Photographs by SPACECRAFTING
Great Room
Having a light, bright home with big windows was key for the family. “We have some dark days ahead, so we knew we wanted to take advantage of our home’s beautiful view and to have light fill the room,” Marit Sivertson says. The open-concept great room provides an elevated yet comfortable space for the family—and a wheelchair can fit through any traffic path.
A house is always more than walls and a roof. It’s a home—a safe zone for kids and adults spiraling back from the real world, a messy space of blanket forts and plastic dinosaurs and tomato-sauce-splattered kitchens, and a single constant in a world of changing variables. That’s all true for the Sivertson/Kinney family of four—but their new-build home in Mahtomedi is a little more than that. The family’s forever home is a place that accommodates their growth and whatever plays out in their story in the years to come.
Three years ago, attorney Marit Sivertson noticed something was off with her then 2-year-old son, Brecken. “He just wasn’t meeting his milestones,” she says. “Call it mom’s intuition, but I knew something was wrong.” After almost a year of doctors dismissing her concerns, she and her husband, James Kinney, got an answer: Their sweet, smart toddler had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and it would effectively change all of their lives forever.
DMD, which causes muscular degeneration in the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and pulmonary systems, is a disease full of unknowns. It’s typically diagnosed around ages 5–7, and most kids affected eventually require wheelchairs by age 12. A large percentage of DMD patients don’t live past their 20s. But it’s nearly impossible to say for sure what will happen down the road. Sivertson and Kinney knew they wanted to give their oldest son the best life they could—and it would be nearly impossible to renovate their existing home to fit the needs he’ll likely have in the future.
Working with builders at DeWitt Homes, the family spotted a plot of land on a lake in Mahtomedi, where Sivertson was born and raised. They called on Bria Hammel, who had helped them with design tweaks in their first home, for interior design and spatial planning.
“I hadn’t worked on this kind of accessible home before, but we always take aging into consideration when planning for forever homes,” Hammel says. She applied some of the tricks she consistently uses for older families in a fresh, new way: The entire house needed to be wheelchair-friendly, with wide doorways, open spaces, level floors, and a hall closet that could eventually be converted into an elevator shaft connecting the home’s two levels.
“With Brecken’s needs and likely disease progression, being able to build from scratch was important,” Sivertson says. “We wanted the accessibility elements to be integrated into the design.”
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TV over the fireplace that doubles as an art display
When the Samsung Frame TV is off, the screen showcases a piece of art—in this case, a piece from Bria Hammel’s Brooke & Lou line.
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family photo on stairway
James Kinney and Marit Sivertson with their sons, Avery (left) and Brecken.
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Kitchen
Sivertson loves marble, but it’s not the most practical countertop material with soon-to-be three young boys. (Brecken is now 5, his younger brother Avery is 2, and Sivertson is currently pregnant with Baby Boy Number 3.) Instead, designer Bria Hammel incorporated marble tiles from The Tile Shop as a backsplash, while the countertop is made from marble-like Calcatta Nuvo by Caesarstone. “Marble can have a formality, and this was a way to keep it livable and casual,” Hammel says. The kitchen is big enough for a wheelchair to maneuver—and turn around—in all areas.
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Office
With Sivertson’s hectic schedule as an attorney—and a mom of young children—she knew she wanted a space to work from home. Hammel helped her step outside her comfort zone with blue-gray walls (Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore) and brass fixtures. “I was a little concerned at first, but now it’s my favorite space for me in the whole house,” Sivertson says.
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Main-Floor Powder Room
All of the home’s bathrooms are wheelchair accessible. The powder room is a little larger than typical powder rooms, allowing Brecken to move in and out of the space in his height-adjustable wheelchair with ease. “The room is square, so there’s nice juxtaposition with the large, round mirror,” Hammel says. A custom vanity by Eischen Cabinets has space for a wheelchair to slip under.
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Brecken's Room
Like many 5-year-olds, Brecken is fascinated by dinosaurs—and naturally, his room had to reflect his passion. “He’ll talk about dinosaurs all day,” Sivertson says. “He knows all their scientific names—and he knows if even one of his plastic dinosaurs has gone missing.”
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Brecken's Bathroom
An en suite bathroom with a floating vanity and roll-in shower will cater to his needs as he grows.
Interior design: Bria Hammel Interiors, 750 Main St., Ste. 214, Mendota Heights, 651-688-1121, briahammelinteriors.com // Architecture: Muhlenpoh & Associates, 10884 Thone Rd., Woodbury, 612-840-4654, facebook.com/muhlenpoh-associates // Builder: DeWitt Homes, 4463 White Bear Pkwy., Ste. 104, White Bear Lake, 651-653-1011, pauldewitthomes.com
