This master bedroom and bathroom suite is part of a $1 million whole-house transformation of a property on Lake Minnetonka, Minn. The original house was a 1970s split-level with one modest addition. The homeowners hired Murphy Bros. Designers & Remodelers of Blaine, Minn., to add more space and create design interest for the house.
The existing master bedroom was a 14-foot-by-14-foot square with a small bath, 8-foot ceilings, and a balcony. The remodeler added a second level to accommodate the new master suite, which measures 16 feet by 20 feet and has vaulted ceilings.
CHANGE OF PLAN The architect who initially worked on the design had located the master bath in the space that is now the bedroom. Murphy Bros. owner John Murphy says the homeowner was not happy with that floor plan because the bedroom would have had a view of the driveway. “So we flip-flopped the location of the bedroom and bath,” Murphy says. The owners can now see the lake through the window wall in the bedroom.
Murphy placed the walk-in closet in the section with the driveway view. The remodeler says that reconfiguring the plan also created space for a stacked washer/dryer in a closet.
The bathroom includes a walk-in, glass-enclosed shower and a compartmentalized toilet. As for the vanity, at first the team had placed it on an interior wall but then saw the logic in fitting it into the octagonal turret.
To create curb appeal, Murphy varied the window height. When installing the vanity in the turret, the crew had to match the counter height to each window. The remodeler's lead carpenter carefully framed the turret and worked with the drywall subcontractor to maintain plumb corners and walls. Murphy says it took the granite installers longer to install the stone because they had to seam several pieces together to fit the octagon.
