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Minnesota's Top Homes

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Photo by Provided by Cottagewood Partners, LLC

In Partnership with James Hardie Siding Products, we present Minnesota homes that set a new standard with their stunning exteriors.

New homes come in an impressive variety. But the best homes in Minnesota all share one characteristic—a stunning exterior. Midwest Home has partnered with James Hardie Siding Products to recognize the homes and builders that epitomize this new standard of texture, color, and unparalleled style.

Cottage in the Woods

Builder: Cottagewood Partners, LLC
Siding: Hardiplank
Location: Minnetrista

This home was designed to make an impression, without feeling out of place among its neighbors. “We had seen several images like it,” says Glenn Hartmann, project manager. “It just caught our eye. That was something we wanted to create…something that fit the image of a cottage in the woods.” The home’s prominent and detailed gable captures the “cottage” aesthetic, providing a strong focal point that emphasizes both the front porch and surrounding trees. Cheery, inviting hues add just the right touch to this cottage in the woods.

$800,000 - $1,000,000+

Photo provided by Senn & Youngdahl

Formula for a Masterpiece

Builder: Senn & Youngdahl
Siding: Hardiplank
Location: Apple Valley

Architecture is a canvas. “You take the canvas and you try to make something that comes together and becomes more than any one of its parts,” explains Mark Youngdahl of Senn & Youngdahl. This home is a perfect example. Simply put, it’s a cottage “with a heavy Craftsman influence to it.” The home is a blend of elements: rich warm color; a beautiful front porch; well-placed exterior detailing; a combination of materials and textures; and the sturdy massing of the home that lends a story-and-a-half façade to this two-story home. Any one of these would generate interest on its own; together, they are a formula for a masterpiece. “When brought together properly, they become something special,” Youngdahl says. “That’s really what that house did…it’s the sum of all its parts that makes it good.”

Photo provided by Landmark Photography
& Design

Historical Homage

Builder: Gurtek Custom Builders, Inc.
Siding: ColorPlus Hardishingle and Hardiplank
Location: Mahtomedi

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Mahtomedi’s EastGate neighborhood is paying the architecture around White Bear Lake genuine complements. This cottage home draws its charming appeal from the history and cottages that once dotted the lake’s shores. Gurtek Custom Builders aimed to capture the cottage atmosphere of the White Bear Lake area in EastGate, explains John Gurtek. Among this home’s distinct Craftsman features are its curved detail brackets—not unlike those that once graced the White Bear Yacht Association’s original clubhouse. Copper accents above the front door and garage window are a beautiful complement to Hardishingle and Hardiplank ColorPlus siding of Mountain Sage green. Several other ColorPlus hues add a distinguishing touch to the homes of EastGate—a consistent look that will last for years to come.

Photo provided by Landmark Photography
& Design

Craftsman Comfort

Builder:  Creek Hill Custom Homes
Siding: ColorPlus Hardiplank and Hardishingle
Location: Maple Grove

Inspired by the classic country houses of rural Minnesota, this home brings a Craftsman interpretation to rural architecture. Detail to please the eye was key to the design, without any one shape or texture overpowering the others. Shake siding with a subtle color difference draws attention to the home’s peaked gables. White trim makes for handsome, defining accents. Stone enhances the home with a dimension of texture and lends a Craftsman authenticity to the porch. “The front porch gives it that old farmhouse comfort look,” says Mike Hillesheim, president of Creek Hill Custom Homes.

$500,000 - $750,000

Photo provided by Cottagewood Partners, LLC

Old Fashioned Architecture With a New Take

Builder: Cottagewood Partners, LLC
Siding: Hardiplank and Hardipanel
Location: Apple Valley

An open, free-flowing interior  spills out to the porch of this neo-traditional cottage, in the Cobblestone Lake neighborhood in Apple Valley. The home’s design embodies the neighborhood’s spirit of encouraging interaction: a family-friendly room above the garage allows family members to share in multiple activities, and the front porch encourages neighbors to say hello. The exterior reflects the new take on old-fashioned architectural styles that is common at Cobblestone Lake. “The lap siding is a very efficient way to finish the exterior of the house, while the Hardipanels allow for a different aesthetic in the gables,” Glenn Hartmann says. “It really is an architectural feature that helps the house feel more ‘cottagey’ and look more detailed.”

Photo provided by Contractor Property
Developers Company

A Response to Farmhouse Vernacular

Builder: David Bernard Builders & Developers
Siding: Hardiplank
Location: Bayport

The beloved image of American farmhouse endures Nostalgia and the image of family at home perennially keep interpretations of pastoral architecture a prominent part of today’s streetscapes. So it is here: This home is based on early 20th Century “four square” design, with formal living space in the front of the home, a central staircase, and bedrooms upstairs. Classic elements are the welcoming front porch, balanced windows, centered front entry, and attic window. The home is sensible in its modern adaptations, but “we can still package it in that traditional vernacular,” says Tim Whitten, architect and executive vice president of David Bernard Builders & Developers. “It’s not a copy of what was farmhouse style back at the time. It’s a response to that design.”

Photo provided by Kootenia Homes

Lasting Impression

Builder:  Kootenia Homes
Siding: Hardiplank and Hardishingle
Location: Woodbury

As the builder of the very first home in Woodbury’s Stonemill Farms neighborhood, David Frosch’s goal was to make an impression. This eye-catching home draws from the neighborhood’s ideals of front porches and farmhouse designs. Among these attributes are dormer windows that give the appearance of an attic room, a bay window overlooking a pond, and a combination of lap siding and shakes typical of the early 1900s. Vibrant hues were the final touch for a home that set the tone of this colorful neighborhood. “I wanted something striking,” says Frosch, vice president of Kootenia Homes.  “I wanted people to remember that house.”

$200,000 - $450,000

Photo provided by Landmark Photography
& Design

Urban Bungalow, Reinterpreted

Builder: Greater Metropolitan Housing Corp.
Siding: ColorPlus Hardiplank
Location: Minneapolis

As the Twin Cities stretches into further and further suburbs, innovative ideas for redevelopment are popping up all over the core of the metro. One of the latest examples of urban renewal renaissance is this “bungalow court” in northeast Minneapolis. These cozy homes are in step with the density of their urban neighborhood and share no common walls. “Each house is freestanding, which is not typical,” says GMHC Residential Designer Ron Korsh. The homes are a Craftsman bungalow style, born from the traditional looks of the 1920s and 1930s and reinterpreted for today. James Hardie ColorPlus siding distinguishes each home with a separate hue, so they become a colorful addition to their street. “It’s a kind of new urbanism,” Korsh says.

Photo provided by Landmark Photography
& Design

Traditional Country Villa

Builder:  Merit Custom Homes
Siding: ColorPlus Hardiplank
Location: Rogers

Tradition and elegance. These were the guiding principles behind this home in Rogers’ EdgeWater neighborhood. Outside, a cozy, sheltered front porch with sturdy columns sets an old-fashioned tone; stone accents and an “attic” window lend a touch of rural traditionalism. The feeling is carried inside with wood floors and a fireplace, while the open floor plan confirms that the home is a perfect fit for today’s active families. Merit Custom Homes Vice President Brian Jansen wanted a home that complemented its neighbors; in style and color, James Hardie ColorPlus delivered. “It went with that older-style traditional look,” Jansen says.

Photo provided by Contractor Property
Development Company

Expressive Heritage, Playful Style

Builder: David Bernard Builders & Developers
Siding: Hardiplank, Hardishingle, Hardipanel
Location: Bayport

True small-town, alley-loaded design shaped this home near the heart of Bayport’s Inspiration neighborhood. It, too, has an early 20th Century heritage. Think of it as “a bit of a hybrid,” says Tim Whitten—part Craftsman, part shingle style, and a bit of bungalow for good measure. “We playfully mixed them together in different ways,” he says. Take the siding, for example: lap planks on the first floor and shakes on the second, topped with a board-and-batten look in the gables. The dominant porch columns demonstrate stout Craftsman design with roots in shingle style. Historically, builders incorporated these different materials into home exteriors. “They worked them in all different ways and we did it exactly the same,” Whitten says. “The house looks more expressive by mixing those different materials.”

Like those pictured here, James Hardie siding brings beautiful style, rich color, and a promise of durability to Minnesota homes. “With Hardie, we can detail it any way we want to—and we can also have a lot more variety in color,” Whitten says. “Because it’s a cement board, the paint…has a much longer lifespan.”