Wrought With Classic Lines
Twenty years ago, John Fread and Bill Tritt bought a worker-bee 1940s house with the idea to improve it during the next five years—and sell it. Two decades later, they’re still under the same roof, but the dwelling has gone from showing-its-age to showplace. Check out how Fread and Tritt’s recent whole-house upgrade—think new windows and french doors, bump-outs in the dining and living rooms, a new master bath and a walk-in closet, a guest bath makeover and a new Garden Room—has created classic yet cozy new spaces for this love-to-entertain couple.

Lure of the Lake
Four years ago, Tracy and Todd Wright bought a ramshackle 1930s “fisherman’s cottage” that came with terrific lakefront property on Devil’s Lake. They enlisted LEED-certified architect Nathan Good to help them end up with a “non-Wow” green house that would make the most of their challenging-to-build-on site. With Todd as general contractor, the couple ended up with a great lake house.


Design Matters: The Front Porch
Does your front porch say, “Welcome!” or, “Creative people live here!” We checked in with a wide range of pros (designers, a Realtor, a painter, a vintage home restorer and a designer-builder) to detail the style-making elements that can make over a porch from a cluttered storage space to a preview of what’s in store beyond your front door. From hanging a cool mailbox to restoring your millwork, you can easily boost your new or vintage home’s curb appeal.

Trade Secrets: 17 Tips for Great Master Bathrooms
Tempted to turn your entire attic into the world’s largest spa bath? Pooh-poohing your spouse’s need for privacy? We asked an architect, a tilesetter and two designers to fill us in on master bathroom must-dos.

Home Front: True tales from around the house
True tales from around the house: A second-generation berry picker subjects her own family to the brake ’n’ pick life . . . A greenhouse gaffe keeps veggie lovers from harvesting their own crops . . . How do you escape the dust and din that your tool-centric, DIY spouse is wired to create?—and more!

Shop Talk: S.E. Belmont St.