A light blue La Cornue range is a focal point of the kitchen. Photos and Styling by Mary Lukas Pierce
Molly Theno brings her century-old home back to life.
Growing up on the peninsula in Dellwood, Molly Theno decided early on that she would live in the area for the rest of her life. “I’ve always been a White Bear kid,” Theno says. “[I] just don’t ever want to leave.”
The Mahtomedi High School Class of 2014 alum took that mission to heart and began house hunting just two years after graduating from the University of St. Thomas. After touring many viable options, nothing felt right. “I remember going for a drive with my dad, trying to talk through it … and we were driving up and down the streets of downtown White Bear just trying to clear my head,” Molly says. They pulled over to continue their conversation—directly in front of a white stucco house with pretty blue shutters. Theno remembers thinking, “I would totally love to bring a house like this back to life.”
The Theno family’s small-town connections paid off, and Molly purchased that very same home a few months later from Lura Jensen, who had lived in the home with her husband, Andrew Jensen, for 48 years. Though Theno initially planned to renovate the home little by little, the scale of renovations needed became immediately apparent. She demolished 90 percent of the home’s interior on her own and spent months deciding what to keep, replace or add to the 1922 home. “I tried to understand what made the home special before making any changes. Instead of erasing its past, I tried to highlight it—restoring what I could and letting those details guide [my] decisions,” Theno says. “The goal wasn’t to make it brand new but to make it feel like it had naturally evolved into the next chapter of its life with us.”
The exterior received a facelift with a new clay barrel tile roof and a fresh coat of paint.
Husnik Homes oversaw the installation of modern electrical and a clay barrel tile roof, and the construction of a new two-car garage and laundry room that blend seamlessly with the existing home. New hardwood floors were carefully selected to match the damaged original flooring. The home’s updated interior and exterior doors have the same look, style and material as their predecessors—complete with the same style of glass doorknobs.
Whenever possible, Theno kept historic elements and items. “ I tried to not touch anything I didn’t have to,” she says. A breakfast nook—long used as a storage closet—was refreshed with a new coat of paint and gold sconces. The home’s original fireplace still features three ceramic tiles in shades of blue and pink that depict a heraldic shield. A wood clawfoot desk, left by the previous owner, is now a prominent feature in Theno’s office with a minor change. “Just to be funny and fun, I painted the toenails … baby pink,” Theno says.
The window shutters with fleur-de-lis accents stayed, though in a more muted shade that is repeated in the kitchen, where a light blue La Cornue range and matching hood are “the heart of the home,” Theno says, adding that she knew the French range would be the perfect fit for her French European-style home.
Molly Theno returned a closet to its original purpose as a breakfast nook, refreshing the space with paint and new fixtures.
Theno moved into her home in 2022, two years after beginning this journey. The timing was fitting, as the home celebrated its centennial. “I thought that was kind of a fun thing. A hundred years after the house was built, it got a revamp,” Theno says.
The finished result feels “happy and light,” Theno says. “Even on the gloomiest day, this house carries so much beauty and brightness. It has such a warm and inviting energy.” Theno shares that the most rewarding part has been realizing what the home means to others. Every time Theno’s mom comes to visit, “She sits down on her designated chair in the living room and takes a deep breath and says, ‘I just love it in here.’”
Theno has gotten to know many neighbors from her yard, where she’s following in Lura’s footsteps of keeping the property lush with plants and flowers. They’ll often stop by and share praise about the remodel. “I didn’t realize until I moved in how many people followed the renovation for years and appreciated it not being torn down. When people tell me that it is their favorite house in the neighborhood and thank me for restoring it to its glory, it makes it all worth it,” Theno says.
A door was removed to create an elegant passthrough from the entry to the kitchen.
One of these neighbors is Mary Lukas Pierce, an area photographer with a passion for documenting the homes and gardens of White Bear Lake. The two became friendly, and Theno invited Lukas Pierce into her home to style and photograph the finished space. “You can tell certain houses have soul, and that one has soul,” Lukas Pierce says. “That’s why I was interested in photographing it.”
The home has already been the setting for many special moments and memories with its new caretaker. Theno’s now-husband, Andrew Kangas, proposed right on the front lawn. Theno recalls him saying, “‘I knew it was the only place that I could surprise you, and there was no better place to do it than the home you created.’” The pair recently tied the knot on August 22, just a few blocks away at St. Jude of the Lake Catholic Church, followed by a reception at her uncle’s property on Lake Avenue.
Theno says that she could see herself owning this home for the rest of her life. “This is a very special home that holds over 100 years of love in it,” Theno says. “It is an honor to be able to make memories here and add to the next chapter of this home’s story.”
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