Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Contemporary Take on Classic Midcentury Design
This new home in St. Paul looks to the city’s long tradition of midcentury architecture for a little inspiration
The twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, have long been a mecca for midcentury design. Architects such as Elizabeth and Winston Close, Ralph Rapson and Robert Cerny were responsible for putting this region on the map in the mid-20th century. Many of their homes were built in University Grove, an enclave of architect-designed homes in St. Paul. In 1989, a New York Times article called the neighborhood “an architectural time capsule of modern America.” The latest addition to the neighborhood is this new home that architect David Heide considers his contemporary take on midcentury design.
The street-facing side of the house has a quiet demeanor. It opens up in the back with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the woods. Because of the site, the garage had to be placed at the front of house. Heide and his team ameliorated that presentation by inserting a cedar box inside the stucco form.
The homeowners and their guests pass by the warm wood wall to the home’s main entrance. This protected walkway ends at the teak front door, which has a skylight overhead so one is “bathed in light at the end of the ‘tunnel,’” Heide says. The opening in the stone wall “is a modern interpretation of a front porch,” he says.
The stone in the front entry wall comes from Halquist Chilton. The wall is a monolith, in Heide’s words, that runs from the basement and foundation all the way up to the roof, where it’s surrounded by skylights. Light washes down through the skylights onto the stone wall and through the staircase, which has open walnut treads as well as a steel rail with glass inserts to provide visual transparency.
The front entry leads to an open living room, dining room, kitchen and TV lounge. On one side of the stair is the living area. Above a cabinet that features a decorative painting of a forest is a window aligned with the stairs. It’s set lower than the other windows in the house to frame the view.
The homeowners’ eclectic furnishings reflect their love of traveling and collecting. Large windows frame views of the wooded backyard. The fireplace wall is framed to the corner of the room and covered with a vinyl wallcovering, and includes a gas-log fireplace insert.
The dining room windows and table are positioned to take full advantage of the backyard’s wooded landscape. “The homeowners have a wooded view in summer and expansive open views in winter,” Heide says. A door leads to a patio for outdoor dining. The table is walnut; the dishes are Russel Wright from the 1940s. An Alvar Aalto light fixture hangs overhead.
The wood used throughout the kitchen for the cabinets and surfaces is vertical-grain engineered teak. Steel drawer pulls with recessed channels keep the cabinetry flat and sleek. A matte-finish glass tile was selected for the area behind the stovetop to complement the stone of the granite island. The island, like the dining room table, is positioned to look over the rear of the property.
The TV lounge is adjacent to the kitchen. The room’s cabinetry functions as a pantry for kitchen items. Above the tall cabinet seen here is a window that brings light into the laundry room. The wallcovering on the fireplace wall reappears here behind the floating shelves and TV cabinet.
A second-level mezzanine, or bridge, separates the office and the master bedroom suite. The light-filled space is for relaxing, reading or watching goings-on down below.
The office is perhaps the most light-filled room in the house. “When you’re in this space, you feel like you’re in a treehouse,” Heide says. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the main street, “but you’re up and back far enough that you have an expansive view but others can’t see in,” he adds. Draperies and shades can be pulled to frame the view or block out the sun.
In the master bathroom, two sinks are set into walnut cabinets. The marble used for both the backsplash and the flooring creates continuity.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Size: 3,294 square feet (306 square meters)
Architect: David Heide Design Studio
A Tudor home was originally on the site. During a remodel, the home burned to the ground. The homeowners then decided to build a new home with a modern aesthetic on the site. “We were hired in part because of the historic nature and sensitivity of our work,” says architect and designer David Heide. “We also know the neighborhood, University Grove, is a special place, as it has a continuum of architectural styles that doesn’t exist elsewhere. We felt responsible to represent the timeline that already exists there.”