Nov. 10, 2020 – The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) named Frontier Custom Builders a 2020 Minnesota Contractor of the Year (CotY) for this Wayzata remodel. It won the gold-level honors in the top Residential Interior over $500,000 category. Annie Tropple of Home Design by Annie also received a 2020 ASID Design Excellence Award for the project earlier this month.

The multi-room Lake Minnetonka remodel received 74.33 of the possible 75 points. Frontier also captured NARI’s Best Newcomer Award for the highest score by a first-time CotY participant. NARI judges from Kansas City wrote: “Beautiful work. A perfect project. The craftsmanship is evident in the cabinetry, molding and beams. Huge improvements to the master bathroom aesthetics and functions, I love the use of walnut and rustic beams to define the space and add warmth.”

Some homes are said to have good bones. This Bohn’s Point mansion had good stones. Although architecturally stunning from outside, the home’s interior was dark, dated and choppier than the lake in a summer squall. Frontier overhauled the interior in about 90 days for Colorado buyers we only met a single time on demolition day. Annie and Nate demonstrated how to combine arms-length trust  building and hands-on project management long before COVID-19 made virtual our reality.

This project transformed the home’s kitchen, master bath, study and living spaces.  Significant structural modification were required to elevate the bath ceiling, integrate the piano room and expand the kitchen. With underused spaces eliminated, individual rooms grew to reflect the home’s grand size. Perhaps the boldest move was Annie’s spot-on vision to enamel natural millwork white, including the walnut paneled study. However, the team softened the impact by adding rough timber beams to accentuate the high ceilings and darkening the wood floors to create a warm but fresh family feel.

The design eliminated a butler’s pantry, spiral staircase, small interior room and  curved arches. This not only created a better integrated, more functional, brighter living environment; it expanded the panoramic bay view. Speaking of views, note the full quartzite kitchen backsplash!