Heart of Home
Prior Lake, MN
Completed 2025
Built in 1992, this lakeside home was ready for a full renovation to match its scenic setting and the demands of modern living. The original layout felt dated and inefficient, so the remodel opened the space by replacing a pantry closet with a sleek pantry cabinet and adding a large window above the sink to flood the kitchen with light and views. An oversized closet became a stylish wet bar and butler’s pantry in rich alder, now a walk-through between the dining and living areas. Warm white oak floors, contrasting cabinetry, honed Borghini marble, and soapstone counters complete the sophisticated yet inviting kitchen design. The bathroom, laundry room, sitting room, front entry, and dining area were also updated in the home remodel. Welcome to Heart of Home. “This was a huge transformation compared to the original home. LOVE LOVE LOVE the space plan of the walk through bar/pantry between the living and dining rooms. It’s truly show stopping and sets your project apart.” – NARI
Before
TA-DA!
Designed by Melissa Mlejnek and Kelley Woodhead
Behind the Design
Design Notes
Before
A 1992 lakeside home with views across the pond — and a layout that refused to enjoy them. Small windows, a cooktop marooned on the island, popcorn ceilings, and odd closets scattered where rooms wanted to breathe.
The Idea
Open the back of the house to the water with bigger windows and doors, unify the main floor on white oak, and turn the most awkward closet in the house into the best moment in it — a walk-through bar connecting the living room to the formal dining room.
After
Sunlight lands on marble and soapstone now. Arched doorways echo into arched built-ins beside the fireplace, a plaster hood crowns the range, and the pantry hides inside one sleek cabinet. Warm, timeless, and finally worthy of the view.
The Brief
- —Take advantage of the views across the pond
- —A luxury kitchen — function and finishes both
- —Brighten the whole back of the house
- —Unify the flooring and fix the lighting
- —Popcorn ceilings: gone
Materials & Craft
- White oak flooring throughout
- Marble & soapstone surfaces
- Zellige tile backsplash
- Clear alder tongue-and-groove
- Plaster-finished range hood
01
The walk-through bar
An awkward oversized closet became a chic walk-through bar in clear alder tongue-and-groove — now the connective tissue between living and formal dining.
02
Windows where walls were
Larger windows and new doors across the back of the house flooded the kitchen and living room with the light the pond had been offering all along.
03
Arches, echoed
Every entrance gained an arch, and the arches repeat in custom built-ins flanking the fireplace — one geometry carried through the whole floor.
04
Craft in the details
The first row of zellige backsplash set vertically for a custom read, a 14-inch soapstone backsplash rising to the window, and a hand-plastered range hood.
The hard part
Reworking the spine of a 30-year-old floor plan — removing the railing between kitchen and living room, opening the dining-room wall, and squaring the island — without losing the warmth that made it a lake home in the first place.
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