The main living area in the Johnsons’ home overlooking Prior Lake offers sweeping lake views. Photos: Chris Emeott
A Prior Lake family incorporates the best parts of cabin living into their daily lifestyle.
The first time that Amy and Doug Johnson toured their home on Prior Lake, they fell in love—with the lot. The original home was a lake cabin they purchased about 12 years ago, which they fixed up temporarily and lived in while they fantasized about building their dream home on the property. “The nice thing is, we were able to live here on the lot for a number of years and really get a feel for what we wanted, how we used it and what kind of house we would want to put on it,” Doug says. “It ended up being a really thoughtful process in what we designed and what we ended up building.”
In 2021, when the timing was right, they built a mono-pitched house that highlights a sweeping view overlooking Prior Lake, sized perfectly for their family of four and decorated with West Coast modern flair to reflect their clean, easy-going aesthetic.
Layout
The couple wanted every room in the house to have a purpose and to be well-used, so the floor plan was designed with efficiency in mind. “I think what it spawned from was just wanting one big room that kind of did everything, with a lot of windows,” says Doug, describing the inspiration for their home.
Kitchen counters are kept appliance-free thanks to a butler’s pantry off the kitchen.
The house is designed around a large kitchen, dining and living room facing the lake that is the focal point of family life: The Johnsons gather daily for breakfast around their kitchen island, relax in a seating area with a fireplace and close out their day with dinner together in the same room.
Amy enjoys making meals for the family, and the well-used main kitchen counters are kept clean with the help of a convenient butler’s pantry off the kitchen, complete with a small refrigerator and blender for morning smoothies, as well as pantry and appliance storage.
Three surfboards decorate the home’s entrance, contributing to the home’s West Coast modern flair.
Three main entries to the house all lead to the main room with clever design touches. There’s the formal entry, flanked by three surf boards from the street-facing side of the house. The entrance from the garage features a hallway with plenty of storage for backpacks, jackets and sports equipment, as well as a dog feeding station, complete with a low faucet for filling water dishes. Finally, a side entry is equipped with an outdoor shower for rinsing off from the lake.
Design
The family was living in Montana for a few months when they decided to rebuild the house, and they were influenced by the mountain-modern aesthetic, as well as a West Coast design style.
Jen Cirone of Cirone Design helped the Johnsons’ design vision come to life. She says one of the most important parts of working with clients is helping them edit and hone their style. “We kind of knew what we wanted in a sense, but putting all the pieces together and having it, as Jen says, ‘flow,’ is something I never really considered,” Amy says.
A white oak-paneled ceiling helps create a cohesive flow between the kitchen, dining room and main living room. A neutral palette helps foster a sense of calm.
The main room features a lot of sharp corners with black-framed windows and white walls; yet it doesn’t feel stark thanks to a beautiful white oak, wood-paneled ceiling and a black accent wall with a black steel fireplace and textured, black grasscloth wallpaper. The neutral palette helps the room feel calming, Cirone says.
There’s a similar balance in the kitchen with white upper cabinets anchored with walnut lower cabinets.
Lifestyle
The entire house is designed so the Johnsons can make the most of lake living. Large doors in the home’s main room open completely to the backyard lake, allowing for seamless indoor and outdoor living.
A patio with outdoor dining, as well as a deck with a firepit and seating above the Johnsons’ boathouse, provide outdoor living spaces that are comfortable to access throughout the day. The house, patio and deck all sit on a hill above the lake, providing soaring views of the water.
