Second Homes

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Norr Trän: rustic character for the North Woods

A broad beach is high on the list of most vacation must-haves. True to form, at this vacation hideaway it’s just a stone’s throw from the patio to the sand and sparkling blue water beyond. But the pines towering above this home are a dead giveaway: This is no Caribbean beach—it’s a lake in northern Minnesota.

The owners of this lodge were longtime seasonal residents of the lake. When an expansive, heavily wooded parcel along the lake’s southern shore became available, they saw what was perhaps the ultimate setting for retirement on the lake. Working with NOR-SON, Inc., they built a home as magnificent as its setting and named it Norr Trän—Swedish for “North Woods.”

To ensure perfection in every square foot, NOR-SON Architect Paul Maki, AIA, visited the owners in their Twin Cities home to get a sense of how they lived and their likes and dislikes. “That really helps me,” Maki explains. “You can get a feel for what they think, what size the rooms should be…and it’s just great to see how detail-oriented they are.”

The owners were frequent visitors to the western United States and were collectors of Western art. They wanted a rustic home, but not the typical round-log construction so commonly seen in Minnesota. Instead, they opted for a squared-log look using a conventionally framed structure and reclaimed timber interior.

What’s particularly remarkable about the home is just how extensively it incorporates reclaimed wood. NOR-SON worked with Big Wood Timber Frames to locate timbers for nearly every wall and square foot, many of which came from old barns in Missouri.

The timbers on the exterior of the home, including the porte-cochere and porch, are reclaimed Douglas-fir. Inside, the flooring, paneling on the walls, ceiling, and gables are made of reclaimed oak and pine. So extensively is this old wood used that the only sheetrock in the entire home is on the interior of the elevator shaft. Though the home is brand-new, “it feels like it’s been there for 150 years,” Maki says.

The home is a spacious-yet-cozy 5,400 square feet. The centrally located great room is flooded with natural light from huge windows overlooking the lake; the massive stone fireplace here towers to the very peak of the ceiling. West of the great room is a beautiful sunroom surrounded by windows with another fireplace to enhance the rustic atmosphere. It’s the perfect place to curl up with a book or sit and gaze across at the lake. Another fireplace warms a cozy sitting area just off the kitchen; the relationship between these spaces mirrors the layout of the owners’ Twin Cities home.

Wood is abundant throughout the kitchen, from the knotty alder cabinetry with integrated appliances to the island with reclaimed black walnut top, edged with hickory. Hickory detailing is used throughout the interior to complement the great room’s hickory furniture.

While the western side of the main level is organized into public spaces, the eastern portion includes private areas such as the wife’s office and the master suite. Two bedrooms are upstairs, while the lower level includes a workshop, hobby room, and the husband’s office. A porch wraps around the front of the home, while a long raised patio runs along its rear lake-oriented façade.

Norr Trän is a feast of visual detail. And wherever you turn, the rich character of reclaimed wood greets your eye.

“The old nail holes and imperfections become part of the character of the whole structure,” Maki says. “It really does give it a unique handcrafted feel.”
 

Second homes specialty

Lecy Bros. Homes announces new vacation home division

For decades, Lecy Bros. Homes has been known as one of the finest builders in the Twin Cities. Now, the company is expanding its focus beyond construction of primary residences to include vacation homes.

Lecy is no stranger to this style of home. The company works frequently on lakeside homes around the metro area. It has built nearly a dozen vacation homes at hot Minnesota getaway spots such as Battle Lake, Lake Sylvia, and Lake Minnewaska since the early 2000s, primarily for past customers, says co-owner Roy Lecy. “They’re usually our best form of advertising,” he says. Lecy Bros. construction managers have always enjoyed these types of projects, Lecy says, so the company decided to create a division that specializes in upper-bracket vacation homes.

Lecy Bros. has a reputation for spectacular design—and its 40 craftsman average more than 15 years of experience each. The company is already familiar with many of the special design considerations that come with lake home building, from site challenges to extra durability to good sightlines and access to the water. “Lake homes have a lot more attention to detail on both the interior and the exterior,” Lecy says, adding that a home’s lake façade “has to be just as attractive as the front.”

Beyond familiarity with and attention to design, Lecy says he believes the new Lecy Bros. second homes division offers competitive cost advantages for clients by buying materials in large volume and using Twin Cities-based subcontractors. And the company’s new home service staff is available to take care of any service work needed for its clients’ vacation homes.

“We do a lot of work on Lake Minnetonka,” Lecy says, “We have innovation and design and creativity…and we know the finer points of lake home building.”
 

 

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