Many an Edina couple faces this dilemma: After seven years in a quant 1936 English Tudor revival set in Edina’s picturesque Country Club District, Steve and Jodi* decided to remodel rather than pick up roots.
The couple considered moving to a western suburb, but loved their Edina neighborhood with its curving, merging streets and historic homes. Their own red brick and stucco house had been lovingly preserved by its former owners. (“I’m so thankful they didn’t paint over the woodwork,” says Jodi.) But it also retained its original two-pronged outlets, copper plumbing and drafty windows. “Essentially, we needed a ‘new’ house in its original shell,” she explains.
A Design Prescription
Architect Kathryn Alexander of Alexander Design Group came to the rescue with a master plan that mixed old and new. “We wanted to maintain the integrity and character of the traditional Tudor home while providing a design that fit the needs of their growing family and added some of the more modern luxuries,” says Alexander. “Attention to detail—primarily in terms of proportion and utilizing the appropriate materials for the style of architecture—determined our success,” she explains.
The plan was big. The recommendation was for the family to move out for nine months, but they wanted to find a way to stay in their home with their three children, ages 7, 9 and 12. That decision marked the beginning. “We told the kids it would be an adventure,” reflects Jodi. “Admittedly the adventure got a little long.”
To facilitate their staying, Tim Oskey of Woodstone Renovation broke the project into two phases. The master bedroom and bath got the early attention while the family moved into the third floor “Harry Potter” room, as they call it.
Construction Brings Close Quarters
Steve was insistent on retaining the period radiators, so the master bedroom got a careful facelift which flows directly into a luxury bathroom suite with in-floor heat, walk-in shower, claw-foot tub and floor-to-ceiling cabinetry sporting double sinks that frame a vanity. Period white marble covers the counters, floor and shower. Windows with diamond-shaped leading kept the Tudor charm intact.
The large walk-in closet was artfully arranged with matching built-in cabinetry and a service for morning coffee (and at that point in the renovation, they could all use a cup). With four months down and the first phase complete, the family took the summer off.
Fall brought the second phase and a new way of living together. “The kids all slept in the same room like little sardines,” says Jodi. Dressers were scattered in different locations and trips to the bathroom were made nimbly over plastic sheeting.
The kitchen was also out of commission—appliances and furniture moved to the dining room in a musical chairs game. The family split their time between the wood-beam-ceilinged living room and the packed dining room. Jodi reflects on the exhaustion, “It was nine months of take-out or eating out, every single night for dinner.”
As they whiled away in the front of the house, the family room and kitchen were extended in back, along with the addition of a mudroom. “We were restricted by the historical society,” Steve explains, “so we added a two car attached garage.”
A former cozy, walnut-paneled den—while beautiful—proved of little use, so the couple allowed it to be opened up to the kitchen. “The kids and Steve and I find ourselves in there every evening! It’s definitely a ‘family room,’ and we were missing that prior to the renovation,” says Jodi.
Recipe for a Dream Kitchen
The now-much-used family room flows directly into a chef’s dream of a kitchen, replete with butler’s pantry. Wood floors add warmth to marble countertops, custom-built cherry cabinetry and premium appliances. A center island offers space for kids to spread out with their homework and an after school snack in the shadow of two hard-to-find wedding cake chandeliers.
A complete wedding cake could fit into the full-size refrigerator over two cooling drawers, which sits beside a large upright freezer with its own matching drawers. Their unique mirrored fronts mimic the grilled windows in the room and reflect natural light into the space.
“I wanted a kitchen with all the modern conveniences for cooking, baking and entertaining. It was planned long before we started,” assures Jodi. The kitchen-adjacent butlery includes a wine fridge, two refrigerator drawers, second dishwasher and ice maker. Cleaning and cooling are a breeze in this house, and heating things is easy in two full-size Wolf convection ovens with built-in warming drawer.
You almost miss the 48-inch range and griddle resting under a stunning scene stealer. “Tim helped me turn my vision of an antiqued copper hood with traditional Tudor look, into a reality, by using roofing materials,” says a delighted Jodi. It was fabricated onsite.
Fit for a Family
Woodstone Renovation also created a bit of magic in the new back entrance which welcomes the family to kid-friendly built-in locker storage for books and bags, coats and sports equipment. A heated brick floor helps tracked-in snow virtually disappear and an additional half bath allows for a quick stop before scurrying to school.
The garage features a dog wash, and although the family doesn’t own a dog, they use it to flood a backyard ice rink for the kids. The bonus room above the garage might have had pull-down ladder access, but they decided to open it to the upstairs bedroom for their daughter. She now has an enviable “girls suite” with a hot pink bathroom, built-in floor-to-ceiling shelving and window seat, walkthrough closet and a lime green bonus room where friends can watch a movie and giggle in privacy during overnighters.
Down the hall from all the fun lays a laundry room with heated floor and Corian countertops that make the prospect of housework almost appealing. Next door is the boy’s bathroom in which any adult would lavish. The boy’s rooms each feature a built-in study area and wall of shelving. Old style single-door openings to closets were also expanded to double doors for better access.
The space in their basement under the garage also presented a unique opportunity to add a feature that few homes boast—an indoor sports court. “I wanted a place for my kids to play,” says Steve. Although not in the original plans, digging continued until a 14-foot-high space was created underneath. It contains special tiled flooring that mimics the movement of ice.
The kids each host their hockey teams for stickhandling, shooting practice and games of knee hockey. The court holds exercise equipment that faces a large-screen TV and requires a separate air conditioning unit to keep the environment cool amongst all the activity. Piped in music transforms it into a dance floor—complete with mirror ball.
Up a short flight of stairs, past built-in hockey equipment shelves, the family enjoys a basement billiards room where the pool table from Steve’s boyhood home sits surrounded by room for impromptu train tracks and toys. The large downstairs family room provides even more space for kids to play games or watch TV.
Blueprint Complete
Built-in glass-front cabinets, original to the kitchen, now sit at the bottom of the stairs, transformed into a bar and small kitchenette. While details were added throughout the house, many things like hardware, cabinetry and light fixtures were moved to other spaces. Oskey claims that 80 percent of the plans were complete when they started, but it was the ongoing changes that made the house perfect.
Although wearing on the family, they admit it was great living in the house during the remodel. “We would walk through once a day and change little things here and there like closet locations or built-in shelves,” says Jodi.
“One of the best compliments I’ve received is from people asking what's new and what’s been redone,” she says with a smile.
A testament to this whole-house transformation is the framed, front elevation blueprint of the home that hangs in the entrance. This Edina jewel is indeed a piece of architectural art and the family’s fingerprints are an integral part of the blueprints. The family stayed put throughout its creation and assure that they will stay forever.
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For more information on the area design team behind this Country Club remodel, check out the following businesses:
Woodstone Renovation, 952.697.5075
Alexander Design Group, 612.414.2276
