Photography by Landmark
“Go out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is,” could have been Dan and Kerima Brattland’s motto when they undertook a massive renovation of this historic Lake Minnetonka Victorian in 2019. “It had been on the market for a couple of years, but everyone wanted to tear it down,” Dan says. Demolition wasn’t an option due to the home’s Heritage Preservation Site designation, but that wasn’t what the Brattlands had in mind anyway. They envisioned restoring the 3,000-square-foot 1890 house to its turn-of-the-century glory, with open porches sweeping around the three-story turret and period-appropriate finishes inside and out. Turns out, that was going to be the easy part. First, they had to deal with the crumbling limestone foundation, which had caused the walls and floors to shift and settle unevenly. “It was amazing that the house was still standing,” says Andy Johnsrud of Lecy Bros. Homes & Remodeling. The fix required lifting the house off the existing foundation to get underneath, excavate and construct a new foundation. Nobody was sure how the house would react to being hoisted up. “It held,” Johnsrud adds.
Known as the Milnor House after the one-time mayor of Excelsior, Walter Sears Milnor (1856–1931), the home was one of the first lakeside cottages in the area. “Milnor could’ve built anywhere on the lake, but he chose this spot for its proximity to town and views of Gideon Bay,” Dan points out. Once a graceful Queen Anne, much of the home’s elegant architecture had been denuded by a clumsy 1970s remodel. That unfortunate undertaking committed a multitude of sins against the house by enclosing the lakeside porches and adding decade-revealing finishes like faux wood timbers and paneling, track lighting and a drop ceiling in the kitchen. Hardly any period treasures remained by the time the Brattlands got it, just the stained-glass windows in the turret (visible only from the outside, inexplicably boarded over on the interior), another stained-glass window in the service staircase and a 200-year-old copper weathervane.
According to Dan, few builders were interested in the project due to the risk involved. “You don’t know what you’re up against with a project like this and have to be able to stomach the unknowns and have the tradespeople who can handle it,” he says. “Lecy had the same passion for this that we did.” Other team members included Greg Walsh from MartinPatrick 3, the lead designer, and the Excelsior Heritage Commission, who advised on issues of historical fidelity.
Old photos of the home’s original exterior guided the restoration, but unfortunately, none existed of the interior, a chopped-up layout with sloping floors and slumping walls. Lecy needed to gut the home down to the studs to even things out and create a more workable floor plan for the Brattland family. During that process, the crew saved any original framing and trusses they could. “We were amazed at how the turret was framed. The craftsmanship was incredible,” says Johnsrud. The Excelsior Heritage Commission provided valuable input to ensure new and old blend graciously and advised on window, siding, dormer and porch styles. Current building codes prevented the team from recreating everything; for example, the ornate porch railings were too low to meet those codes, but they did their best to get as close as possible.
The new floor plan is more open and puts the lake at center stage without sacrificing the look and feel of a historic home. The jewel is a curving grand staircase wrapped in raised panel wainscoting, placed to one side to ensure sightlines from the front of the house. “I wanted to see the lake from the front door,” Dan explains. Walsh continued the millwork throughout the rest of the house and added period flourishes like a ceiling medallion (the Victorians couldn’t resist the urge to gild even the ceilings) in the entryway.
These features and sympathetic light fixtures lend a traditional feel while opening up the house for better flow, views and access to the lake. There are also plenty of bedrooms for the couple’s four adult children, grandchildren, and guests, along with a discretely located elevator to ensure Dan and Kerima can age in place in their Gilded Age–home.
“A house like this has lasted this long because of the craftsmanship and materials that went into it,” says Johnsrud. “We tried to do the same with this renovation, which will allow this home to continue to stand the test of time.”
Builder: Lecy Bros. Homes & Remodeling
Interior Designer: Martin Patrick 3
