Lake Pepin country house finally fits alongside historic cottages post creative remodel

Old Frontenac is a place where time seems to stand still.

Few paved roads, no curbs or streetlights and just a handful of graceful, late-1800s historic homes along Lake Pepin meant as summer retreats for the wealthy East Coast and Southern families who built them.

Elaina and Paul Perleberg’s house wasn’t one of those.

Built in 1940 and added on to in the 1960s, “it was kind of a hodgepodge,” Paul Perleberg said.

The couple purchased the home in 2020, when Elaina finally acquiesced to Paul’s long-held desire to live in the country.

They’d raised their two daughters in Minneapolis but had spent time in Frontenac with friends and enjoyed fishing, hiking, and bicycling along the hilly terrain.

“I told him I’d give it two years,” she said. “I’m a city girl.”

At the time, there were only two houses for sale in Old Frontenac, about an hour’s drive north of Rochester. This property was one of them, an ideal setting: three-and-a-half acres on a bluff overlooking the water, a state park abutting two sides.

The couple moved in and waited the full two-year trial period before renovating. During that time, they meshed with the small community, meeting neighbors and making friends to dine and bike with weekly. The time also informed their priorities and the scope of the renovation.

The end result garnered a 2025-26 Home of the Month honor, a partnership between the Minnesota Star Tribune and the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects that honors residential architecture.

The house was dated in a non-charming way, like low ceilings and a small kitchen. But what really bothered the Perlebergs was its dissonance with the surrounding homes.

“We wanted this house to feel integrated and fit the era of the other historic first-row houses,” Paul Perleberg said, using the local term for the 1800s cottages along the bluff.

In addition, they wanted a chef’s kitchen with lots of prep space and storage as well as a more user-friendly main entrance. Elaina Perleberg loves to cook, and the couple often entertain friends and overnight guests, including their two adult daughters.

They hired architect Christine Albertsson based on referrals from multiple friends who had worked with her and praised her creative and budget-conscious design solutions.

Albertsson, a native New Englander, had an immediate affinity for Old Frontenac.

“I felt like I was in Vermont,” she said, “with all the white clapboard houses and green shutters.”

She thought the Perlebergs’ house had good bones and unrealized potential within its existing footprint. Particularly: the enormous screened porch, a portion of which Albertsson knew she could repurpose to expand the kitchen and pantry while preserving enough space for a four-season porch/family room.

Even so, the Perlebergs worried that wouldn’t be enough to resolve the cramped feeling, especially since the porch ceiling was even lower than the kitchen’s. Albertsson assured them she had a few architectural tricks up her sleeve to solve the problem.

“She was right,” Elaina Perleberg said. “Although the home is the same size, it now feels so much more open, spacious, even grand.”

Removing the wall between the kitchen and porch went a long way. It created a big space Albertsson divided between a larger entry and closet, a spacious kitchen and an enclosed pantry. Another torn-down wall between the kitchen and living room improved flow between the rooms and freed up sightlines to the water.

Albertsson used vertical beams across the ceiling, counter-height windows along the length of one wall and a 10-foot island that floats in the middle of the space to keep the eye moving. Suddenly, the differing ceiling heights were unnoticeable.

The adjacent pantry, where Elaina stages dinner courses, hides messes and stores less frequently used appliances and cookware, is just as lovely as the kitchen, but has its own personality thanks to beadboard walls, mahogany countertops, sage cabinets and ruffled pendants.

“It’s a wonderful surprise,” Albertsson said. “Why not make it special?”

Special enough to help this project garner a 2025-2026 Home of the Month win, a partnership between the Minnesota Star Tribune and the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects that honors residential architecture.

Additional “tricks” Albertsson employed to make the home feel brighter and less cramped: painting the ceilings gloss white that bounces light and using the largest standard divided-lite windows available to avoid the cost of custom windows.

“The proportions of these windows look beautiful inside and out,” Albertsson said.

She also cased the openings between rooms to reinforce the feeling of distinct spaces within the more open plan.

As for the big ask, the Perlebergs did see their home join, if not in pedigree, at least in spirit with the surrounding houses. The exterior now has rows of symmetrical windows, a new deck and a period-inspired pergola on the lake-facing side, all painted a crisp, uniform white.

“We’re not trying to pretend it was built in the 1800s,” Albertsson said, “but rather a fresh and respectful interpretation of those homes.”

Designing firm: Albertsson Hansen Architecture and Interior Design

Project team: Christine L. Albertsson, AIA, Ian McLellan, AIA, Meg Lundquist, Associate AIA

General contractor: Schwalbe Construction Inc.

Project partners: Jennie Korsbon & Co Interior Design

Photography: Corey Gaffer Photography

Laurie Fontaine Junker is a Twin Cities-based writer specializing in home design and architecture. Instagram: @fojunk