The back door of this King Field home opened straight into a cramped galley kitchen with nowhere to set down a bag or kick off a pair of boots. You see this a lot in South Minneapolis — wonderful old houses with kitchens that were never designed for how families live now.
Our homeowner wanted three things out of one very tight footprint: a kitchen that actually worked, a small mudroom landing spot, and a powder room on the main level.
It was a big ask, but this homeowner happens to be an architect. He drew the layout himself and brought it to us for the build. Our kitchen remodeling work in the King Field neighborhood of Minneapolis started with a full tear-out and ended with a space that fits far more than anyone would guess from the original floor plan.
Key Takeaways
- THE CHALLENGEA small, closed-off galley kitchen had no mudroom, no main-floor powder room, and hidden framing problems behind the walls.
- THE BUILDWe gutted the space to the studs, removed a wall, added structural solutions to the framing, and rebuilt the layout around the architect's plan.
- THE RESULTOne tight footprint now holds a functional kitchen, a mudroom entry, a powder room, and an open walkway from the dining room to the basement.
A remodel like this only works if you are willing to move walls. The original layout trapped the back door, the kitchen, and the dining room entrance in each other's way, so a surface-level refresh would have left all those problems in place. Taking the space down to the studs gave us room to relocate openings, correct framing, and run new work cleanly — and it let us carve out the powder room the family wanted without borrowing space from anywhere else.
Project Summary
| Client Profile: | Homeowner and practicing architect |
| Project Location: | King Field Neighborhood, Minneapolis, MN |
| Primary Objective: | Fit a working kitchen, a mudroom entry, and a powder room into one small South Minneapolis footprint with Kitchen Remodeling Services |
| Scope of Work: | Full gut to the studs, wall removal, structural framing repairs, reconfigured openings, and a new main-floor Bathroom Renovation |
| Key Outcome: | More usable kitchen space, a mudroom at the back door, a new powder room, and an open walkway from the dining room to the basement |
Inside a Tight King Field Kitchen
The original kitchen was a narrow galley with no mudroom at all. You came in the back door and were immediately standing in the work zone, with the basement stairs dropping off to one side and the dining room entrance pinched into a corner. There was simply nowhere to pause, hang a coat, or step out of the way.
A wall ran between the kitchen and the dining room entry, and it was doing more harm than good — it ate square footage and forced an awkward path through the house. When we opened things up, we found a number of problems with the existing framing that had to be addressed before anything new could go in. Old houses tell you the truth once the plaster comes down.
How We Rebuilt the Space
We gutted everything to the studs and started with the structure, adding framing solutions to correct what we found behind the walls. From there, we removed the dividing wall and moved the dining room entrance farther down, opening a clear walkway from the dining room to the basement stairs and freeing up more room for the kitchen. We built the powder room into that reclaimed space, with a mudroom area just inside the back door.
Working alongside an architect made this one deeply collaborative, and we loved it! On a project this tight, you make a thousand decisions together — half-inch decisions, over and over — because every bit of clearance matters. That kind of back-and-forth is exactly how Dave and Ryan run our Interior Remodeling Services, and you can see the same approach in our other Home Remodeling Projects across the Twin Cities.
The Finished Kitchen & Powder Room
The finished space does three jobs at once. You come in the back door to a mudroom landing, step into a galley kitchen with usable counter and cabinet space, and find the powder room right there on the main level. The wallpaper the homeowner selected gives both the kitchen and the powder room real personality.
If you had seen the original layout, you would have said there was no way to fit all of that in, but the architect homeowner nailed the plan. We solved the structural issues honestly, and the result works for a family that doesn't need a wall of cabinets—just a smart, well-built space that fits their daily life.
Planning a Minneapolis Kitchen Remodel?
We have spent more than 30 years remodeling South Minneapolis homes, and we know what hides behind the walls of a 100-year-old house. You work directly with owners Dave and Ryan, with clear estimates and honest communication from the first walkthrough to the final checklist.
Thinking about reworking a tight kitchen, adding a powder room, or finally making your back entry useful in Minneapolis? Reach out and let's talk through what is possible — your Free Remodeling Estimate is on us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can kitchen remodeling in Minneapolis add a powder room?
Yes, and this King Field project is a good example. By removing a wall and relocating the dining room opening, we recovered enough space to build a main-floor powder room without adding onto the house. Whether it works in your home depends on your existing layout, plumbing runs, and what the structure allows.
What happens if you find framing problems mid-project?
We tell you right away and walk you through the fix. On this King Field remodel, we found several issues with the existing framing once the walls were open, and we added structural solutions before any new work began. Older South Minneapolis homes often hide surprises, which is why we build honest communication into every project.
Do you work with a homeowner's own architect or designer?
We do, and we enjoy it. This homeowner is an architect who laid out the kitchen, mudroom, and powder room himself, and the process was collaborative from start to finish. If you already have drawings, bring them to your consultation, and we will talk through the build details together.