KUECHLE CONSTRUCTION CO.Est. 1974
Renovation case study

Linden Hills Whole-Home Renovation

An older Linden Hills home made to work for modern family life. Better flow, warmer materials, craftsman character still intact where it should be.

Linden Hills renovation: craftsman dining room opening into the living room
The heart of the main floor: dining, living, and a sight line that finally makes sense.
Scope

Whole-home renovation across the main floor and upper levels, with the kitchen as the anchor.

Best fit for

Owners of older Minneapolis homes who want the house to work better without erasing what made it worth buying.

What it proves

That a neighborhood home can be modernized without becoming generic.

What we were solving

The house had good bones and a great neighborhood, but the interior wasn't holding its end up. Rooms were chopped, light didn't carry, and the kitchen was doing everything wrong for a family that actually used it.

The renovation opened the main floor where it needed to open, kept the original trim language where it belonged, and pulled the finishes into a single consistent story.

What stayed

Craftsman trim, the original window rhythm, wood floors, and the proportions of the key rooms. Anything that gave the house character stayed. Anything that just made daily life harder didn't.

Inside the house

Rooms worth walking through.

A few frames from across the main floor.

Renovated kitchen with oak cabinets, granite counters, subway-tile backsplash, and a peninsula
Kitchen
Quarter-sawn oak cabinets, granite counters, and a peninsula that keeps sight lines open into the family room.
Family room looking into the kitchen with warm wood cabinetry visible beyond
Family room
Where cooking, homework, and most of the day ends up happening. One continuous sight line to the kitchen.
Living room with original brick fireplace, built-ins, and a band of craftsman windows
Living room
The original brick fireplace and built-ins stayed. The lighting, the trim returns, and the proportions got the attention.
Dining room with craftsman columns opening into the living room
Dining to living
The column opening was kept. The room behind it finally feels connected.
What made it work

The renovation got stronger by not doing too much.

The temptation on a house like this is to modernize everything. The better move was editing. We kept what made the house feel like Linden Hills, and only changed what was actually getting in the way.