Modern Addition to Craftsman Style House

The St Paul Summit Hill House is a renovation and addition project for an original Craftsman Style house built in 1913. Before the renovation, it was a 1600 ft2 charming little house with typical craftsman style wide wood trims, brick fireplace, intricate built in furniture for the living and dining room, stained glass, floor to ceiling French doors open to the front porch. The original plan resembles an open floor concept, with living room and dining room connected in a L shape. However, the kitchen was small and dark, hidden behind the stairs. The purpose of the renovation is to enlarge the kitchen as the new center for family gathering while adding a bathroom and bedroom on the first floor.
The 538ft2 renovation starts with keeping the open floor concept of the old house. The north kitchen wall was taken down and replaced with a steel beam. The foundation was pushed out 16’ for a generous open kitchen. The dining room wall with the built-in buffet table was kept, with a bedroom added to the north. The 100-year-old exterior brick wall was turned as an interior wall for the bedroom. Light is brought in from the north and through skylights, keeping the privacy along the east-west walls from the dense urban neighborhood.
The renovation did not try to match or imitate the old styles. Instead, it is honest with its own time and era with elements, while paying tribute to the craftsman style millworks. Trims were kept to a minimal, while matching the wide wood trim color in the old house. Like the old house, the new design centered around a few key moments with built in furniture. The focal point of the kitchen is a built-in window frame with seats. There is a built-in display shelve next to it with books and art crafts. This area becomes the family’s favorite place for story time and garden or snow watching. The door between kitchen and bedroom was made a floor to ceiling mirror sliding door, its proportion resembles the French door in the old house. When closed, the bedroom is hidden from the more public spaces. In front of the south facing window in the bedroom, there is a built-in desk, cantilevered between the original brick wall and the new wall.
Garden space is equally important to the family life. It is an extension of the house, with the main focal point extended from the kitchen window. It is also a learning and experiment center. The flower season starts with daffodil, the earliest possible flower in the cold climate, then followed by serviceberry, alliums, peony and iris. Daisy and hydrangea last all summer. Anemone dotted the garden in the fall, with part of the hydrangea turn pink. Arborvitae balls anchor the garden in the winter, creating a mounding effect of the snow. The garden, with its ever-changing textures and colors, is a little space of nature, providing retrieve from the outside world.