Love it or List it: The Story of a 1919 Minneapolis Bungalow with More Room and More Potential for Long-Term Living

After a time-consuming house hunt left them without an ideal move-in ready home they loved at least as much as their current South Minneapolis property, owners of this 1919 bungalow considered how to adapt the existing home to better suit their long-term needs. More than anything, the couple needed more space, more space to move around, more space to live, and more space for storage. The solution was twofold: an addition to open up the main level and a total basement build-out.

More space offers a little more insurance against the unknown.

With an addition, our design team not only considered ways to bolster the durability of the Minneapolis home, they remedied tight spaces that had the potential to become troublesome as the homeowners age. While not an immediate concern, thinking about the possibility of how they might need to navigate the home differently later in life was important to our clients. Providing more space to maneuver at the back entry, near the staircase, within the kitchen, and throughout the new main level bathroom was an exercise in risk management. Prioritizing more space in this design is like offering an insurance policy for the inevitable variables that come with living a long life and doing so soundly within their cherished home.

Doubling their Living Space with a Basement Build-Out

When our clients considered moving from a home they had been happy in for decades, they weren’t sure how they could gain the space they needed to stay. While the addition helped solve their main level concerns, designs for the basement nearly doubled their current living space, with over 800 sq.ft of additional finished space to enjoy, including a new lower level living room, workout zone, bedroom, and bathroom. The remodel also included a brightly lit laundry room and a private mechanical room. The once dark storage zone is now a favorite spot for the couple to hangout, an ideal spot for guests, and even a home office.

Choosing to remodel was a forward-thinking solution.

Remodeling provided additional security that our client’s home would age well by providing thoughtful upkeep and incorporating selections that perform optimally.  With the help of professional building techniques and quality building materials, the home’s overall efficiency improved, especially on account of the generous insulation, new windows, and upgraded HVAC. And by uncovering and abating asbestos during the demo process, this is now a healthier place to live.

While moving could have potentially solved the immediate need of getting another bedroom or a bigger kitchen, it would not have gotten all of their wishlist items, in their desired location, or within their preferred budget and with reasonable interest rates. Moving also doesn’t negate the need for long term repairs or mean that even “move-in ready” homes won’t need some level of investment to best suit an owner. Investing in their current home helped maintain the continued health of the neighborhood, increased their home value, and offered greater personalization for our client’s needs now and later.