'After 60 years, I finally made it'
With the help of Nor-son, dream home becomes a reality in Crosslake
A long, narrow driveway surrounded by towering Norway pines leads to Bob and Patty Glorvick's Crosslake log home, with breathtaking views of Rush Lake.
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The views have become even more exquisite after the Glorvicks, who are full-time residents of Omaha, Neb., hired Nor-son Inc. of Baxter to turn their second home - a 1980s Wisconsin log home - into a modern, elegant lake retreat with an addition for more living space.
In a telephone interview with Bob Glorvick, he said the remodeling/addition project turned out much better than he expected.
Nor-son Inc. of Baxter received several awards for the remodeling and addition project on Bob and Patty Glorvick's Crosslake log home, including honorable mention for the Contractor of the Year Award from the National Association of Remodeling Industry. NOR-SON Inc. photo
"As a young boy, I always had aspirations to own a cabin with a great room, a fireplace and a balcony where you could see the ceiling beams," Glorvick said. "After 60 years, I finally made it."
Glorvick said he and his wife were going to purchase a cabin in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, but decided on Crosslake instead. He said they have more family in Minnesota, and after seeing the sun rise at his brother's place on Daggett Lake, he was hooked on the state of 10,000 lakes.
Nor-son Inc. wins awards or Crosslake home project
BAXTER - Nor-son Inc. received several awards for the work on Bob and Patty Glorvick's Crosslake home.
Awards won:
Honorable mention for the Contractor of the Year Award from the National Association of Remodeling Industry.
NARI Regional Contractor of the Year Award.
Award of Excellence from the Associated Builders and Contractors.
The Glorvicks purchased their log home in 2003, and two years later, they decided to expand their home. They wanted their four adult children and grandchildren to have their own rooms and they wanted family gatherings to be more open and enjoyable.
Before the update, Bob and Patty Glorvick's kitchen had pine cabinets with an American blue stain. Nor-son Inc. photo
Glorvick said that, without Damien Williams of Nor-son, who was the project manager, and Tami Halverson of Tamson Interiors in Eden Prairie, their dream home wouldn't have been possible.
Williams said the project entailed demolishing a detached garage, adding a one-and-a-half story addition and renovating a portion of the existing home.
The main floor addition included creating a room equipped with a stone fireplace, a powder room, a laundry room, an office and a master suite and bath. The loft has a sitting area and a bunk room with an attached bathroom.
Glorvick said he wanted to update more of the existing portion of the home so it would match the addition.
Nor-son opened up Bob and Patty Glorvick's kitchen, including creating an island and adding earthy colors. Nor-son Inc. photo
"Mr. Glorvick didn't want it to appear like an addition," Williams said. "He wanted it to appear like it was always a part of the house."
The Glorvicks wanted to transform their outdated kitchen and dining room into living areas that would reflect the standard of lake properties in the area. They also wanted to maintain the home's rustic chinked-log look, warm wood flooring, earthy tones and stonework and they wanted to preserve the aged Norway pines that tightly surrounded the original structure.
"The house was not very open," Williams said. "There were small spaces, so we removed a wall between the dining room and the breakfast nook to create a formal dining room. Then we removed the existing bathroom on the main level so we could expand the foyer."
Williams said they tore out the old flooring and replaced it with 1x12-inch pine plank flooring so it would match the floor in the new addition. The old flooring was the same type of wood, but the stain had darkened over the years. The new flooring was coated with a golden cinnamon color to add an ambiance to the home, Williams said.
Bob and Patty Glorvick's living room before Nor-son removed the back wall and added the addition to turn the living room into a larger great room.
The existing pine cabinets with an American blue stain were replaced with natural-looking birch cabinets and the walls were painted with earthy tones. Interior log walls throughout the home were replaced to give the home a fresh look and so the walls in the addition and the existing portion of the home matched.
Williams said the Wisconsin log company that supplied the logs for the original home no longer carried the same type of logs for the exterior. However, Williams said the company still had the tools and was able to make the logs match.
Timber blocks used as ceiling beams in the kitchen/dining areas were removed and log beams were added. Williams said they utilized the old timbers by using them as accents in the master bathroom.
Bob and Patty Glorvick's living room after Nor-son finished the project. The log beam in the ceiling is about where the old living room ended. Nor-son Inc. photo
They also updated the lower area of the home, which has a recreation room, a gas fireplace, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
The project was completed in May 2006. Williams said he was overwhelmed with the finished product and how the project came together inside and out, and that, with the decor, made the home look truly spectacular.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.