Kitchen of the Week: Big Family Gatherings at the Lake
A designer renovates a house to accommodate large groups on a family property
Becky Harris
28 July 2022
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Located on a peninsula on Minnesota’s Upper Gull Lake, this home is part of a larger family compound, a legacy the homeowners have been working hard to establish for their four grown children and future generations. Designer Laura Tays worked with them on the entire property, first creating a beautiful home for the parents, then remodeling this existing home to accommodate their four children and the grandchildren.
By reconfiguring the bedrooms, Tays created enough space in the home to sleep 16. And while the family isn’t that big yet, the rest of the house needed to be able to accommodate large groups. Tays created a kitchen and adjacent dining area that can hold a large group comfortably, provide views of the lake and make outdoor grilling easy. She also gave them a welcoming lakeside style that mixes modern and rustic.
By reconfiguring the bedrooms, Tays created enough space in the home to sleep 16. And while the family isn’t that big yet, the rest of the house needed to be able to accommodate large groups. Tays created a kitchen and adjacent dining area that can hold a large group comfortably, provide views of the lake and make outdoor grilling easy. She also gave them a welcoming lakeside style that mixes modern and rustic.
Photos by Spacecrafting
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: This is an extended family’s vacation home
Location: Gull chain of lakes in the Brainerd area of Minnesota
Size: 335 square feet (31 square meters)
Designer-builder: Laura and Joshua Tays of Tays & Co Design Studios
Before we step into the kitchen, here’s a look at the house. When the clients purchased the property, their kids were in college. But as the years passed, the children married and began having children of their own. So it was time to remodel the home for the growing group, which uses it for lake weekends and longer vacations. The homeowners also planned to let friends use the house.
The only expansion Tays made to the footprint was adding a mudroom that serves as the main entry, seen at the left of this photo. The glass door off the deck leads directly into the kitchen. The siblings tend to cook almost everything on the grill, so easy access was a must.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: This is an extended family’s vacation home
Location: Gull chain of lakes in the Brainerd area of Minnesota
Size: 335 square feet (31 square meters)
Designer-builder: Laura and Joshua Tays of Tays & Co Design Studios
Before we step into the kitchen, here’s a look at the house. When the clients purchased the property, their kids were in college. But as the years passed, the children married and began having children of their own. So it was time to remodel the home for the growing group, which uses it for lake weekends and longer vacations. The homeowners also planned to let friends use the house.
The only expansion Tays made to the footprint was adding a mudroom that serves as the main entry, seen at the left of this photo. The glass door off the deck leads directly into the kitchen. The siblings tend to cook almost everything on the grill, so easy access was a must.
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The new mudroom sits between the lower level and the main level. This is an upside-down house, with the shared living spaces on the main floor and all the bedrooms on the lower level. The main level is one big open space, with views of the lake on three sides.
St. Cloud, Minnesota, company Alpine Cabinetry crafted all the cabinets in the house. These built-ins are a skip-sawn white oak with a custom stain. Tays had this cabinetry repeated in the kitchen, creating a cohesive feel throughout the home.
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St. Cloud, Minnesota, company Alpine Cabinetry crafted all the cabinets in the house. These built-ins are a skip-sawn white oak with a custom stain. Tays had this cabinetry repeated in the kitchen, creating a cohesive feel throughout the home.
Find a local cabinet pro
Although the siblings have just started expanding their own families, Tays had to consider a large number of people staying here at once. The dining area is adjacent to the kitchen and seats 12.
The house was dated but had fantastic bones, including the vaulted ceiling. The designer installed beams to add warmth and rhythm overhead. She also replaced the travertine tile floors with engineered hardwood. The oak planks are 7½ inches wide and are very durable.
Flooring: Balboa Oak, Hallmark Floors
The house was dated but had fantastic bones, including the vaulted ceiling. The designer installed beams to add warmth and rhythm overhead. She also replaced the travertine tile floors with engineered hardwood. The oak planks are 7½ inches wide and are very durable.
Flooring: Balboa Oak, Hallmark Floors
A large island serves as the center of the kitchen. Tays located the panel-front fridge and freezer units at the edge of the room. She put both appliance pulls on the left side to make it easier to unload groceries from the island. “If I’d set them up like a French door fridge, then the open door would have gotten in the way of the flow,” she says. Because the freezer is narrower than the refrigerator, this arrangement also addresses the asymmetry in a pleasing way.
The walls and island are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Sea Pearl. “I like to keep the same tones throughout a house,” Tays says. This calm color puts the focus on elements such as the windows, beams and light fixtures.
With such high ceilings, the designer used a combination of recessed lights over the walkways in the room, along with task lighting. “The armed sconces light the countertops and shelves. They have an iron-like look and beautiful gold leaf inside,” Tays says. “And the pendants are plaster in a white that blends into the wall color, but the texture stands out. I just love texture.”
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The walls and island are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Sea Pearl. “I like to keep the same tones throughout a house,” Tays says. This calm color puts the focus on elements such as the windows, beams and light fixtures.
With such high ceilings, the designer used a combination of recessed lights over the walkways in the room, along with task lighting. “The armed sconces light the countertops and shelves. They have an iron-like look and beautiful gold leaf inside,” Tays says. “And the pendants are plaster in a white that blends into the wall color, but the texture stands out. I just love texture.”
Shop for kitchen lighting
Tays replaced all the windows and doors with Marvin’s Ultimate line. They keep a clean, modern look. The doors on the left lead to the deck, giving easy access to the grill.
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
The stove had always been in the corner of the room, but it had a bulky hood and no windows above it. “My clients wanted to keep their existing stove, but they had no interest in a hood,” Tays says. “I knew I could fit a pop-up vent behind it, but they said they grill almost everything outside and didn’t want it.”
An impactful change to the corner was the addition of two new large windows. “Across the driveway, we transformed an old garage they never used into a family pub. I wanted to create connections between the different buildings on the property, and these windows provide a view of the pub,” Tays says.
An impactful change to the corner was the addition of two new large windows. “Across the driveway, we transformed an old garage they never used into a family pub. I wanted to create connections between the different buildings on the property, and these windows provide a view of the pub,” Tays says.
For the countertops, Tays chose a neutral, almost-all-white quartz for the perimeter. “I love natural materials, but it just made sense to have something so durable on those countertops,” she says. It also saved on the budget, so she could splurge on this charcoal granite as the centerpiece on the island. “This beautiful granite looks a lot like soapstone, but it’s lower-maintenance and more durable,” Tays says. “Using the very neutral quartz on the perimeter counters allowed this beautiful accent stone to be the focus.”
Countertops: Capital Granite
Countertops: Capital Granite
The island contains the kitchen sink, a panel-front dishwasher and additional storage. The one-hole faucet has an integrated pull-down sprayer. “I especially love the egg-shaped pulls we used on the cabinet doors here,” Tays says. The hardware has an antique brass finish.
“My clients are quite into wellness, so their cooking prep involves chopping a lot of vegetables,” Tays says. “I thought it would be really cool for them to be able to chop right on the island.” The maple butcher block is custom, made to be flush with the granite counter. The drawers provide storage space for knives and the shelves are for cookbooks.
Tays also removed upper cabinets to open up the kitchen. “Open shelves work really well here because it makes it easy for guests to figure out where the glasses, mugs and plates are,” she says. She extended the backsplash up to the shelves. The tiles have a variety of gray tones and a lovely glazed finish.
In addition to using many local materials, the designer shopped in the region for decorative accessories. Along with a few vintage shops, she had two favorite stores in nearby Nisswa — Lark Nisswa and Found: A Curated Life.
Tiles: Ashlar, BellaVita, Ceramic Tileworks
In addition to using many local materials, the designer shopped in the region for decorative accessories. Along with a few vintage shops, she had two favorite stores in nearby Nisswa — Lark Nisswa and Found: A Curated Life.
Tiles: Ashlar, BellaVita, Ceramic Tileworks
“Because they are only here for weekends and longer vacations, they didn’t need a lot of pantry storage,” Tays says. The tall cabinets on the left and right here provide most of the food storage in the kitchen. The skip-sawn oak and finish matches the mudroom built-ins and the hardware is oil-rubbed bronze.
The wall of cabinetry also holds a secret: The door in the center is the entrance to a powder room. “Ideally, you wouldn’t want a bathroom directly off the kitchen, but this is where it was, and not having to move the plumbing saved on the budget,” Tays says. “The secret door makes it feel more private.”
The dining area is open to a large family room, with a new fireplace serving as a focal point. Tays placed a bar in a convenient spot to serve both spaces.
The bar’s cabinetry, counters, backsplash, shelves and lighting match those in the kitchen. The designer outfitted the shelves with wine glass racks and added a beverage fridge and bar sink.
The mix of modern and rustic encourages a casual lakeside lifestyle. And the durable finishes Tays chose will stand up to all the wet feet, pets and young tots that will enjoy it for generations to come.
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The mix of modern and rustic encourages a casual lakeside lifestyle. And the durable finishes Tays chose will stand up to all the wet feet, pets and young tots that will enjoy it for generations to come.
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