Lauren Dee and Andy Davis couldn't ask for much more of the place they've called home for 11 years.

It's just across the street from St. Paul's Como Park, affords them views of Lake Como and a sizable backyard gives the avid gardeners space to dig, plant and create a flora-filled sanctuary.

But if the family wanted one thing for their 1939 Garrison Revival Colonial, it was better flow.

"We've got three kids and lots of people coming in and out of the house. Sometimes there's 100 pairs of shoes at the back door," Dee said. "There were doors that opened into each other. ... We also garden a lot, but it didn't have that connection to the house — so it was a very practical desire."

Ultimately, a remodel and modest one-story addition (425 square feet) shows that one doesn't have to build large to live large.

The Rehkamp Larson Architects project, called "Como Gardenside," was named a Home of the Month winner, the Star Tribune/American Institute of Architects-MN program spotlighting top residential designs. Judges lauded the right-sized addition that solved the family's space needs while seamlessly connecting the old and the new.

Triple duty

Architects Mark Larson and Kathleen Freiderich drafted three design scenarios — a large-, middle- and small-scale version. Dee and Davis chose a middle route — not everything on their wish list, but not so frugal that it wasn't worth the effort. That middle-of-the-road blueprint zoomed in on the back of the house for an addition and remodeling, which included the kitchen.

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"It's such a great house in a great location with a fantastic backyard," Larson said. "But it had all these pinch points, these congested spots. And the kitchen was probably the ultimate version of that — very tight, difficult to get in and out of, and it was difficult to get to the backyard."

The addition includes a scullery, mudroom and laundry area. The mudroom "is conveniently located so you can come right in from the garage and go, frankly, right back out to the backyard. There's a pair of doors that are opposite each other that allow that flow to occur," Larson said.

The scullery off the kitchen has a sink, cabinetry and countertop space, which Dee and Davis use as a pantry and garden staging area.

"It's painted dark [green] and it's got sort of Old World charm and it connects especially to the backyard, so that's a space where you can use that sink to wash dirt off vegetables or cut flowers and is really supporting both the kitchen and the garden," Larson said.

The idea to tuck in a laundry room in a back corner came later, and also serves as a transition between outdoors and indoors.

"It's convenient for everyday life because certainly some of the laundry gets generated right there," Larson said. "You can toss in stuff from working in the garden and things like that and it's also on the main level so you can run laundry while you're cooking dinner."

Function and charm

Remodeling existing spaces within the house's footprint was also key. The team transformed an aging three-season porch into a light-filled family room/sunroom with large windows looking out onto the English-style garden and double doors leading to a new terrace.

The once-cramped kitchen was reconfigured and updated with additional windows looking out to the backyard. Dee now has a full-size dishwasher like she always wanted, as well as a kitchen island that allows the family to cook, gather and entertain easily.

"It was constrained by the original design of the house," Larson said. "Kitchens back then would have been a workroom for prepping food, not to hang out in, not to see the backyard."

The new kitchen has lots of storage and reconfigured access points. And, because they traded an eat-in area for a kitchen island, there was enough room to create a main-floor bathroom. The original bay window creates a light-filled and unusually shaped but spacious-feeling bathroom with a large shower.

Elements of the new spaces take visual cues from the original house. For example, kitchen cabinets echo the house's quaint built-ins and charming woodwork. The kitchen hood trim mimics the fireplace mantel in the living room.

"We always think of it as reaching in both directions. One is to find details you love about the old house and extend them into the new parts of the house," Larson said.

In new spaces, Old World charm is introduced via vintage-style curtains and, most stunningly, antique tiles salvaged from Provence, France, that Freiderich tracked down.

The reclaimed hexagon tiles bring history and beauty into the home, but they're also highly durable. "They're terra cotta tiles, so they're great for a mudroom where you're walking in and out of the house," Larson said.

Sourcing the tiles from France was especially meaningful in how it hit a personal note for the family.

"Andy lived in Paris as a student, and then after college he taught English for a year. And then my mom also lived in Provence for 10 years," Dee said.

Down the road plan

For Dee, Davis and their family, the house's reimagined spaces give them the elbow room they need now and room for their future plans. They originally talked with the architects about adding a main-floor bedroom should they one day want to age in place in the home.

In the new layout the dining room — which is in a low-traffic, quiet corner of the house — could be converted to a bedroom, if needed.

"We were balancing that we certainly wanted the changes to feel generous and open, but we didn't want to build more than we needed," Dee said. "That's what sold it mentally to me without having to do the whole [house] project — the idea that there might be another phase down the line."

Right now, however, the family isn't thinking that far into the future. They're too busy enjoying how well their house functions for them today.

"We cook a lot, and we have our three kids who cook," said Dee. "We're kind of the gathering place for kids in the neighborhood, but also we have a lot of family in the area, so we host a lot of meals and we cook a lot and we love that."

They've also become fond of the new family room. "We call it the garden room and it's beautiful looking out at the sunrise," Dee said. "There's not an inch of space that we updated that we don't use daily. I can't quite imagine how we were functioning before this."

About this project

Designing firm: Rehkamp Larson Architects..

Project team: Mark Larson, AIA; Kathleen Freiderich, AIA.

Project partners: General contractor JS Johnson and Associates.

Nancy Ngo is the Minnesota Star Tribune assistant food editor.