There was always plenty of wildlife in the backyard of Steve and Megan Modrow’s home in the Victory neighborhood of Minneapolis. They were not aware of these regular visitors. “I think they took off when they heard the back door,” Steve says. Now he and Megan see migratory birds, raccoons, bats, and even herons all the time from the large windows of their new two-story addition.
The project was the answer to the couple’s “should we stay or should we go” dilemma – staying and investing in the home they had lived in for nearly 20 years, or looking elsewhere? “After our son graduated from college, we thought about moving, but we love the neighborhood north of Minneapolis. We’re half a block from Victory Memorial Drive, and there’s plenty of green space,” Steve says.
“Outside, it’s a surprise when you walk from front to back. Inside, you can’t tell the difference.”
—Steve Modrow, homeowner
The enthusiasm for greenery is expected of Steve, who owns the landscape architecture firm Biota Landscapes and has a passion for gardening. Describing himself as a “zone pusher,” Steve has a soft spot for the tropical plants he grew up with in Southern California and uses his yard as a sort of laboratory to see if he can get plants that don’t fall strictly within Minnesota’s hardiness range for his work. He’s had a number of successes, including a patch of bamboo in his backyard. “It’s evergreen and amazing,” he says.
Over the years, the landscape has evolved from plenty of grassy play spaces when Ben Modros was young to its present state of mostly vegetation and solid landscapes. But the house hadn’t developed, and the kitchen, which Steve describes as “a hallway with a fridge and stove,” was a sore spot. The house also had only one bathroom and a few windows for enjoying the gardens and the changing seasons.
Building the addition allowed the couple to expand the kitchen (Meghan is an accomplished home cook and owns over 2,000 cookbooks old and new), add the owner’s suite upstairs, and create a stronger visual and physical connection to the outside. They were working with MN Fine Homes
Take care to maintain the front elevation of the house to suit the neighborhood. But at the back, they were free to satisfy their taste for more modern architecture and incorporate that aesthetic throughout the interior. “Outside, it’s a surprise when you walk from front to back. Inside, you can tell the difference,” Steve says.
Another important directive was to maintain the landscape that Steve had already created in the yard. “We had to be creative,” says Amber Ellison, MN Fine Homes operations manager. “It was a challenge working around the existing landscape, with limited backyard access, but with good communication and collaboration with Crews, Delivery, Modrows, and their neighbors, we made it work.”
The new kitchen features a 12-foot-wide Sierra Pacific multi-fold window that opens the length of the counter, creating a clear space for serving, entertaining, and enjoying the backyard. The couple loves color and pops them throughout the house to maximize spaces — examples include Meghan’s collection of Pyrex dishes, a turquoise backsplash, and orange Hayneedle bar stools.
The owner’s suite, on the second floor, has a wall of windows and a balcony overlooking the courtyard. It has a green roof planted with perennials. “It’s a way of bringing in the landscape so we can see it,” says Steve, noting that the garden also captures rainwater and absorbs heat to provide passive cooling for the bedroom.
Landscape lines follow those of the box addition and create a connection between the two areas. A new stone patio extends the kitchen and dining area into the backyard and provides a graceful transition into other outdoor spaces—each with their own virtues. There is a seating area with a pair of antique butterfly chairs overlooking a waterfall and a large koi pond (koi are family pets and all have distinct names and personalities, according to Steve), a 10-person dining area, a shaded relaxation area, and at the rear of the property A little building they call “summer house”. Built in 1947, it has an original fireplace and covered walls, and is a cozy spot on cold days or when insects are bitten.
Steve’s approach to the garden favors plants over flowers, relying on different shades of green and different shapes and textures to spark interest. The tropics overwintered in the Biota Depot add drama and whimsy – elephant ears (Colocasia) the size of elephant ears; palm of the hand; Birds of Paradise plants. But there are also a lot of native plants, such as ferns, conifers and herbs. “This combination is a bit messy, but the straight lines of the house and the stonework balance it out,” he says.
The front yard is where a couple head to when they want to host impromptu happy hours and interact with the neighborhood. With a seating area, plenty of plants, and cubes of water that birds, squirrels, and dogs enjoy visiting, it’s a welcoming place where the neighbors gather. A one-of-a-kind Bluestone block displays house numbers on one side of the street and a quote from Fred Rogers on the other. The words express how the Modrows feel about their home and community: “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
Steve describes himself as a “zone pusher,” and has a soft spot for the tropical plants he grew up with in Southern California.
Creator: Rob Robertson and Amber Ellison, MN Fine Homes, 13516 NE 89th St., Otsego, 763-760-0250, mnfinehome.com // landscape design: Steve Modrow, Biota Landscapes, 3420 48th Ave. N., Mpls., 612-781-4000, biotalandscapes.com
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