Your home is beautiful! How long have you lived here? Can you tell us more about the history of the house? 

Thank you! This is our first home and we purchased it in the winter of 2013. Our oldest daughter was only 6 months old when we moved in and she is nearly 13!

We purchased the home from the original owners who bought it from the builder in 1941. We learned from our long-time neighbor that the stone facade on the front of our house was salvaged from The West Hotel, Minneapolis’ first grand hotel that was built in 1884 but demolished in 1940. I loved learning that bit of information as reusability and resourcefulness is a high value for our family.  

Mrs. Chaplin and her husband raised their two sons here and lovingly and meticulously cared for the home for over 70 years. We were hoping to find a house that hadn’t been touched by multiply renovations and retained its original architecture and historic features. We lucked out because the house was untouched and time capsuled from the 1960s. We were able to carefully and thoughtfully update over time. It’s a mighty little cape cod; what it lacks in square footage, it makes up for in charm!

What led you to renovate your primary bathroom? Were there certain challenges you were solving for? 

Our house is a cape cod, story and a half. Our upstairs is a partial story with two dormers, slanted ceilings and knee walls.  Once I became pregnant with our fourth child we knew we’d need to make it into a primary suite but we had to do it in stages. 

Stage one was to get the upstairs demoed, re-insulated and re-paneled. Although definitely not time-efficient, we were able to reuse much of the original nickel-gap pine paneling as the wall finish.
We vaulted the ceilings, combined the two closets into one large walk-in, laid hardwood floors, built extra closet space in the knee walls, built a wall of built-in bookcases and framed out the space for the eventual bathroom on the north gable end.

And when I say “we” I mean my very gifted, teacher-carpenter husband Jordan. Although I did cut nearly every hardwood floor board to size while 7 months pregnant.

 We moved back in to our upstairs bedroom the day before our fourth daughter was born :)

How would you describe the aesthetic and functional changes you made to your bathroom? 

Building a bathroom from scratch can feel daunting. Especially when you’re designing for yourself. It’s easy to second guess your instincts and the stakes feel high. However the space planning did somewhat take care of itself.

For the aesthetic, I wanted it to be classic enough to endure for decades. One of my favorite architects/designers and inspirations is Gil Schafer. He speaks about inevitable design.
I wanted our added bathroom to be perceived as original. That feeling of “this makes total sense; of course it looks like this” is what I was going for.

 One of my personal design values is harmony; a pleasing combination of things. I want the spaces in my home to visually be singing in harmony with one another while serving their distinct functions.

I attempted to select finishes that were timeless and organic in nature; Kohler’s Bancroft sink faucet in polished chrome, a white subway tile but with a slightly quirky twist with natural edges and a less common 12”x3” size. We also added a Calacatta Gold marble tile baseboard detail in the shower for a bit of interest.  

Tell us more about the components that make up the renovated space? What pieces make the most impact?
What’s special to you each time you see it?

My favorite feature of the bathroom is our furniture grade vanity. I am a big fan of Stoffer Home Cabinetry but sourcing our vanity from them was not in the budget.

 As aforementioned, my husband is a talented carpenter. He had never built a vanity before but with the help of many a Fine Homebuilding article, we came up with a custom design for the space and he executed it beautifully.  

Your interior design and styling work shines in renovated bathroom and kitchen spaces. What can you share with us about your approach and process? 

My personal design approach is based in practicality, harmony and collectedness. I am at heart drawn to simplicity and pragmatism. When I first start any project I step back and ask, does this space serve its purpose? And then secondly, how can we make it beautiful?

 Designing for yourself is a tricky proposal, but if you remain rooted in what is important to you, your instincts will pull you back towards selections that will weave together a cohesive room.  

As for styling, my primary goal when styling a space is to showcase the good work of tradespeople, builders and remodelers.
I try to train my eye on the striking elements of a space and then accentuate those areas with the addition of textiles which can provide warmth, florals or foliage, and interesting objects which help tell a visual story.

 All of these items can help make a space feel storied, lived in and dynamic.  

Stylist, Designer: Christie Fitch

Interview with the designer

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Vintage Cape Cod Bath

Your home is beautiful! How long have you lived here? Can you tell us more about the history of the house? 

Thank you! This is our first home and we purchased it in the winter of 2013. Our oldest daughter was only 6 months old when we moved in and she is nearly 13!

We purchased the home from the original owners who bought it from the builder in 1941. We learned from our long-time neighbor that the stone facade on the front of our house was salvaged from The West Hotel, Minneapolis’ first grand hotel that was built in 1884 but demolished in 1940. I loved learning that bit of information as reusability and resourcefulness is a high value for our family.  

Mrs. Chaplin and her husband raised their two sons here and lovingly and meticulously cared for the home for over 70 years. We were hoping to find a house that hadn’t been touched by multiply renovations and retained its original architecture and historic features. We lucked out because the house was untouched and time capsuled from the 1960s. We were able to carefully and thoughtfully update over time. It’s a mighty little cape cod; what it lacks in square footage, it makes up for in charm!

What led you to renovate your primary bathroom? Were there certain challenges you were solving for? 

Our house is a cape cod, story and a half. Our upstairs is a partial story with two dormers, slanted ceilings and knee walls. 

Once I became pregnant with our fourth child we knew we’d need to make it into a primary suite but we had to do it in stages.

 Stage one was to get the upstairs demoed, re-insulated and re-paneled. Although definitely not time-efficient, we were able to reuse much of the original nickel-gap pine paneling as the wall finish.

 We vaulted the ceilings, combined the two closets into one large walk-in, laid hardwood floors, built extra closet space in the knee walls, built a wall of built-in bookcases and framed out the space for the eventual bathroom on the north gable end.

 And when I say “we” I mean my very gifted, teacher-carpenter husband Jordan. Although I did cut nearly every hardwood floor board to size while 7 months pregnant.

We moved back in to our upstairs bedroom the day before our fourth daughter was born :)

How would you describe the aesthetic and functional changes you made to your bathroom? 

Building a bathroom from scratch can feel daunting. Especially when you’re designing for yourself. It’s easy to second guess your instincts and the stakes feel high. However the space planning did somewhat take care of itself.

 For the aesthetic I wanted it to be classic enough to endure for decades. One of my favorite architects/designers and inspirations is Gil Schafer. He speaks about inevitable design.

I wanted our added bathroom to be perceived as original. That feeling of “this makes total sense; of course it looks like this” is what I was going for.

 One of my personal design values is harmony; a pleasing combination of things. I want the spaces in my home to visually be singing in harmony with one another while serving their distinct functions.

 I attempted to select finishes that were timeless and organic in nature; Kohler’s Bancroft sink faucet in polished chrome, a white subway tile but with a slightly quirky twist with natural edges and a less common 12”x3” size. We also added a Calacatta Gold marble tile baseboard detail in the shower for a bit of interest.  

Tell us more about the components that make up the renovated space? What pieces make the most impact? What’s special to you each time you see it? 

My favorite feature of the bathroom is our furniture grade vanity. I am a big fan of Stoffer Home Cabinetry but sourcing our vanity from them was not in the budget.

 As aforementioned, my husband is a talented carpenter. He had never built a vanity before but with the help of many a Fine Homebuilding article, we came up with a custom design for the space and he executed it beautifully.  


Your interior design and styling work shines in renovated bathroom and kitchen spaces. What can you share with us about your approach and process? 

My personal design approach is based in practicality, harmony and collectedness. I am at heart drawn to simplicity and pragmatism.

 When I first start any project I step back and ask, does this space serve its purpose? And then secondly, how can we make it beautiful?

 Designing for yourself is a tricky proposal, but if you remain rooted in what is important to you, your instincts will pull you back towards selections that will weave together a cohesive room.  

As for styling, my primary goal when styling a space is to showcase the good work of tradespeople, builders and remodelers. I try to train my eye on the striking elements of a space and then accentuate those areas with the addition of textiles which can provide warmth, florals or foliage, and interesting objects which help tell a visual story.

 All of these items can help make a space feel storied, lived in and dynamic.