Second-Story Addition Before and After: A Complete Cape Cod Transformation

The Top Goals For This Twin Cities Remodel:

• Sufficient space to serve the needs of a growing family of four
• Create a dining area
• Expand kitchen
• Gain a bedroom & bathroom (wanted three bedrooms, two bathrooms)
• Get the family on one floor: All bedrooms on the same level
• An addition that naturally flowed into the rest of the home (the scale of the expansion was thoughtfully crafted to avoid a “boxy” look)
• Larger bedrooms and closets
• Added mudroom
• Curb appeal 
• Stay within financing limits as much as possible to mitigate concerns about the home’s value and longevity. (*Within two years, the value had caught up.)

Key Design and Construction Elements

• Full second-story addition (added 900 square feet)
• Bump-out addition for the mudroom (added 50 feet) 
• The kitchen took over a bedroom, and the dining room replaced the kitchen area, allowing both to expand considerably
• Bump out bay window added to the front of the house increased new dining area and enhanced curb appeal
• Added family bathroom – A modified Jack & Jill layout with separate functions was more efficient and less costly than adding two full bathrooms. A separate sink/shower area & toilet area, plus an additional sink off the owner’s suite, meant multiple people could use different bathroom functions simultaneously. 

  This extended bathroom functioned like multiple spaces, providing superb usability for a family of four!

• Three good-sized upstairs bedrooms
• Second-story bedroom extended out and over, creating a back stoop overhang
• Addition was put on a pier footing (posts) – not a full frost footing, to control costs
• Added entrance and mudroom to back of house; efficient pier foundation simplified building and controlled cost
• Vinyl siding saved costs and reduced maintenance 
• Front porch modifications, including a new roof over the stoop
• New windows throughout; traditional trim kept the design consistent while elevating the home’s exterior 
• Zoned heating and cooling (Second floor has its own furnace, air conditioner, and ductwork that allows independent control of the temperature, which improves comfort, efficiency, and cost)
• Existing staircase was left in place

Bluestem is proud to provide beautiful, well-crafted second-story additions across St Paul, Minneapolis, and the surrounding suburbs. If this sounds like the solution to your cramped living space, give our team a call!