Iowa

Set on the shore of Lake Okoboji in rural Iowa, this residence was conceived as a series of spatial sequences that flow into the lake beyond. This design motif is most apparent in the joined kitchen-and-living-room space, where floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors frame views of the lake and surrounding oaks.

In the kitchen, white plastic-laminated baltic-birch cabinets and stainless-steel countertops are complemented by colored concrete floors and a horizontally laminated plywood island that floats above the ground on stainless-steel legs. A 10-by-10-foot skylight lined with translucent polycarbonate panels pierces through the space above to provide natural lighting during the day; strip lights behind the panels illuminate the kitchen at night.

While the kitchen is washed in white, all of the bathrooms are saturated in colors ranging from lime-green to orange to aqua. “The bathrooms are the most intimate spaces, with almost no views to the outside, so we decided to create vivid interiors instead,” explains Min | Day principal Jeff Day. The architects created this seamless effect using ¼-inch sheets of solid surfacing in custom colors for the countertops and shower walls, and plastic laminates for the cabinetry.

Architect: Min | Day

General contractor: Mike Hoien Construction

Millwork: Aaron Carlson Corporation

Sources
Baltic birch plywood/Abet Laminati laminate (kitchen cabinets); Elkay (island sink); RSA Lighting (recessed kitchen lights); 3form (shower walls, bath countertops); Dornbracht (bathroom faucets); Boyd (recessed mirror strip)