Mahtomedi Home Blends East Coast and Midwest Design Styles

by Jennifer Pitterle | Mar 2025

Interior Impressions + Kootenia Homes Living Room

Photos: Spacecrafting

For one Mahtomedi couple, building a new home on the shores of White Bear Lake was a chance to match their lifestyle to their living space. After selling their year-round home and a getaway cabin, their new lake home is both. It’s an everyday sanctuary, designed with nods to Nantucket’s coastal style. “Nantucket is beautiful, relaxed and unlike anyplace else,” the homeowner says. “We wanted a style that wouldn’t be dated in a few years.”

As they near retirement age, the homeowners prioritized one-level living (including the primary suite on the first floor). They worked with builder Kootenia Homes, architect TEA2 and designer Interior Impressions to create a no-basement home with guest suites and a recreation room on the second floor.

During the teardown of an existing 1960s home on the property, the building team found original concrete footings from the Wildwood Amusement Park, which opened in the late 1800s on the lake’s southeast shore. “That was a really interesting and unique find,” says Steven Frosch, vice president and co-owner of Kootenia Homes.

“We love the feel of the home,” the homeowner says. “Our favorite feature is the views of the lake. The upstairs deck is the best place to watch the ever-changing sunsets.”

Main Floor Great Room

The home’s main floor great room combines an open kitchen, dining area and living room, all with great views of White Bear Lake. Here, coffered ceilings and custom millwork, all in white, lend themselves to the serene coastal vibe. Principal designer Amy Leferink, owner of Interior Impressions, says, “When I think of Nantucket, all of the homes are older. We wanted it to have a historic feel. All of the materials we selected needed to be timeless.”

Dining Room

Leferink helped the homeowners curate the home furnishings, including a dining table that would fit the space perfectly and two swivel armchairs that can be turned to face the lake or into the conversation area near the fireplace. “The console table behind the sofa had been handed down from past generations of the family,” Leferink says. “It’s a drop-leaf, so they can open it up and create another eating space for the grandkids.”

Kitchen Scullery

Behind the open kitchen (which features a sit-at island, stove and large sink) is a scullery that keeps dishes and everyday clutter out of guests’ way. Here, windows overlook the lake, and the homeowners selected hand-painted Spanish tiles for an Old World-feel backsplash with the help of Leferink and Steven Frosch. “Going through that process with the artisans and deciding on the pattern was really cool,” Frosch says. Though the tiles are Spanish, the design nods to the homeowners’ Scandinavian heritage.

While most of the home is colored in peaceful whites and grays to highlight the lake views, Amy Leferink wanted to bring a more saturated palette to the office. “We did a fun, deep blue called Grays Harbor, and we painted the entire room: the walls, the trim, the baseboards, the door, the bookcases—all of it,” Leferink says. The on-trend color drenching gives the space a moody, cozy feeling while still nodding to Nantucket with the slate blue shade.

Office Design

Because the home is built on a slab, the design team created a “typical Minnesotan rec room” on the second floor, says Amy Leferink. “It has a big TV, lounge space and these beautiful patio doors that open up to the deck.” The striking fireplace wall features locally quarried stone, and a pool table and wet bar make the room perfect for year-round gatherings. Arched windows high in the vaulted ceiling and more custom millwork and cabinetry capture the Nantucket aesthetic.

“Even during the build, we put plastic Adirondack chairs on the deck, and [the homeowners] could go up there on the weekends and enjoy the view,” says builder Steven Frosch. “The deck is breathtaking.”

Rec Room Design

The primary bathroom offers a spa-like retreat for the homeowners, with inset riverstone running up the vanity wall and complementary cut stone for the shower floor. “It felt like bringing in those natural elements was important for this space,” Amy Leferink says. The pièce de résistance is the Finnish-style sauna right off the shower. “That’s very much part of our Scandinavian tradition here in the Midwest,” Leferink says.

Home Sauna Design