Photographs by Chad Holder
Backyard with waterfall
The geometric lines of the addition are repeated in the landscape design, which includes a series of outdoor rooms, a waterfall, and a koi pond. Planks of removable cedar decking above the pond provide access to mechanicals and a textural and visual break from the stone surfaces.
There was always a lot of wildlife in the backyard of Steve and Meghan Modrow’s house in the Victory neighborhood of Minneapolis. They’d just never been aware of these frequent visitors. “I guess they took off when they heard the back door,” Steve says. Now he and Meghan see migratory birds, raccoons, bats, and even herons all the time from the large windows of their new two-story addition.
The project was the answer to the couple’s “should we stay or should we go” dilemma—stay and invest in the house they’d lived in for nearly 20 years, or look elsewhere? “After our son graduated college, we thought about moving, but we love our north Minneapolis neighborhood. We’re a half block from Victory Memorial Drive, and there’s so much green space,” says Steve.
“Outside, It’s a surprise when you walk from the front to the back. Inside, you can’t tell the difference.”
—Steve Modrow, Homeowner
Enthusiasm for green space is to be expected from Steve, who owns landscape architecture firm Biota Landscapes and has a passion for gardening. A self-described “zone pusher,” Steve has a weak spot for the tropical plants he grew up with in Southern California and uses his yard as a kind of laboratory to see if he can get plants not strictly falling within the Minnesota hardiness range to work. He’s had a number of successes, including a patch of bamboo in the backyard. “It’s evergreen and amazing,” he says.
Over the years, the landscape had evolved from lots of grassy play space when the Modrows’ son was young to its current state of mostly plants and hardscape. But the house had not evolved, and the kitchen, which Steve describes as a “hallway with a refrigerator and stove,” was a sore spot. The house also had only one bathroom and few windows from which to enjoy the gardens and the changing seasons.
Building the addition allowed the couple to expand the kitchen (Meghan is an accomplished home cook and owns more than two thousand vintage and new cookbooks), add an owner’s suite upstairs, and create a stronger visual and physical connection to the outdoors. Working with MN Fine Homes, they were
careful to maintain the front elevation of the house to fit the neighborhood. But in the back, they were free to satisfy their taste for more modern architecture and incorporate that aesthetic throughout the home’s interior. “Outside, it’s a surprise when you walk from the front to the back. Inside, you can’t tell the difference,” says Steve.
Another important directive was to preserve the landscaping Steve had already established in the yard. “We had to get creative, “ says Amber Ellison, MN Fine Homes’ operations manager. “It was a challenge working around existing landscaping, with limited access to the backyard, but with good communication and collaboration with crews, deliveries, the Modrows, and their neighbors, we made it work.”
The new kitchen features a 12-foot-wide multifold window from Sierra Pacific that opens the length of the counter, creating a clear expanse for serving food, entertaining, and enjoying the backyard. The couple loves color and pops it in throughout the home to heighten the spaces—examples include Meghan’s collection of Pyrex dishes, a turquoise backsplash, and orange barstools from Hayneedle.
The owner’s suite, on the second level, has a wall of windows and a balcony overlooking the yard. It includes a green roof planted with perennials. “It’s a way to bring the landscape up so we can see it,” says Steve, noting that the garden also captures rainwater and absorbs heat to provide passive cooling for the bedroom.
The lines of the landscape follow those of the boxy addition and create a connection between the two areas. A new stone patio extends the kitchen and dining area into the backyard and provides a graceful transition to other outdoor spaces—each with its own virtues. There’s a seating area with a pair of vintage butterfly chairs that overlooks a waterfall and large koi pond (the koi are considered family pets and all have names and distinct personalities, according to Steve), a dining area with seating for 10, a shady lounging area, and, at the very back of the property, a small structure they call “the summer house.” Built in 1947, it has the original fireplace and screened walls and is a cozy spot on cooler days or when the bugs are biting.
Steve’s approach in the garden favors plants over flowers, relying on varying shades of green and different shapes and textures to provide interest. Tropicals that he overwinters in the Biota warehouse add drama and whimsy—elephant ears (Colocasia) as big as, well, elephant ears; palms; and bird of paradise plants. But there are also plenty of native plants, such as ferns, conifers, and grasses. “The mix is a little chaotic, but the straight lines of the house and the stonework balance it out,” he says.
The front yard is where the couple heads when they want to host impromptu happy hours and engage with the neighborhood. With a seating area, lots of plants, and a water cube bubbler that the birds, squirrels, and visiting dogs enjoy, it’s a welcoming spot for neighbors to gather. A unique bluestone block displays the house numbers on the street side and a quote from Fred Rogers on the other. The words capture how the Modrows feel about their home and community: “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
A self-described “zone pusher,” Steve has a weak spot for the tropical plants he grew up with in southern California.
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Steve and Meghan Modrow stand in the backyard of their remodeled north Minneapolis home
Steve and Meghan Modrow stand in the backyard of their remodeled north Minneapolis home, which blends bungalow scale and modern design.
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The front roofline meshes with the neighborhood
The front roofline meshes with the neighborhood, but the chartreuse door (Sherwin-Williams Hep Green), James Hardie siding (painted Sherwin-Williams Web Gray with extruded trim), and flat door canopy add a touch of modern fun well suited to the homeowners’ impromptu front yard happy hours.
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Front door, yellow or green
Steve playfully asks people what color they think the front door is, to which some answer yellow and others green.
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front yard planter
A row of three front yard planters features elephant ears, croton, and candy corn vine. The vessels sit on a bed of prairie dropseed, a native grass. “Containers should reflect the home’s architecture,” says Steve. In his own planters, which he switches up at least four times a year, he uses a plant with strong architectural interest to complement the more modern elements of his house and adds others for color and texture.
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Back of address sign with It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood quote
After deciding on the address feature sign out front, Steve realized the back of the sign was prime property to leave departing guests with a happy quote (and a smile) as they walk away.
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kitchen with lots of windows
Room With All The Views: Turquoise glass tiles and glossy weather-resistant Dekton countertops in the kitchen reflect the trees and sky. Matte vinyl floor tiles (Atrafloor Floral Line) in a custom-scaled, contemporary floral design echo the garden foliage.
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backyard
Steve’s approach in the garden favors plants over flowers, relying on various shades of green and different shapes and textures to provide interest
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A pair of Frank Gehry twist cubes overlook the koi pond
Soaking It In: A pair of Frank Gehry twist cubes overlook the koi pond and various tropical plants that Steve overwinters at the Biota warehouse.
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elevated garden
Elevated Garden: The green roof on the balcony started with succulents, but Steve has begun adding more natives (sedges, prairie dropseed, rudbeckia, and liatris) and other perennials (coral bells, blue fescue, and allium). The flamingos stay through the winter.
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garden
Nature’s Palette: Steve collects miniature conifers and displays a dozen or so different varieties in his garden, including Anna van Vloten, Teddy, DeGroot’s Spire, Tsukumo, Echiniformis, and Mops. A black-stained cedar fence provides a solid backdrop that allows the plants’ leaf colors and textures to stand out.
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Garage door
“We call this ‘the woods’ because it’s always shady and cool,” says Steve of the area near their garage.
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coffee table out of a neighbor’s felled tree
Steve made a coffee table out of a neighbor’s felled tree and added a trio of IKEA chairs to create a comfortable seating area at the very rear of the backyard. Soft mulch underfoot complements the elm, birch, and arborvitae and adds to the forest feel.
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lounge chairs that are partially screened by a willow and pine trees.
Another outdoor “room” houses lounge chairs that are partially screened by a willow and pine trees.
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between pavers
Leading up the path to the chairs, the Biota Landscape crew dug trenches between pavers so the Modrows have a place for spent corks—a reminder of good times and a challenge for the squirrels to dig up. Scotch moss will gradually creep into the gaps.
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Alliums
Alliums are special to the Modrows—Meghan carried them in her wedding bouquet, and they sprinkle them throughout the garden. These metal varieties (“planted” in a patch of bamboo) are strikingly realistic and provide a seasonless reminder of their 30-year union.
Builder: Rob Robertson and Amber Ellison, MN Fine Homes, 13516 NE 89th St., Otsego, 763-760-0250, mnfinehome.com // Landscape Design: Steve Modrow, Biota Landscapes, 3420 48th Ave. N., Mpls., 612-781-4000, biotalandscapes.com
