Lakeside Modern: A Contemporary Lake Home That Balances Privacy, Light and Artful Design
Discover how Minneapolis-based PKA Architecture and Martha Dayton Design created Lakeside Modern—a lakefront retreat where thoughtful architecture, natural light and curated interiors enhance everyday living.
Lakeside Modern is a seamless blend of everything a contemporary lake home should be: light and airy, yet intimate and welcoming. Created by Minneapolis-based PKA Architecture, this residence speaks to their overall philosophy of designing with the intention to enhance everyday life.
“What we are most proud of is how the home balances openness and intimacy in a way that truly supports family life, gatherings and privacy without compromising any one of those priorities,” Kristine Anderson, design principal at PKA Architecture, explains. “The architecture allows the house to feel expansive and connected to the lake when it needs to—opening up for celebrations, shared meals and time together—while also offering quieter, more protected moments for everyday living and retreat.”
The most defining feature of the home was a channel-glass stairwell in the entryway, which brings in immense natural light in the daytime and also serves as an eye-catching focal point of the home. And once again, PKA’s founding principles were the force behind the structural centerpiece.
“The channel-glass stairwell was conceived as both a functional element and an experiential moment within the home. It acts as a luminous spine—bringing soft, diffused daylight deep into the interior while maintaining privacy where transparency would have felt too exposed,” Andrew Edwins, architect and design principal at PKA Architecture. “Channel glass allowed us to capture light without clear views in or out, which was particularly important given the proximity of neighboring properties and homeowners’ need for privacy.”
“Instead of relying on fences or opaque walls, we used the architecture itself to create separation: thoughtful siting on the lot, strategic massing of the home and volumes that turn living spaces toward the water and away from neighboring properties. The landscape architects, Coen + Partners, layered landscaping with plantings that soften edges and screen sightlines without blocking views, allowing the home to feel both connected and protected,” Edwins explains.
When it came to curating the residence, the homeowners’ expansive art collection was the driving design force. From the color palette of the home to the furniture placement, interior designer Martha Dayton, of Martha Dayton Design, thoughtfully intertwined the clients’ art with the function of the home.
Arguably one of the largest design feats was integrating a 10 x 10 ft. art piece in the dining room, without it feeling out of place or overly large.
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“We definitely sized and proportioned the dining room for the scale of the piece, but the furniture layout itself was driven more by the architecture and how the space functions than by the artwork,” Dayton says. “The goal was always for the art to be the main visual moment, so everything around it needed to support it, not compete with it. The light fixture is a good example—it’s sculptural and beautiful, but subtle enough that your eye still goes straight to the art.”
Dayton’s design ethos centers around having each home feel uniquely individual to the client, so she carefully approached furniture selection and finishing touches, wanting aesthetics and functionality to be complimenting forces, not competing ones.
“Clean lines and comfort don’t need to be at odds with each other—you just need quality construction and good fabric. We chose pieces with tailored silhouettes and refined proportions, but they’re still meant to be lived in. Comfort was especially important because the clients have grandchildren, so durability and longevity mattered. We wanted the furniture to feel beautiful but also to stand up to real life,” Dayton explains.
All of the design elements that make the home a peaceful retreat linger quietly into the background. Privacy, flow, light and comfort feel effortless, embodying both PKA Architecture’s and Martha Dayton’s philosophies of intentional and personalized everyday living.
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