Photos by Andrea Rugg
wall in dining room covered in artwork
“There’s no rhyme or reason to what’s there—it’s just things we love,” says homeowner Kat Lewis of the art wall in the dining room. Grass cloth provides a textural backdrop for pieces that have special meaning, including a wooden mask from when Kat’s husband, Stacy Schultz, lived in the Congo and a landscape photo of Ethiopia, where the couple’s twins were born.
If it weren’t for the bright yellowish-green front door, it would be easy to miss Kat Lewis and Stacy Schultz’s house. The unassuming 1950s two-story façade blends into the trees and complements other traditional homes in Minneapolis’s Linden Hills neighborhood. Step into the backyard, though, and the house is an extrovert. A modern concrete-clad addition juts out above the screen porch, towering over a yard where 11-year-old twins Geb and Frances jump on the trampoline and Clawdius, the poodle-schnauzer mix, chases squirrels. On weekends, the open-rail deck—with a backdrop of another concrete box—becomes a stage for impromptu shows that the kids, dressed in costumes, perform for a socially distanced audience of a few of the couple’s friends.
“We wanted to complement the home’s midcentury style, but we didn’t want it to be a time capsule.”
—Kat Lewis, homeowner
Welcome to the “mullet house”—serious in the front and full of fun in the back.
When Kat and Stacy decided to remodel, they wanted to be mindful of the old homes in their neighborhood, and they also wanted to be forthright. “I didn’t want to pretend that any addition was part of the original house,” Kat says. As California transplants (who headed straight to REI to get closed-toe shoes for the kids after touching down at the airport during a snowy November 2010 move to Minneapolis), they had a modern sensibility. And hence, the mullet—a nickname that stuck as the couple worked with Quartersawn Design Build. “We could tell that Kat and Stacy had a fun flair,” says Jeff Nicholson, founder and principal of the Minneapolis firm.
The 170-square-foot upstairs addition, which houses the primary bedroom, allowed the couple to reconfigure rooms to gain a second bathroom, preventing showdowns come shower time. On the main level, moving the powder room and updating spaces gave them something old homes lack: a more open layout, a mudroom, and a kitchen with an island—the latter made possible by bumping the space out to gain 65 square feet. “We weren’t necessarily looking to make the house bigger,” Kat says. “We just wanted it to function better.”
That function hits on all levels: improved storage, a more efficient cooking core in the kitchen, and better flow when it comes to entertaining, hanging out, or simply coming in from the driveway. Wood floors—engineered on the main level to match the original hardwood upstairs—are pet friendly. “We had told the kids it was a Minnesota state law that they couldn’t have a dog until they were 11,” says Kat, who has since fessed up that the delay was more about a concern with carpet and allergies.
“I love working with home-owners who want to make their house about them and a reflection of their style.”
—Jeff Nicholson, founder and principal, Quartersawn Design Build
Although the pandemic put a hold on the couple hosting far-flung friends like they had planned, Kat thinks back to a weeklong visit in summer 2019, not long after the family moved back into the renovated house. “My friends and I were sitting at the island, and we could see our kids running through the backyard,” she recalls. “When Stacy came home, he was standing there smiling, and I knew that he was thinking, ‘OK…this is why. This is exactly why we did the renovation.’”
1 of 10
kitchen stove
Rift-sawn white oak cabinets are a modern complement to the home’s existing millwork. Cubbies provide openness and easy access to cooking oils without putting everything on display like trendy shelves would have. The vent hood follows their simple shapes and is in keeping with the home’s clean lines. The Diamonds backsplash tile is from Mercury Mosaics.
2 of 10
living room with fireplace
Seamless Transition: The living room’s original pickled-oak panels inspired the kitchen’s cabinetry. “The juxtaposition between new and old isn’t as strong on the inside as outside,” Jeff Nicholson, founder and principal of Quartersawn Design Build. “We wanted rooms to seem seamless.”
3 of 10
kitchen countertops
Smooth Shifts: An island with a sleek waterfall quartz countertop provides seating with a view to the backyard through the large window. It, along with a more efficient cooking core, was the bonus from bumping out the kitchen. Cabinets tucked inside the island offer more storage.
4 of 10
primary bedroom
Two large windows make the primary bedroom seem like it’s a treehouse (and also allow the couple to monitor a test patch of green roof atop the garage). “It’s sort of where I hide,” Kat says. “It’s very quiet.” Grass cloth wallpaper provides texture and color on the wall with the bed. The vintage rocking chair is a holdover from the kids’ nursery.
5 of 10
the family on the front steps
A Classic Approach: Kat Lewis and Stacy Schultz, shown with their kids, Geb and Frances, pose under the portico, which the couple added prior to the renovation to bring dimension to the front of the 1950s two-story. “It changed the look of the house,” Kat says. “Before it was just a square box with a garage off to the side.” Brownish-gray paint unified the brick and cedar shakes.
6 of 10
back of house
A linear silhouette, flat roofs, and concrete tiles define the new primary bedroom and bumped-out kitchen. “It’s fun and playful, with different forms and overhangs,” says Nicholson. “Everything loosens up a bit in the back.” The upstairs addition cantilevers out about five feet, and the roofs of the garage and kitchen addition are set up to become green.
7 of 10
dog eating in the mudroom
“I would never look at a house without a mudroom now,” Kat says, expressing her love of the new space’s function as an in-out drop zone and a home for Clawdius’s dog bowls and kennel. Wallpaper (Best Coast in Ocean Avenue from Walnut Wallpaper) depicts scenes from California. “The mudroom was a good place to have some fun,” Kat says.
8 of 10
powder room
Sun-kissed: The powder room was designed around a small navy sink the couple bought in Morocco. Bright yellow, including ceramic Moroccan Fish Scales floor tile from Mercury Mosaics, brings in the happy. The wall-mount vanity, toilet, and metal ledge with a cutout for towels were designed by Quartersawn.
9 of 10
floor plan of house
New Views: Rearranging the existing floorplan and adding a series of cubes during the remodel allowed for a new mudroom, powder room, primary suite, and expanded kitchen that is more connected to the living room. The new roofs above the garage and kitchen are designed for plantings.
10 of 10
side entrance
Entry Point: The design team cut into the house to gain a much-used side entrance; the mudroom is directly to the left. The paint is the same color as the front door—Benjamin Moore Split Pea 2146-30.
Contractor: Jeff Nicholson, Quartersawn Design Build, 320 W. 48th St., Mpls., 612-208-1727, quartersawndesignbuild.com
