Vacation Homes
Houzz Tour: New Lake House Looks Like It’s Been There 100 Years
Simple detailing and careful design create a classic cottage loaded with charm in Minnesota
Standing in a clearing on Crane Island in Lake Minnetonka, designer David Heide had no idea what year it was. “Looking across the field of clover, clay tennis court and crumbling meeting house, there was not one visual cue to let me know that it was not 1910,” he says. “It was a profound experience and became what this project was all about. I knew at that moment that this house needed to be indistinguishable from the other 100-plus-year-old houses on the island.”
“Chimney pots are often overlooked as a design element,” the architect says. “These have a nautical look, as they are shaped kind of like lighthouses.”
In lieu of a more formal patio, the scattered pavers create a casual hard area where the couple can place a table outdoors when necessary. But this does not happen often. “In addition to being the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota is the land of 10,000 mosquitoes, so screened-in porches are a must,” Heide says. The screens are bronze, which gives them their sunlit golden glow.
Exterior paint: Ballet White, Benjamin Moore; windows: Evergreen sashes and Coconut Cream frames, Marvin; shingles: Timberline in Hunter Green, GAF; chimney pot: Knight II European copper, Jack Arnold
In lieu of a more formal patio, the scattered pavers create a casual hard area where the couple can place a table outdoors when necessary. But this does not happen often. “In addition to being the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota is the land of 10,000 mosquitoes, so screened-in porches are a must,” Heide says. The screens are bronze, which gives them their sunlit golden glow.
Exterior paint: Ballet White, Benjamin Moore; windows: Evergreen sashes and Coconut Cream frames, Marvin; shingles: Timberline in Hunter Green, GAF; chimney pot: Knight II European copper, Jack Arnold
The porches add an additional 950 square feet of much-used breezy living space.
Wall paint: Ballet White, Benjamin Moore
Wall paint: Ballet White, Benjamin Moore
Inside, a large granite fireplace dominates the center of the home. While the fireplace does have mortar, it is practically invisible, which gives it a dry stack look. The stones are local granite, carefully stacked and fitted together by a local craftsman. “Stacking these stones is really a feat of engineering and a true art form,” Heide says.
There are two trees used as posts, one at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top. “This is common in Japanese design. It expresses the natural form that the milled pieces came from,” he says. “It was also important to me to have a round form there so you can reach out and touch it as you round the corner from the fireplace up the stairs.”
There are two trees used as posts, one at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top. “This is common in Japanese design. It expresses the natural form that the milled pieces came from,” he says. “It was also important to me to have a round form there so you can reach out and touch it as you round the corner from the fireplace up the stairs.”
The bench is another simple cabin built-in.
Wall paint: Warm Oats, Ralph Lauren; trim paint (throughout interior): Linen White, Benjamin Moore
Wall paint: Warm Oats, Ralph Lauren; trim paint (throughout interior): Linen White, Benjamin Moore
It also helps to conceal the TV. “The way we hid the TV was very low-tech,” Heide says. They used an antique rope and pulley system from a double-hung window sash that lowers the panel behind the built-in bench’s back.
The firm designed all the light fixtures and had them made by local artisans. The chandelier over the dining room table is composed of oil lamps. It can be lowered and raised via an electronic pulley. The only electric light in the room comes from the sconces.
French doors and windows keep the views to the lake open across the porch.
Wall paint: Hayrick, Ralph Lauren
French doors and windows keep the views to the lake open across the porch.
Wall paint: Hayrick, Ralph Lauren
By adding a china cabinet pass-through with glass upper cabinet doors on both sides, the view to the lake extends to the kitchen, which means it can be enjoyed from every room in the house.
The kitchen has a period look thanks to V-groove paneling on the walls, four-lite casement windows, fir beadboard ceilings and black iron period hardware. Local craftsmen custom made the island and the copper and iron pot rack. The Coast Green granite on the countertops and unique chimney-shaped backsplash over the stove are local.
Wall paint: Yellow Hammer, Ralph Lauren; cabinet color: Linen White, Benjamin Moore; hardware: Acorn
Wall paint: Yellow Hammer, Ralph Lauren; cabinet color: Linen White, Benjamin Moore; hardware: Acorn
The other side of these windows is the bay with the window box.
The master bedroom’s light green V-groove paneling is a fresh update on a camp look. Built-ins flanking the doors and in the hallway provide space for lots of lakeside reading options. The drawers in the hallway are for linen storage.
“There is such a long history of logging in the region that companies are starting to reclaim logs that sank in Lake Superior,” Heide says. Logs that fell off barges or were lost in shipwrecks are milled and used after decades in the water. These wide-plank fir floorboards came from such a company. All the surfaces inside the house are wood: beadboard, floorboards, V-groove … there is not 1 inch of drywall inside.
Wall color: Blue Point, Ralph Lauren
“There is such a long history of logging in the region that companies are starting to reclaim logs that sank in Lake Superior,” Heide says. Logs that fell off barges or were lost in shipwrecks are milled and used after decades in the water. These wide-plank fir floorboards came from such a company. All the surfaces inside the house are wood: beadboard, floorboards, V-groove … there is not 1 inch of drywall inside.
Wall color: Blue Point, Ralph Lauren
The shed holds gardening tools and firewood; the semienclosed portion is an outdoor shower.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is the vacation home of a couple who live in Minneapolis
Location: Crane Island on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota
Size: 2,200 square feet (204.4 square meters) plus porches; three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Designer: David Heide
Looking to vernacular upper Midwestern cabins for inspiration, Heide kept things as simple as possible. Shed dormers, simple casement and double-hung windows, exposed rafter tails, window boxes, pleasing proportions and porches give the cottage 1910 appeal and make it hard to tell that it’s a new build.
By the way, the island is not accessible by bridge or ferry, and there are only about 20 homes on it. How do you get the construction materials and equipment you need to build a house from scratch out here? “You wait until winter so you can drive it all across the frozen lake,” Heide says.