Time for a Change

Oliver “Bud” and Jeannette Peterson love the double A-frame cabin that’s been their lakeside retreat for forty years.  Bud found the land, near Walker, Minnesota, through a pal he met while an undergrad at St. Olaf College. The cabin itself was designed by a friend and neighbor, the late Minneapolis architect John Rauma, and is a model of the clean, contemporary Scandinavian design that the couple has been fond of since Jeannette was working toward her own architecture degree at the University of Minnesota. (Staying home to raise their four daughters, Jeannette worked only briefly in the profession. Bud, a physician, is now retired.)

The handsome cabin has been a home away from home for three generations of Petersons and countless guests, its three bedrooms and sleeping loft providing sweet dreams during four decades of summers, its tiny kitchen the provenance of countless hot dogs and other getaway treats. But recently the Petersons decided the place needed to be updated and expanded. Renovations are not, of course, unusual. Cabin owners call me all the time with concerns about deteriorating foundations, thinly insulated walls, and rotted logs. The Petersons gave me a somewhat more challenging assignment—“grow” the double A for future enjoyment while preserving its classic lines and character.

Our plans include a more generous kitchen and dining area, expanding the existing bedrooms and adding a fourth, and adding a second and third bathroom. Presuming the family agrees to proceed, you’ll want to check this space next summer when we’ll come back for a visit.