A home with a view

Our client was ready to build on a parcel of her family’s former apple orchard in southern Minnesota. Her goals?

• Create a home that could suit her for the rest of her life.
• Include space to accommodate her adult children and their families — and encourage them to visit.
• Ensure the building fit appropriately within its natural setting.
• Take full advantage of the views. THOSE. VIEWS.

Shelter designed a home that puts all the client’s living space on the main floor, so she won’t need to navigate stairways later in life. We also included a walk-out lower level for her kids to use, complete with a separate entrance and a bunkroom.

To maximize opportunities for taking in the gorgeous surrounding scenery, we incorporated a patio, a screen porch and plenty of windows — including the floor-to-ceiling glazing in the 14-foot-tall living room.

In addition, we were purposeful in how we oriented the home on the site. Those living-room windows? They face north, ensuring the most even daylight with the least amount of glare. Kitchen windows face the driveway and approaching road, providing a clear look at who comes and goes. And the primary bedroom is situated so the client can wake up to a stunning view of the valley outside.

The home is under construction now. But you can already start to envision how our client’s future home will look and feel. Take a look at these images.