This weekend, at 52 locations throughout the Twin Cities, homeowners are opening up their residences for anyone to visit—and acquire inspiration, insights and information for their own hopes for their dream home. It’s the 30th annual Minneapolis-St. Paul Home Tour, now with a downloadable guide that can help visitors pick and choose their spots to tour. In addition, this year’s event includes a walking tour of downtown St. Paul with peeks into two historic structures—the Renaissance Box and the Crane Ordway—and a number of talks that bring participants deep inside housing topics.
One of those talks, “Perfectly Packaged Bungalows,” will be presented by architect Rosemary McMonigal of McMonigal Architects in Minneapolis. “We’ll talk about distinctive bungalow features and how to remodel and expand these homes while maintaining their architectural integrity,” McMonigal says. “It’s no wonder that bungalows quickly became one of the most popular and fashionable smaller houses in the country, and we’ll delve into just why that’s the case.”
McMonigal helped start the home tour 30 years ago, and the original event featured her own home. On this year’s Minneapolis-St. Paul Home Tour are two houses she’s renovated. One, of course, is a bungalow (#8). “A small (6-foot-by-15-foot) addition doubled the tiny kitchen,” she says. “The addition seamlessly matches the original house. The detailing of rift-cut red oak cabinetry, soapstone counters, subway tile backsplash, and classic pendant lights enhance the period bungalow style.”
The other is a 1920 Tudor-style home (#10). “In this home, rotating the interior stairs 90 degrees allowed space for an enlarged kitchen and a new family room,” she says. “The work was done in two phases, 10 years apart.”
Also on the tour are award-winning multifamily residences, including The Rose, 700 Central Avenue, and C&E Lofts, as well as Alchemy Architects’ BarnHouse, the new St. Paul Tool Library, and Chris Webley’s transformation of a dive bar and storefronts into live/work space.
Tour for free on Saturday, April 29, from 10 am – 5 pm; and Sunday April 30, from 1 – 5 pm.
by Camille LeFevre 
