Photographs by Spacecrafting
Fireplace
The living area owes its mountain-lodge vibe to the soaring stone fireplace with an exposed chimney, reclaimed wood mantel, and hammered iron fireplace doors. The chandelier, made from real antlers, is like functional art—something that fits with Fiddlehead Design Group’s mantra. “Our tagline is we’re serious about style and fanatic about function,” says Andréa Dixon, interior designer and principal at Fiddlehead Design Group.
Allison and Joe Sriver can quickly rattle off a list of things they love about their Brainerd-area getaway on the Whitefish Chain of Lakes: taking the pontoon out, morning coffee on the dock listening to the loons, and s’mores around the firepit. But what they savor most are the sunsets visible from the screened porch, signaling another relaxing end to a blissful day.
The promise of those sunsets—especially for Joe, an amateur photographer who captures them through his lens—is what drew the Edina couple to the property, which offers wide lake views. “When we saw this lot, we knew immediately it was the one,” Allison says. The couple was just as confident in the look they wanted for their new house. Rather than a traditional lake home with nautical references, they envisioned a rugged western ranch house or mountain lodge. And they were serious enough about nailing the look that they rented an RV and drove 1,000-plus miles to explore around Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The end result: a 4,100-square-foot cabin—as the Srivers call it—that welcomes reclaimed wood, stone, wrought iron, and even a few touches of corrugated metal and cowhide (on kitchen stools). “It has a rustic feel, but yet it’s refined and with all of the nice creature comforts,” Allison says.
Attention to detail is visible in every room. There’s wrought iron strapping on mantels, actual twigs sheathing the refrigerator door, and tiles that mimic a cozy patchwork quilt. “We all took it to the next level when it came to the details,” says Jen Ziemer, interior designer and principal of Fiddlehead Design Group in Minneapolis, which collaborated on the project with Lands End Development in Crosslake.
Looks weren’t the end-all, though. Function was high on the couple’s list, too. Andréa Dixon, a certified kitchen designer and principal at Fiddlehead, worked with Allison to replicate the function of the kitchen in the couple’s primary residence for easy navigation in this home. They even drilled down to the ideal spot for the mixer for Allison, a baker who runs the home-based Whisked Away Macarons. Throughout the house, surfaces such as porcelain tile and quartz countertops are durable and easy to clean. And many of the new furnishings were chosen for their vintage look and ability to age gracefully. “They feel like they could have been there through the generations,” Dixon says.
Now, when Allison and Joe catch up on the popular TV drama Yellowstone, they see a bit of their lake home in the main house at that show’s Dutton Ranch. The painting on their living room mantel—aptly titled Yellowstone and purchased from a Wyoming gallery—reminds them of their RV adventure out West.
But for all the western influences, Allison likes her father’s description of their lake home best. “My dad calls it heaven on earth,” she says.
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Photo by Rick Hammer Courtesy of Lands End Development
Guest House
A mix of materials clads the house. Hand-hewn timber teams with rough-sawn board-and-batten on the main gables, cedar shakes on dormers, and stone accenting the front entrance. Hand-hewn decorative trusses introduce an arch shape, which repeats on the knotty alder front door and garage doors.
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Kitchen
“It’s a piece of art,” Dixon says of the refrigerator, creatively camouflaged with panels sheathed in real twigs. A flip-up cabinet door above the fridge echoes the design for continuity—and, together, the two create the look of furniture rather than an appliance.
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Raise the Bar
Tile that resembles a patchwork quilt brings a visually warm touch to the bar in the dining area. Corrugated metal on cabinet doors plays into the cabinetry’s rustic look. “It brings in another texture,” Dixon says. “It helps make things feel found, old.” Vintage-style wavy glass on the center cabinet ensures the look isn’t too heavy or rustic.
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First Impression
Knotty pine crowns ceilings, and mixed-species reclaimed wood covers floors in the entry. Wrought iron newel caps and strapping by a Wisconsin blacksmith accent the staircase’s hand-hewn pine posts. “Reclaimed wood adds a lot of texture and color variations,” says Ellen Sposito, interior designer at Lands End Development. “It gives an even more rustic feel than a stained knotty pine.”
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Soak it In
A copper soaking tub is the focal point in the primary bathroom. “The style is very romantic,” Dixon says. Motorized Roman shades allow privacy at the touch of a button. Olive-green subway tiles on lower walls nod to the nature seen out the windows. Flooring is porcelain tile set in a brick pattern; the porcelain was a practical choice for durability and less maintenance than natural stone.
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Quiet Time
In the primary bedroom, reclaimed wood on the ceiling continues onto an accent wall that creates the room’s focal point and a natural spot for the iron bed with a velvet headboard. “It was a balance of the feminine and the masculine,” Ziemer says of the calming décor, which includes an oversize metal and glass light fixture. Warm white walls offset all the wood.
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Nostalgic Twist
The small pantry, which can be closed off by a pocket door, was designed with a built-in desk that gives Allison, who runs a home bakery, a spot to gaze out the window while planning recipes or looking through cookbooks. The light fixture is a spin on a kerosene lantern. “It’s just so charming,” Jen Ziemer, interior designer and principal of Fiddlehead Design Group, says of the fixture and the room as a whole. “It feels like it could be your grandma’s scullery.”
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Cottage Charm
With a foosball table and comfy lounge area, the bunk room is the ultimate teen hangout. The built-in beds (with storage drawers on the bottom) are equipped with phone-charging outlets and lighting. “That’s a need-to-have with bunks today,” Ziemer says. White paint and carved detailing on the safety rails bring cottage charm to the wooded space. “It’s more feminine with a Swedish influence,” Ziemer says.
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Floor Plan Illustrations by Randall Nelson
Floor Plan Illustration
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Small Wonder
The guesthouse packs style and function into 715 square feet. Alternating tread stairs—known as a shipman’s ladder—lead to a small loft. “They’re a great space saver to access an area that is used minimally,” says Jeff Balmer, a principal and lead residential designer at Lands End Development. The wide opening into the bedroom visually stretches space. Sliding barn-style doors detailed with metal create an artful focal point.
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Guest House Exterior
The guest house echoes the main home in its architectural details, with one addition: A reclaimed corrugated metal roof covers the porch.
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Pattern Behavior
The cozy bedroom exudes cabin spirit with classic plaid curtains. The fabric inspired the blue-with-touches-of-green palette used in the guesthouse. “This is a classic plaid, in an updated palette, but it still has a cabin-y look,” Ziemer says.
Interior Design: Fiddlehead Design Group, 275 Market St., Ste. 211, Mpls., 612-747-6431, fiddleheaddesigngroup.com // Contractor: Lands End Development, 13817 Co. Rd. 36, Crosslake, 218-692-5263, landsenddev.com
