed by St. Paul, Minnesota-based Strand Design into an all-season sanctuary. Crisp and modern, the home blends a vision of a bright and soaring Palm Springs rambler mixed with an organic, warm and earthy Frank Lloyd Wright-style cottage — with a hefty dollop of the modern Minnesota vernacular. “I don’t think modern houses have to be just a bunch of boxes stacked together, or for that matter a contemporary re-creation of a traditional home,” designer David Strand says. “This house unmistakably and unapologetically has its own personality and declares its architecture truth proudly.”
Working with the clients, Strand designed the house to accommodate gatherings and be used as a place to entertain. “They wanted the house to also function as a hub for friends and family, and most importantly a place for them to enjoy the Minnesota summers, which of course means a pool,” Strand says. “With this site, seclusion and close proximity to the city was possible. That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of hurdles. A zoning ordinance that restricts pools and outbuildings in the front yard had to be overcome.”
While exploring the site, Strand says, “I noticed space between the abandoned house and the road that had the most wonderful and sunny feeling. It was evident that this bright area needed to be better utilized as the main outdoor living area.” He designed an exterior living space that he describes as “the heart of the house and the design.”
“I fought to get the pool on this side, where it’s protected from the road and driveway,” Strand says. With three city variances and approval from the neighbors, he obtained a backyard setback reduction to push the house farther back, and extended the yard to include the pool, pool house, lounge area, fire pit and lawn.
“I fought to get the pool on this side, where it’s protected from the road and driveway,” Strand says. With three city variances and approval from the neighbors, he obtained a backyard setback reduction to push the house farther back, and extended the yard to include the pool, pool house, lounge area, fire pit and lawn.
The outdoor living space on the western edge next to the pool includes a “box” with an outdoor kitchen: sink, grill, fridge and radiant heaters on the ceiling. Beyond is a bath with shower and sauna.
On the other side of the 10-meter pool, next to the woods, the fire pit and lounge area with Cumaru wood benches expands the outdoor living room. “It was such an honor to create a large and complex outdoor space like this,” Strand says. “It has a sense of romance to it, an intimacy; it’s hard not to imagine being there with friends grilling and eating under the protection of the pool house, or snuggled up around the fire pit on a brisk fall evening.”
The home’s main entrance features yellow Kasota stone, heavy-gauge, black-painted steel panels and clear cedar. The house also has corten siding. “Every client comes with pictures,” Strand says. “One they showed me was Frank Lloyd Wright’s Seth Peterson Cottage, which has an overhang that flies out. And then a photo of something that was more Montana. And they love Palm Springs. But in Palm Springs, the house would have been white. So we keep it a bit more moody here.”
The foyer brings the outside in with the use of clear cedar on the ceiling and the same Kasota stone. Strand had the stone smoothed off and dramatically accented with the use of charcoal-colored grout. “That’s a tricky thing to do,” he says, “because the stone is so soft. You have to be really careful.”
In the foyer, a staircase winds down to the lower-level media room. Beyond the walnut wall is a wine cellar and tasting room with a small table.
At the top of the foyer staircase, the main level opens onto the kitchen. Here Strand worked with various floor and ceiling heights to layer the space and add a sense of discovery. “From the entry, which is a little more restricted with the lower ceiling, the space opens up with a higher ceiling in both the kitchen and living room.” The island (of walnut) also sits on a platform (of walnut), which also functions as an abstract sculpture, Strand says. “How many times can you be in a house with an open floor plan? I wanted a sculptural element—the island—to help add character to the space.”
The dining area, adjacent to the kitchen, includes built-in walnut cabinets with laser-cut, black powder-coated steel accents in a hexagonal shape.
The kitchen, living and dining areas are open to each other, with varied ceiling heights for interest. “The living room is a classic modern space,” Strand says, “but also very warm” because of the fir-trimmed windows, wood floors and Kasota stone fireplace.
The office has built-in walnut desks. On top of the desk is a recessed leather writing pad; the desk also has a powder-coated steel drawer (to bring a dining room material into the office). “What you see through the floor-to-ceiling windows is amazing,” Strand says. “A forested urban park in the summer, and in the winter, when the leaves are off the trees, the Minneapolis skyline.”
The outdoors is also close at hand in this serene bedroom. “This house was such a good marriage of clients and designer,” Strand says. “We had such similar visions for the house.”
Double sinks make for peaceful mornings as the couple get ready for work. White, walnut and the view-centric windows are elements that repeat throughout the house, adding to its modern continuity.
Inside the foyer, Strand composed a Mondrian-like window to “create a connection and transition between the outside and inside,” he says. “So when the clients come home from their offices, they come in via a space that has a commercial storefront window and door assembly.”
The rectangular oculus punctuates the roof line, which juts out into space. “A lot of architecture has punched windows,” Strand says, “but I really go for corner windows, corner glass, so you’re more interactive with the outside.”
The rectangular oculus punctuates the roof line, which juts out into space. “A lot of architecture has punched windows,” Strand says, “but I really go for corner windows, corner glass, so you’re more interactive with the outside.”
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their dog, Vivian
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 4,500 square feet (418 square meters); four bedrooms
Design: Strand Design
When designer David Strand visited this hillside site, it was overgrown and occupied by a dilapidated and abandoned house. But the lot was also adjacent to a densely wooded urban park and had views of the Minneapolis skyline. “The owners had decided to build their dream home here,” Strand says. “They wanted a place that reflected their style: crisp and clean, with materiality at its core, yet masculine and warm, bathed in sun. They wanted a place that was their home and vacation all in one.”