1940s Charm

A new home sports vintage style to fit in with the historic neighborhood.

Buyinga house is a little bit like marrying into a new family—you

not only get the house, but the neighborhood as well. This historic part of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is full of charming 1930s and ‘40s cottages. When a family bought one of the properties with the intention of building a larger house, they still wanted it to fit in with the feel of the area. “The scale and height of these houses are different,” says architect Jean Rehkamp Larson of Rehkamp Larson Architects. “They have lower profiles compared to modern houses.” Jean and her team helped to create a vintage look for this new house.

SQUARE FOOTAGE

First, they needed to add square feet without making the house look massive from the street. “We made the back of the house higher than the front,” Jean says. “The gable in the front comes down to the first floor. In the back, it’s more like a two-story house.” By making the front façade match the look of the surrounding homes, Jean gave the homeowners both the look and the space they wanted, for a full 3,000 square feet.

DOWN TO THE DETAILS

When it comes to the charming curb appeal of the cottage, the secret is layering various elements to create a cohesive whole. “All those layers help give it texture and make it charming,” Jean says. For example, Jean used multiple forms of siding, from the granite stone base and hand-split shakes to the board on board inside the gable. “We played with the texture of the board on board,” Jean says. “The boards are shaved, so it creates a little wave.” The columns also have a wave detail. The shutters are real, and the windows have full trim, including a sill and an apron. The scallop detail on the eave tops it off, for a result that’s both charming and eclectic.