Though Tempest and Brad Arends live about 1,400 miles from Cape Cod, that Massachusetts peninsula has inspired the design of their 6,000 square-foot house on Fountain Lake in Albert Lea.

“We wanted a house that looked like it belonged on the lake and had been here a while,” Brad said.

“I wanted to go for a Cape Cod look,” Tempest added.

When the Arends bought their home in the Shoreland Heights neighborhood in 2002, they expanded onto the front, nearly doubling the size of the house. Now, a kitchen-and-dining-room area with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooks Fountain Lake, with a wraparound porch extending off the kitchen and to the corner to a shaded sitting area.

On the other side of the kitchen, outside and overlooking the lake, is a patio with an outdoor fireplace the Arends use in the fall. The outdoor fireplace is one of five.

“We wanted an outdoor room,” Tempest said. “We use it more in the fall and spring. If it gets chillier, in the 60s, we’ll put a log out there and visit.”

With three floors, the bottom level of the house offers a walkout basement and recreation room, where the Arends’ three daughters can spend time with their friends. The rec room has darts, a pingpong table, a pool table and a TV set, plus amenities, but both Brad and Tempest said the kitchen is the main hangout for the whole family.

Complete with a bar counter that could seat several people and a hearth-like stove that doubles as a flower-laiden centerpiece, the kitchen is everyone’s favorite room in the house.

“This room is basically where the family lives,” Brad joked.

Tempest said she wants guests to focus on the flowery hearth above the stove when they visit, because the goal was to make it look like a fireplace above the stove. Other furniture on the main floor of the house was also decorated with floralscapes to give a nature-friendly beach vibe.

“It’s lake-inspired and garden-inspired,” Tempest said. “We tried to bring the garden inside so we can have a garden year-round.”

Home stats:
• Built in 1934
• Expanded in 2002
• 6,000 square feet
• 4 bedrooms
• 4 bathrooms
• Outdoor wraparound porch
• Outdoor patio with fireplace

Southern Minnesota

This is part of a story featured in the upcoming issue of our magazine, Southern Minnesota. The story features two other homes from the area and is called “3 distinctive designs.” The issue hits the region around Labor Day. See other Southern Minnesota issues.