A Lake Nokomis Addition Keeps this Family of 4 in the Neighborhood

UPDATE 1: Design

Design Motivation

In the existing floor plan, the garage/back yard entry provided no interior transition space for the family of 4 to comfortably get inside and unload. With a pinched entry dumping the family into the already tight kitchen, our clients knew that rethinking the space was critical. With the home’s proximity to Lake Nokomis, the family prioritized staying in their neighborhood but still needed a modern kitchen and mudroom that the 1920’s layout wasn’t able to provide.

Client Needs:

A better entry sequence with classic mudroom cabinets
A space that would unite the interior with views of the backyard
An open-concept kitchen with more generous counter space and storage

Areas of Consideration:

Additional grading to consider when planning for mudroom steps
The Mudroom would need to act as a sunroom, bridging inside/outside spaces.
The range location would be limited by the codes dictating vent hood placement.
A secondary heating solution needed for the addition
To retain as much backyard space as possible, despite the addition

Without needing to move the range location, designers created a more functional, beautiful, and open kitchen by removing unnecessary walls between the kitchen and dining room, relocating large appliances, and removing the island. The Mudroom added more lighting and entry space, reinforcing the new, open-concept layout.

The small addition along the back of the house fits well with this charming Lake Nokomis bungalow with a welcoming front door and steps and a matching 7:12 roof pitch. The once cramped and undersized rear elevation will become both more intentional and useful.

A Tight Entry Makes for a Cramped Kitchen

The family really needed a better system for entering the home from the garage without getting immediately dumped into a closed-off kitchen. The design team created a thoughtful plan calling for a more generous mudroom addition. For added complexity, our clients asked that the new space create not only new cabinetry for storage but also function as a sunroom, transitioning them from inside to outside more seamlessly. White Crane designers filled the entire room with sunlight through the use of 63″ tall windows. With views to the rest of the yard, the windows emphasize the beauty of the outside world and create the sunroom escape the clients asked for in a mudroom.