Aurelia
Situated lakeside in the resort town of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, this high-end holiday home embraces a relaxed country style, expressed through a palette of natural materials and layered textures.
As busy executives, the homeowners wanted a place to escape the hustle of everyday life. Their brief to local architects PKA Architecture called for a home that would serve as a base for restorative family time while also doubling as a venue for hosting parties and creating lasting holiday memories with friends and extended family.
Inspired by Mediterranean architecture, Aurelia features arched openings, curved walls, a chunky brick facade and chimneys that lend the exterior a timeless, grand presence. Inside, double-height ceilings and large expanses of glazing frame wide views of the lakefront and surrounding mature trees, while open communal spaces create easy connections between indoor and outdoor living and provide plenty of room for entertaining.
The home opens into a circular foyer, creating an elegant welcome for guests. From here, the layout separates into communal and private areas, with an arched entrance leading into the open-plan living space. This flows out to a sheltered al fresco dining and lounge area, complete with a fireplace for chilly nights.
With its lofty ceiling height, the kitchen is flooded with natural light from tall, panelled windows overlooking the lake on one side and a clerestory window on the other. Black, steel-framed display cabinets add definition to the timber cupboards along one wall, their linear framing echoing that of the windows. The open living and kitchen spaces have a distinctly country home aesthetic, created through a combination of timber dining furniture and built-in cabinetry, stone floors softened with textured rugs, plaster upper walls and luxurious yet understated upholstery fabrics.
Stone pillars transition into a plastered finish as they rise to meet the timber ceilings in the kitchen. In the smaller lounge area, a pair of Montis leather chairs provides a place to perch with a good book, while an Eilersen sofa invites conversation after a morning on the lake. The larger lounge by the fireplace has a softer feel, with an A Rudin sofa and day bed lending a luxurious note alongside a pair of pale grey Maiden Home armchairs.
Rather than building up, Aurelia is arranged across a single level, allowing lake views to be enjoyed from as many rooms as possible. Designed with the same understated palette of pale timbers and linen tones, the bedrooms are soft and light-filled, with two guest suites and a children’s bunk room providing ample space to accommodate visitors.
By balancing open, social spaces with intimate areas for cosy conversation and private escape, the dwelling fulfills its brief as a family retreat that also serves as an ideal setting for large-scale entertaining.
