Photographs by Spacecrafting
The living room shares an open floor plan with the banquette area
The living room shares an open floor plan.
It’s dinnertime in Katie and Jesse Kath’s Minneapolis home, and 12-year-old Charlie has taken over the kitchen, forming patties for his souped-up gourmet burgers and moving about with the ease of a seasoned chef. Jesse and teens Sienna and Lyla get comfy on the banquette and sofa in the open living room, while Katie stands at the ready near the island. “The joke is that I’m his sous-chef,” she says. “He does the cooking, and I do whatever he tells me to do, which basically means I clean it all up.”
Relinquishing some of the cooking duties is one of the perks of being in the “2.0 stage of life,” as Katie calls it—a stage where the kids are older (though still not interested in dealing with dishes) and empty-nesting isn’t too far off in the future. It’s also the stage that drove the decisions when Katie and Jesse—the couple behind Jkath Design Build + Reinvent and some notable award-winning Twin Cities renovations—built their modern Tudor in an old neighborhood set along Minnehaha Creek. “We knew this house could truly be a forever home in terms of the use of space and the aesthetic,” Katie says.
Building the 4,000-square-foot forever home wasn’t initially part of their plan. In fact, building new was at the bottom of their list. But when Jesse took their dog, Otis, on a walk in their neighborhood one night and saw someone pounding a For Sale sign into a yard with a tiny old house set back on a wide lot, he came home thinking they should pivot their sometimes frustrating three-year search. “We had put in a lot of offers on dream lot, dream property, dream street, dream neighborhood, but nothing was coming to fruition,” says Katie, who heads up the company’s interior design. “So we reset our expectations. It made us think outside the box and ask, ‘Could this be one of those opportunities we hadn’t considered?’ ”
When their offer was accepted from among 10 others, they “were shocked and unprepared, but also excited and confident,” Katie says. Tudor style, Katie’s favorite, was a given. Beyond that, it was a matter of thinking through their 2.0 stage—and 3.0 stage—to come up with a home that uses space smartly and seems a perfect fit for the blended family now and for the couple later.
The layout mixes traditional closed spaces, such as a formal dining room, with a casual and open kitchen/living room. The modestly sized living room is designed for conversation, not binge-watching on a big sectional. The square footage saved there went to the couple’s dream room: a moody-cool sunroom with stackable vinyl windows that essentially convert it to a screened porch. Upstairs, an office gives the couple a work-from-home option for the future, and most of the kids’ bedrooms have a bathroom. “That’s a luxury, but since we were thinking long-term, I think we’ll be glad we have those extra spaces when they visit.” Design-wise, Katie took a sophisticated approach, most notably with dark-stained furniture-like built-ins crafted by either Jesse or the crew in his company’s cabinet shop.
With the stress of a whirlwind building process now behind her, Katie is enjoying the payoff. “We kind of feel this house is a ‘best of’ Jkath Design Build + Reinvent because we pulled some of our favorite ideas from other projects into it,” she says. “It’s not excessive or overly abundant—it’s just good use of space. You feel comfortable.”
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the banquette area
Homeowner Jesse Kath, a former cabinetmaker, built the bench from alder wood in the banquette area. The curved ends of the base reflect the meticulous detailof Jkath Design Build + Reinvent.
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Oversize mercury glass pendants from Rabbit Creek at International Market Square help define the kitchen in the open-concept space.
Oversize mercury glass pendants from Rabbit Creek at International Market Square help define the kitchen in the open-concept space. “I love putting big lighting in homes,” Katie says. “It’s really good eye candy and createsa focal point.”
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the pass-through pantry’s storage cabinet
Passing Through: Jesse built the pass-through pantry’s storage cabinet to resemble a piece of antique furniture. “It looks like it could be a family heirloom,” Katie says. Sliding doors, outfitted with reeded glass to mask what’s stored inside, contribute to the furniture lookand are also more functional for the narrow space.
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grab-and-go beverage fridge, a sink with a beverage faucet for filling water bottles, and a built-in wall oven.
The pantry has been a surprise hit with the family, thanks to the grab-and-go beverage fridge, a sink with a beverage faucet for filling water bottles, and a built-in wall oven.
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10-foot-long quartz-topped island
Open Up: The 10-foot-long quartz-topped island accommodates seating and, on one end, a shelving unit for display pieces. An integrated refrigerator by Monogram features a glass-front door with an optional setting to have dimmable lights on even when the door is shut. “It’s also helpful for conserving energy when you have kids who like to stare at the fridge trying to decide what to eat,” Katie says. The painting in the hallway, by Minneapolis artist Terrence Payne, is from a wine bar Katie used to own in Minneapolis.
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The living room is designed for conversation and relaxing near the fireplace
Fireside Chats: The living room is designed for conversation and relaxing near the fireplace, which had been on the family’s wish list. “It’s a family space—the kids use it a lot when I’m in the kitchen—but we didn’t need a room with a big sectional,” Katie says. The arched built-in offsets the clean lines of the cast-stone fireplace, which Katie likes for its ability to create “just enough of a focal point.” Another modern feature: the picture window with fixed panes and no grids to optimize future views of landscaping and outdoor space.
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Mudrooms are the number-one request of the couple’s clients, and one was also a priority for their own family. Jesse incorporated five lockers into what resembles a massive built-in cabinet.
Back Story: Mudrooms are the number-one request of the couple’s clients, and one was also a priority for their own family. Jesse incorporated five lockers into what resembles a massive built-in cabinet. “I like everything behind closed doors, and I like everything to have a home,” Katie says. Three slim cutouts on each door are a design detail that Katie believes is similar to what would have been done years ago for ventilation. Otis, the family’s Cavapoo, got his own pet storage area in the green cabinet, painted the same color as the molding in the powder room.
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Katie designed the powder room around the classic floral trellis wallpaper
Big Impact: Katie designed the powder room around the classic floral trellis wallpaper (Pimpernel by William Morris). This choice drove the room’s details: crown molding and baseboards painted in Sherwin-Williams’s Green Onyx and polished nickel finishes.
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Sunroom with fireplace
Inside Out: “This was the space we were most excited about,” Katie says of the sunroom. Windows (from Sunspace) are durable vinyl rather than glass; the lower three sections can be moved up and stacked, exposing screen and making the room feel like a screened porch. The moody feel, enhanced by the black fireplace clad in the same siding as the exterior, reminds the couple of the Pacific Northwest, where the family often vacations. A concrete floor and elm ceiling contribute to the modern, organic vibe.
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The homeowners Kathie and Jesse with dog Otis
Designing Duo: Katie and Jesse (with Otis) began working together in 2015 when Katie sold her business and joined Jkath Design Build + Reinvent, a company Jesse founded in 2010. “Since then, we’ve settled into a groove of custom client work and have built a team of skilled craftsmen, designers, and support staff,” Katie says.
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Natural stone tiles, including a marble floor, detail the primary bath
Bathing in Beauty: Natural stone tiles, including a marble floor, detail the primary bath, the first room in the house Katie designed. The alder vanity, which features reeded drawers, is another piece built in Jesse’s cabinet shop. It’s topped with HanStone Quartz. The statement tub (from Signature Hardware) takes its color cue from the windows. Faucets are Invari in Luxe Gold by Brizo.
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Primary bedroom
When the roofline created a dead corner in the primary bedroom, Jesse filled it with a built-in with display and storage space. For privacy, the couple situated the bedroom suite at the end of a hallway. “With a busy family, I wanted to create a getaway within our home where I could cozy up to a good book, knit, watch a documentary, or just go to bed early after a busy day,” Katie says.
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laundry room
Cleaned Up: The upstairs laundry room has been a welcome change for Katie. “I’ve only ever known a dark dungeon laundry room in the basement that you run into and out of as fast as you can,” she says. “It’s changed how—and how often—I do laundry.” Hexagonal marble tile flooring and the paneled wall above the sink are classic touches. Lots of white brightens the blue-gray cabinetry (painted in Benjamin Moore’s Boothbay Gray). For a clothes rack, Katie suspended a wooden dowel in leather straps she bought on Etsy.
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Tile flooring (Metropolitan Mosaic by Jeffrey Court in a honed marble finish) and a V-groove panel vanity bring vintage charm to this upstairs hall bath.
Vintage Modern: Tile flooring (Metropolitan Mosaic by Jeffrey Court in a honed marble finish) and a V-groove panel vanity bring vintage charm to this upstairs hall bath. The room gets a modern twist with a playful wallpaper (Underwater World by Hygge and West), a sleek black mirror, and a Visual Comfort sconce from Rabbit Creek. “The floor tile may be my favorite detail,” Katie says of the space. “And it doesn’t require any grout.”
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bedroom
The couple teamed up with Manomin Resawn Timbers in Hugo for beams and ceiling planks on the main level. Charlie benefitted from that partnership when they were also able to source antique elm to create a behind-the-bed feature wall in his bedroom. “It was an effort to add character and warmth to the space—and also an opportunity for us to showcase it to clients for future bedroom ideas,” Katie says.
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front of house
Taking Shape: “I’ve always loved Tudor homes in the city,” Katie says. The Kaths’ modern Tudor blends into its established south Minneapolis neighborhood. Oversize James Hardie panel siding combines with a metal and shingled roof and black windows. The couple worked with Exterior Design Studio for the landscaping.
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floor plan for main and second floors
The Plan: As remodelers (who also occasionally do new builds), Katie and Jesse had a good idea of the floor plan they wanted. Their napkin sketches led to a main level that puts traditional spaces—dining room, entry, and pass-through pantry—toward the front of the house and the casual open or semi-open ones at the back. They chose to divide the living room so they could gain a sunroom, which gives them an indoor-outdoor space. A finished basement provides an additional 1,443 square feet of space for the family of five.
Design/renovation: Jesse Kath and Katie Kath, Jkath Design Build + Reinvent, 2052 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul, 612-730-3299, jkath.com // Landscape design: Exterior Design Studio, 5780 Lincoln Dr., Ste. 125, Edina, 952-922-4445, edsedina.com
