Family Home Renovation

Great family homes like this abound in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Built in the 1920s with tiny kitchens and lots of partition walls that created small rooms. This project blends the aesthetic of the historic bungalow with a modern kitchen and open floor plan that better complements how families live in their homes today. 

The renovation included opening the kitchen, dining, and living space, reworking the upper level family bathroom, and the creation of a home office.  Working within the existing envelope, Joy Martin was able to maximize the use of natural light throughout the home.

The renovation of this classic Minneapolis bungalow also included enlarging the second floor family bathroom. An adjacent closet was converted to a walk-in glass shower and small sinks allowed room for two vanities. The mirrored wall and simple palette helps make the room feel larger. Playful accents like cow head towel hooks from CB2 and custom children's step stools add interest and function. Like the main floor renovation, the design blends historic and modern, with classic hexagonal floor tile, contemporary fixtures, and industrial-style lighting. 

This bathroom used to be tiny and was the only bathroom on the 2nd floor. The budget was spent on making one very functional family bathroom now with plans to add a master bathroom when the owners were ready. 

Photos: Peter Atkins Photography

Adjacent to the bathroom, an extra room was converted to a home office with a great view overlooking the oak trees in the backyard. The goal was to create a workspace for two that is stylish and functional, comfortable and efficient. A picture ledge above the desk provides a place for personal mementos and photos; the ledge doubles as a task light with a recessed LED strip light. The former closet access was flipped to be used by an adjacent bedroom, which freed up wall space for library shelving. Another closet was turned into the shower for the adjacent bathroom. The wood used for the desk and shelves is a birch ply with a pickled white stain; details such as a chamfered edge profile and matte finish make the desk surface comfortable and durable.