'Legacy' midcentury modern home in Wayzata gets thoughtful update

The words "one-owner home" in a real estate listing can drive interest among buyers of the regular sort. But for buyers with a predilection for midcentury modern architecture, ​they can create a frenzy.

"It was a shark feed," Ashley Bull said of the showing she and her husband, Jeff, attended for the 2,300-square-foot home in Wayzata they now own. True to the Zillow description, the home's only owner had been Gordon Jones, an engineer at Honeywell, and his wife, Kaye, who had the home built in 1953.

Ashley first saw the for-sale-by-owner listing on the TC MCM (Twin Cities Mid-Century Modern) Facebook page — a group with more than 14,000 members who share an interest in midcentury architecture, furniture and art. The person selling it was Kaye's niece, Sherry Holtmeyer, who inherited the house after her aunt died in 2019. (Gordon had died six years earlier.)

Holtmeyer worried that the house, which sat on nearly 2 acres in high-demand Wayzata, would be purchased by someone who would tear it down or denude its distinctive architectural character.

"It was almost like I was putting the house up for adoption," she said. "My aunt and uncle had no kids and put their heart and soul into this house. It's their legacy."

Well-preserved design

Designed by Minneapolis architect Loren B. Abbett, the house is strategically positioned on the sloped site to provide privacy from neighbors and maximize natural light and views of the backyard woods. It also has many hallmarks of midcentury design, including window walls and materials that extend from the interior to the exterior to blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors — vertical redwood siding, a brick fireplace and tongue and groove cedar ceilings.

These details, plus unique touches such as a floating staircase with inverted triangle treads and the fact that the home had never had any sloppy updates, made it highly appealing to midcentury enthusiasts.

Bobak Ha'Eri, historian and board member of Docomomo MN, an organization specializing in documenting and conserving modernist buildings, said the house is a prime example of midcentury style. "This is clearly a statement piece by Abbett, who found ideal clients in Gordon and Kaye Jones," he said.

Ashley and Jeff recognized the value of the well-preserved design and knew there would be multiple offers. So, they made sure Holtmeyer knew that if they purchased the house, they would make only sensitive renovations. They submitted their bid with no contingencies and closed about a month later.

Then the couple sprang into action. With two young children and a very tight timeline (they'd sold their previous home when they started looking and were renting an Airbnb), the Bulls upgraded outdated mechanical systems and finished the lower level. They added a family room and two bedrooms before moving in. (The house had had only one regulation bedroom on the main floor.)

They relied on contractor Dorian Thompson, who had worked on their previous home in Hopkins, which Ashley described as a "midcentury modest." Thompson provided the technical know-how and Ashley tapped into her lifelong love of midcentury design and insights gained from touring homes in Palm Springs and Scottsdale, reading Atomic Ranch and Dwell, sourcing vintage pieces and reading online forums devoted to the subject.

"This house has incredible original architectural details, none of which we wanted to change — only enhance," Ashley said.

Updating the low-voltage electrical was top of the list — a challenge given that the house has a flat roof on top of a tongue and groove ceiling, with no attic or crawl space and very little sheetrock. In other words, there was no place to hide wires and boxes.

"It's mostly glass, brick, steel, redwood or cedar," Ashley said. "The electrician said this was one of his most challenging jobs ever."

Their solution was to wrap one beam and two posts in wood, leave enough hollow space for wiring, then paint them to match the original steel beams so they feel like they've always been there.

Practical purists

The original galley-style kitchen was timeworn and dark, and the Bulls considered keeping the layout before ultimately removing the wall between the kitchen and living room. "We're purists and loved it the way it was, but we also have a family and need the house to function in modern life," Jeff said.

They also tore out the cabinets, counters and appliances but kept the stove and sink in the same spot and salvaged an atomic-era light fixture. New birch cabinets mimic the original style but have better utility and more storage. Meanwhile, new white quartz countertops are a modern interpretation of the original white Formica.

Unfortunately, the primary bathroom upstairs had water damage and needed to be gutted. The Bulls honored it by using the same pink and black palette as the original and salvaging the sliding door cabinetry and recessed pulls. Ashley continued the home's original color story of teal, gold and rust in the paint and furnishings, adding playful Art Deco wallpaper in the main bedroom.

On the lower level, the Bulls moved one wall and added others to create a small family room and two bedrooms for the kids but left the baby-blue bathroom untouched.

Throughout the house, Ashley mixed vintage furniture and accessories collected over the years, including a Herman Miller Noguchi coffee table. Holtmeyer also left some of her aunt and uncle's things in the house — a Lehigh Leopold desk and credenza Don Draper would look at home behind, as well as an extensive collection of nonfiction books and original blueprints and drawings for the house, several of which are framed and displayed in the office.

Terrazzo treat

Another area where the couple consciously chose to part ways with restoration and opt for new was the kitchen and living room flooring, a combination of square tiles with dark grout and wall-to-wall carpet. They splurged on large handmade terrazzo tiles to unify and brighten the main gathering spaces.

Ashley said many visitors assume it's original, noting that terrazzo was a popular flooring material during the era.

The Bulls shared their experience renovating the house, also referred to as the Novella Design House, on social media and other midcentury homeowners approached Ashley for help with their renovations, a side gig that's been a fun outcome of this project.

The Bulls' house will get its close-up as part of an upcoming midcentury homes tour on Sept. 16. The self-guided tour will feature six homes in Minneapolis' Prospect Park neighborhood followed by a reception at the Bulls' residence in Wayzata. (For more information on the tour hosted by modernist documentation and conservation group Docomomo US/MN, visit docomomo-us-mn.org.)

But the real test was when they invited Sherry Holtmeyer back to see the house. She approved.

"I am thrilled that Ashley and Jeff did such a thoughtful renovation on the house," Holtmeyer said. "It's absolutely wonderful."

Laurie Junker is a Twin Cities-based writer specializing in home design and architecture.