Palmetto Bluff

The homeowners of this custom luxury home with a Classic Colonial design spent more than a decade daydreaming about the perfect design and looking for the right place to build their home. 

Their vision was to create a house that looked like it could have been 200 years old, perhaps a reclaimed bed and breakfast or inn. Their design influences drew from the traditional architectural styles of Cotswolds, Scottish country houses, Nantucket, Williamsburg, and lodges from Sweden or North Minnesota.

The homeowners also care deeply about energy efficiency and conserving resources, so we took extra care to consider window placement and how to situate the home on the lot to maximize natural sun and shade patterns that could help lower heating and cooling bills.

Hendel Homes worked alongside architect Murphy & Co. Design and Kipling House Interiors to bring their vision to reality, and build a custom home with the highest level of energy efficiency in residential construction. The home also has a whole-home generator for redundancy in case power outages occur.

Situated on the edge Turtle Lake in the Shoreview neighborhood, the Classic Colonial has a light gray cedar shake exterior, with contrasting blue shutters that complement the gray of the siding and roof, while copper gutters bring a touch of warmth to the facade and a preserved cupola is perched on the roof of the lower leg of the L-shape.

The front entryway has a small porch with white pillars and a pendant light that provides a focal point. Cheerful flower boxes adorn the upstairs windows, while a trio of dormer windows bring light into the upstairs of the home and create visual eye movement along the facade. The L-shaped home has a breezeway with a bump-out bank of windows leading to a two-car garage. 

On the far side of the home is an all-glass conservatory that lets in natural light and creates a year-round indoor living space that feels like the outdoors. The conservatory has French glass doors that create a secondary entrance for the home. The homeowners chose Loewen windows that open outward because they complement their traditional architectural style. 

The chef-inspired kitchen is anchored by an oversize marble-topped island, with white painted cabinets, white shiplap ceilings, brass hardware, a slate backsplash behind the 48-inch Bluestar range, Miele wall ovens, Sub-Zero refrigerator, and a pair of station light pendants from Ann Morris Lighting. A second scullery kitchen has a contrasting look with dusty blue paint and similar brass hardware from the main kitchen, with a low window that does double duty as a bar for the back porch outside the home.

A built-in wet bar with wood cabinets and custom glass shelving to display top-shelf liquor and a collection of wine invites guests to linger and enjoy a refreshing beverage.

Adjoining the dining room is a wood-paneled den with a wood-burning fireplace with a wooden surround and marble inlay adds warmth to the room, while a wide bank of windows overlooks the lake behind the home and brings sunshine into the room all year long. 

The bathrooms have charming vanities designed to look like pieces of furniture, with marble tops and under-mounted sinks. The owner’s bedroom and sitting room leads to a large lofted bonus space with two built-in daybeds for guests. 

Throughout the home, there are several built-in seating nooks with upholstered cushions, shelves, drawers, and storage cubbies. Hendel Homes also created built-in bookshelves and custom millwork details in several rooms, and there are whimsical touches like a directional compass rose embedded in the wood floor. 

We also built a sauna, a wine cave and vegetable storage room underneath the front porch stoop, and a two-story detached garage/studio/workspace that’s powered by Tesla solar panels. 

Landscape design was by Topo, which created stone terraced planting spaces in the front of the custom home and a stone retaining wall and terraced space wrapping around the rear covered patio that spans the width of the house and includes an outdoor kitchen with a built-in grill.

The homeowners chose a variety of bushes, shrubs, trees, and flowers that will grow into the space over time and provide shade and natural habitats for birds, squirrels, and other wildlife.