If you take a walk through Jim and Jennifer’s remodeled home, it’s easy to understand why visitors stop in their tracks.

The once dated, orange-y kitchen has been transformed into a light-filled centerpiece worthy of the home’s next chapter. A hidden walk-in pantry disappears behind what appears to be ordinary cabinetry, the structural post that once interrupted the heart of the home is gone, and the reworked floor plan creates long, open sightlines through the main living spaces. The entire home feels dramatically larger than it did before.

Those are the features everyone notices first. But if you ask Jim and Jennifer what transformed their home the most, the conversation quickly shifts away from the showpieces. Instead, they light up talking about the little details.

It’s those details (paired with a team willing to explore every idea 😉) that turned a long-overdue renovation into a home that feels uniquely their own; that’s why Jim and Jennifer partnered with Minnesota-based Highmark Builders to rethink the house from the inside out.

Step One: Dream Big

By the time the couple decided to move forward with a custom home remodel, their home had accumulated a long list of “someday” ambitions and projects. The kitchen hadn’t been significantly updated since they moved in back in 1992. Drawers no longer opened properly. Getting something out of a packed cupboard meant unloading everything in front of it, and the golden oak throughout the home felt decades out of date. Upstairs, the bathroom counter and floor still had chips in them from when a mirror had fallen during their first round of renovations, 25 years ago.

“There were 100 things that we’d put off for all those years …” — Jim R., Eden Prairie Homeowner

Once planning began, the project started to snowball (in the best way possible!). The kitchen remodel evolved into a chance to get the island they’d wanted for decades, along with the pantry they’d never had. But why stop there? The upstairs had originally been earmarked for a second phase, but planning was proving far too exciting to wait. They rolled phase two into phase one and decided to do it all.

Highmark designer Samantha encouraged them to keep exploring. She brought five or six dramatically different floor plans to the table, then worked with Jim and Jennifer to discuss, adjust, and build on them. Soon, the question wasn’t simply, “What needs to be fixed?” It was, “What would be really cool if we could make it happen?”

“Basically anything we came up with, Highmark was willing to figure out how to do.”  — Jim R., Eden Prairie Homeowner

Luxury Lives in the Details

Some of Jim and Jennifer’s favorite upgrades from the custom home remodel are the ones designed around incredibly specific moments in their day — the minor inconveniences we all encounter so often that eventually we stop questioning whether there’s a better way.

The Sit-Down Vanity

Take Jennifer’s new sit-down vanity. She knew she wanted a place where she could comfortably sit while doing her hair and getting ready, rather than standing at the bathroom counter each morning. (Ladies, we can all relate, right?).

Well, Highmark took the idea a step further with a flip-down drawer and built-in outlet. Her hair dryer and styling tools can stay plugged in, tucked away when she’s finished, and ready to use the next morning without cords cluttering the countertop.

“All those little things are just so convenient … I still love it. It’s amazing. I recommend that to anyone.”  — Jennifer R., Eden Prairie Homeowner

Hands-Free Kitchen Upgrades

Highmark even built several conveniences directly into the kitchen for the couple. A touch-activated trash drawer opens with a bump against the cabinet front, eliminating the need to grab a handle with messy or full hands. Just above it, what looks like another drawer folds down to reveal a built-in cutting board. Food scraps can be swept directly off the board and into the garbage underneath.

Highmark hadn’t installed the touch-activated feature before, but when the couple brought them the idea, the team researched how to make it work. It was another item on the family’s wish list that went from “Wouldn’t this be cool?” to something they now use every day.

The Swinging Closet Door

Anyone who’s ever tried on three outfits before deciding the first one was best knows the routine: bedroom to closet, closet to mirror, back to the closet, maybe a detour to the bathroom … and repeat.

Jennifer wanted to make all that back-and-forth a little easier. And, because the primary closet sits directly in the sightline of the hallway when the bedroom door is open, she also wanted privacy when changing without having to fuss with a traditional door every time she walked in or out.

The solution was a saloon-style door that swings both ways and closes automatically behind her. Arms full of clothes? Just push through. Going back for another option five seconds later? No problem — a magnet can hold the door open until the outfit debate is settled.

The Hidden Pantry

Even the pantry — the feature that tends to earn the biggest reaction from visitors — started with an everyday need. Before the remodel, the couple’s kitchen cupboards were packed so tightly that getting one item often meant pulling everything in front of it out first.

Now, they step through what appears to be an ordinary cabinet door into a walk-in pantry with ample room to spread out and organize. The hidden entrance gives visitors something to talk about; the extra storage is what Jim and Jennifer get to enjoy every day.

“Whenever I show people, everyone’s like, ‘I want this!’” Jennifer shared. “That’s one of our favorite things.”

Jim and Jennifer had spent decades learning the rhythms of their home, right down to the tiny inconveniences they’d grown accustomed to. The remodel gave them an opportunity to reconsider those everyday routines and build in solutions specifically for the way they live.

After decades in the same house, those are the changes Jim and Jennifer feel most every single day.

Sometimes, You Have To Move a Few Walls (or Take Down a Few Pillars)

While the smaller details changed Jim and Jennifer’s daily routines, a handful of much bigger decisions reshaped how they experience the house as a whole.

The biggest decision was whether or not to remove the structural post that stood in the middle of the main living area. Doing so would require custom steel beams, a structural engineer’s professional input, and careful consideration of the home’s existing footings. Highmark priced the work separately so Jim and Jennifer could decide whether opening the space was worth the additional investment.

“It took a lot of mulling over,” the couple recalled. “But we’re so glad we did it, because literally nothing would’ve worked with this pillar right here.”

Removing it opened the (metaphorical) door for several of the remodel’s biggest transformations:

  • A little extra room for the kitchen:

Highmark expanded the kitchen into the former dining room and extended it slightly with a small addition off the back of the house. The extra space helped turn what had been a cramped kitchen into a much more substantial hub for the main floor.

  • A dedicated conversation area:

Jennifer had admired cozy seating areas near the kitchen in other homes and was determined to find room for one here. Samantha solved the spatial puzzle, fitting two comfortable chairs into the new floor plan without closing the kitchen back in.

  • A completely reworked primary suite:

Upstairs, Jim and Jennifer couldn’t picture how their small shared closet could possibly become substantially larger. Reconfiguring the bathroom turned out to be the key; the new layout gave them the extra space they wanted, while also giving them an excuse to redesign yet another room that was long overdue for an update of its own.

If you’re planning a bathroom remodel of your own, check out our article for some helpful tips, themes, and inspirations! 👉Stunning Bathroom Remodeling Ideas

For all the transformation, the couple estimate they added only about 40 square feet. Opening the main floor and changing how the existing space was used made the difference feel far more dramatic.

“We only added 40 feet to our house … But it seems like we added so much more.”  — Jennifer R., Eden Prairie Homeowner

See the Transformation for Yourself

We know, we know. Reading about such a stunning custom home remodel can only paint so much of the picture. Sometimes, you just have to see the before and after for yourself.

This transformation would not have been possible without Highmark Builders’ interior design partner, Ruby+Suede. Their work brought the home firmly into the 21st century, pairing a sophisticated color palette with striking navy accents throughout.

See the Transformation for Yourself

For Jim and Jennifer, moving was never really the goal. They loved their neighborhood and their creek-side lot. More importantly, this was where they had raised their family. Now that two of their children live out of state, Jim and Jennifer wanted the house to still feel like home when everyone came back to visit.

What they were ready to leave behind was that long list of “someday” projects they’d accumulated after decades of living there.

Their custom home remodel gave them the best of both worlds, and Highmark gave them the freedom to see just how far that wishlist could go. Dreams became reality, everyday life now looks a lot more convenient, and the home they already loved became a place they could fall in love with all over again.

In the end, Jim and Jennifer didn’t have to give up decades of history to get the home they’d been dreaming about. They got to build it right where they were.

Have a few “someday” ideas of your own? Call Highmark Builders to start planning your custom home remodel!