Riverside Retreat

4/3/2020

{MEVOLD STUDIO + CENTURY BUILDERS}

Story by Tracy Nicholson
Photography by Dan Francis Photography

If you're familiar with the Pelican River area across from Lake Sallie, Minn., you might have noticed a complete overhaul of a longtime landmark. What was once a little red bait shop on the river, is now a cozy, year-round cottage designed for the Nesemeier family. To efficiently build within the bait shop's smaller footprint, Jackie and Dallas Nesemeier relied on two Fargo talents, Mevold Studio for the home's design and layout, and Century Builders as the general contractor.

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Sold! Hook Line & Sinker

The Nesemeiers purchased Ruth & Don's Bait Shop in the early 90s, located across the road from their current property on Lake Sallie. They kept the bait shop open for a few years, but eventually made the decision to turn it into a garage with living quarters for Dallas Nesemeier's mom. After she passed, the space was used primarily for storage. With their family on the grow, the bait shop once again took on a new purpose. After inspecting the structure and level of repairs, the family decided to build new, instead of renovating - completing the rebuild just last summer.

"We knew Jan Mevold through our daughter; they both have daughters in the same grade," said Jackie Nesemeier. "My daughter knew that he designs some beautiful cabins in the lake area and suggested we hire him for our bait shop project. As for Century Builders, the owner, Chris Schuler, built my daughter’s home in Fargo, and we saw his work and liked it. We worked with Chris and Terry (Bartsh), the Job Superintendant. Both were wonderful to work with!"

Bait, Hook & Rebuild

"Our biggest challenge is that we had to stay within the bait shop's 32' x 32' footprint," said Mevold. "However, we had beautiful surroundings to work with so we were able to create the space working effortlessly with its environment and views. The cabin has a river in the back that leads to Lake Melissa and it's full of ducks in the summertime."

Despite the footprint's limitations, Mevold was able to give the family everything they asked for. "We wanted an open-concept living room and kitchen. We also wanted a bedroom with a closet and bathroom/ laundry room, plus lots of windows. Jan made it all happen," said Nesemeier. Today the family is able to use the home as a year-round cottage, including weekend retreats during the winter months. "I love the large windows and being able to sit in the living room and look out at the wildlife on the river," said Jackie Nesemeier.

Lofty Goals

For the cottage's design, we needed to create character throughout the cabin, inside and outside. We wanted to bring as much natural light into the cabin as possible and for it to feel cozy and warm," said Mevold. To achieve this, the design included tongue and groove pine on the ceiling and white-painted, poplar shiplap on the walls. "The ceiling was created as a parallel, vaulted ceiling with a functional dormer above the home's entry. The highest peak to the finished ceiling is about 20 feet," explained Mevold. "As the general contractor for this build, Century Builders did a great job!"

While Mevold Studio worked with the homeowners on the interior 3D space, homeowner, Jackie Nesemeier, chose to take on the material selections. "She has an amazing eye for design and picked out all of the interior finishes herself," said Mevold.

"I have been saving pictures from magazines for a few years. I guess a person knows what they like and you just have to go with that," said Jackie Nesemeier. "We live on a farm in North Dakota, and I’ve always been inspired by the farmhouse concept. So, I brought that to the bait shop with a little beachy flair!"

"One of my favorite features was the Nesemeier's idea to keep the cottage the same red color as the previous bait shop structure. I don’t get to design homes with bold colors like this often, so that was very exciting for me, personally," said Mevold. "To create harmony on the exterior, brown shakes with white panels and trim were incorporated, offering a modern take on classic cottage design."

"It took practically eight months to finally get all the permits for the new build," said Jackie Nesemeier. "Chris at Century Builders was amazing at jumping through all the hoops to secure everything we needed for permits, and Jan was instrumental in drawing up plans to meet the requirements. We wanted a small loft, but unfortunately, we couldn’t have it that way. We could go up as high as we wanted, but, could not have any extra living space upstairs other than what we had in the original footprint of the old bait shop. So, Jan went back to the drawing board and came up with a great plan. They both were wonderful people to work with. We couldn’t have worked with a better group of professionals! "

Investing in Family

"We have a large family and everyone loves to be at the lakes; this space makes that easier," said Jackie Nesemeier. "My husband and I are in the bait shop, and across the street, my oldest daughter, husband and three children now occupy our cottage on Lake Sallie. We will also use the bait shop for winter weekend getaways; we have grandchildren who love to ski and Detroit Mountain is close by." Now that the smaller cottage is finished, they are once again working with Mevold Studio to design the last project, a dream lake home, just a few cabins down on Lake Sallie.

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