1931 Ericsson Main Level Remodel
A remodel is underway. Take a look inside.
Follow along as we work with a South Minneapolis family to adapt the main level of their 1931 Tudor while providing critical updates to building systems that will keep the home aging well for decades to come.
Remodel Stages
Remodel Details
After twenty years on Minnehaha Creek, was their South Minneapolis Tudor worth staying for?
The side-entry door of a 1931 South Minneapolis Tudor had been a problem for our Ericsson area clients since they purchased the property in 2005. At only 29 inches wide, the door could not even fully open from the outside. From carting sports gear and groceries to carrying pets and bulky strollers, the entire experience of getting into and out of such a tight area has been a recurring frustration over the years. In fact, once the family managed to get inside, they still needed to step onto a three-foot landing and navigate up two stairs past a radiator, only to arrive in an 8’x9′ kitchen with no ideal drop zone.
For 20 years, the owners had a clear plan to leave once the kids were grown. Then they did the math on what leaving actually meant, and the question changed.
Did they really need more space, or would it be better if their current home actually worked for them?
So what exactly makes a house worth keeping?
A move outside the city would fulfill their dreams of getting more space and acreage. Another motivator— finding a house with a modern layout that could accommodate changing family dynamics, from grown children visiting with their own families to potentially aging in place. But when this South Minneapolis family actually started house hunting, the weight of what they would give up felt heavier than what they would gain.
The house sits on a street that dead-ends at Minnehaha Creek, and in the decades since purchasing the property, the family has built the kind of neighborhood life that resists a moving truck. There’s the longstanding running group, endless pickleball games within walking distance, and their kayak at Lake Nokomis. Not only did the homeowner’s parents and grandparents graduate from the local high school, but memories of their kids playing in the nearby creek also tugged at them. Then there were the neighbors to consider, neighbors who genuinely cared for one another and gathered on front porches on Friday evenings without anyone organizing it.
The once-impossible decision, to stay or to move, didn’t feel so hard anymore.
They would stay.
And because they were staying for good, they could finally address everything the house needed while imagining how the property could adapt to the next phases of their lives.
“We always thought we’d live here just while we were raising our family, and then we were going somewhere else. We said, ‘Okay, what are those things that have always been on the wish list for the last 20 years? We’re going to do it now.'”
Homeowners, Ericsson Main Level Remodel
“We did not have space for pantry items. We had tiny, unusable cabinets and three drawers in the entire kitchen.”
Homeowners, Ericsson Main Level Remodel
Maintaining a 95-year-old home requires strategic updates.
The original bones of this home were beautiful, like the classic Tudor arch between the dining room and living room, and the white oak floors that ran throughout. As with many other older homes, though, our clients’ 1931 Tudor Revival wasn’t keeping up. It was designed according to a specific architectural logic: a private kitchen, a small service entry, and walled-off rooms with rigidly assigned functions. That logic made sense in the 1930s. With over ninety years of life layered on top of it, the gaps between what the house was designed for and what this family needed had grown wide enough to trip on. Then there was the original building technology to consider.
With a strategic main level remodel, we’ll help our clients stabilize the home’s aging infrastructure. We’ll also improve cramped circulation throughout the home, address daily frustrations, and revamp how they will live in their home as empty nesters.
Project Details
Home Style: Tudor Revival, 1931
Location: Ericsson neighborhood, South Minneapolis
Scope: Main floor full remodel with a basement sauna room conversion
Construction Timeline: 17 weeks to substantial completion
What This Project Will Solve
- An open living room and kitchen (with pantry space) with room for hosting their adult kids and family holidays
- A layout that supports independent living- a main floor laundry and bedroom with open circulation throughout
- Built-in details: a cat climbing wall, a pull-out record player cabinet, and visible wood storage
- A proper mud room entry with main-floor laundry with necessary household storage
- Updated home systems: making improvements across the insulation, structural systems, electrical, mechanicals, and plumbing
- A sauna room conversion using the former laundry space
"We needed someone to think through the design and the space planning, as well as just handle it all for us."
Homeowners, Ericsson Main Level Remodel
Next up: Design
The logic behind opening up this 95-year-old main floor: what stays, what goes, and what inspiration the homeowners bring into the proposed remodel.
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