Though small, this project greatly enhanced the livability and aesthetics of this South Minneapolis home. It enables the owners to not only enjoy their home of many years in a new way, but it enables them to engage in their neighborhood and with their neighbors as never before.

The initial proposal made my another designer called for the porch to be similarly extended from the gable of the facade, however, the design called for three heavily tapered columns and the addition of a set of double doors where a pair of windows currently reside.  In the process of reconsidering early design decisions, Braun Architects proposed a design for the porch roof that would be in keeping with the original asymmetric relationship between the gable and the front entry to the house.  The three column motif evolved into the two columns seen in the final version.  This allowed for the stoop to be extended toward the street while remaining under the protection of the roof line and maintaining a clear path from the sidewalk to the front door.  The original design would have resulted in a column in the center of what is now the steps to the front door.  Additionally, the stoop extension enables easy access to the porch space from the steps or from the house while remaining under the protection of the roof.  Therefore the double doors proposed to replace the existing set of windows was determined to be superfluous thus saving the costs associated with the installation of a new set of doors and saving the space that would have been stolen from the front living room in the house for circulation through the new door.  

The final design of the columns  retained a taper as was proposed in the original scheme, however the taper was reduced to make the effect more subtle and retain proportions that would resonate with the existing architecture of the house.

Construction completed by Charlie Browning of "Charlie's Angles": www.charliesanglesllc.com

To see the Star & Tribune article in the "Homes" section, "Before and After" go to...

 http://www.startribune.com/before-after-a-porch-is-born-in-minneapolis/375076141/

This beautifully maintained Tutor style home near Lake Nokomis has, over the years, been well-loved by its current owners.  They have invested in the home and have completed a number of projects.  One need however was making the home less viable long-term; the attached one car garage and the convoluted access from the garage to the house.  Additionally, with two growing children at home, both of whom were sharing a bedroom, they were soon to need their own space.  With one parent frequently working at home and using one of the existing bedrooms as an office, it was becoming an urgent need to find a solution.  The idea of adding a attached two-car garage was thus spawned; kill three birds with one stone, park both cars inside, find space for both kids to have their own bedrooms and have a new, light-filled office space above the garage with laundry a laundry space to enhance the master bedroom suite that already exists on the second floor of the house.

Fitting a two-car garage into a narrow Minneapolis site was challenging.  However, the greatest challenge to this project was marrying new structure with all the accompanying updated structural and insulating requirements to an older home.  An appropriate solution that provides continuity with the existing house and preserves interior head room called for hand framing which in turn required some careful structural engineering.  The addition therefore appears seamless with the Tutor house on the exterior with the stucco and half-timber finish and on the interior with the use of the hand-framed roof structure and strategic location of dormers to connect new structure to existing.

The project consist not only of an addition of the two car garage with multi-purpose space, and integrated laundry space above but includes a remodeled kitchen that will be more open to the dining area.  For the purpose of visualizing changes in the kitchen, crude 3-D studies were done in order to verify size and location of key elements of the design such as the location of a built-in corner bench and island.  Though the studies are not "photorealistic", they provide valuable feedback and are an essential tool in the designer's arsenal for visualizing decisions that are usual made only with the aid of 2-D drawings such as plans and elevations.

Construction completed by Charlie Browning of "Charlies Angles": www.charliesanglesllc.com

Professional photography of the finished product was provided by Greg Floyd of  "Perfect Pics by Floyd Photography": www.PerfectPicsMN.com

Construction completed by Charlie Browning of "Charlie's Angles": www.charliesanglesllc.com

To see the Star & Tribune article in the "Homes" section, "Before and After" go to...

http://www.startribune.com/a-couple-transformed-their-lake-nokomis-home-without-losing-its-cozy-character/481090541/