The Edstroms of Milwaukee were living in a 70’s “Cavelike” bi-level house until they decided to renovate. They gave architect Johnsen Schmaling a laundry list of must-haves and pointed them in the direction of Frank Lloyd Wright and Scandinavian to communicate the overall desired style.

Since the family is together at home a lot – one is a songwriter while the other a life coach (someday someone has to explain why this is a needed occupation), they also wanted the house to connect well to the outside space.

One way they achieved this goal and one of the houses highlights is a NanaWall – a glass panel that acts as a wall when closed and folds completely open when the owner wants to engage the outdoors.

Maybe the most unique thing about the renovation is the Edstroms decision to resist making the house larger as is nearly always the case in typical renovations. Instead they depended on spatial design techniques to give personal space while not displacing family members from each other. Read post in Dwell.