Room to Grow

Increasing Living Space with a Home Addition & Patio

Lakeville, MN

When our colleague Erik Lageson and his wife bought their Lakeville home in 2025, it lacked main-floor space. While it’s just the two of them for now, the couple wanted to increase their square footage and create more space for people to gather.

Rather than reworking the floor plan, we created more space by building an addition. Not only does this create the square footage the Lagesons were looking for, but it also creates a smooth transition from the dining room and kitchen into the backyard.

Home Location

Lakeville (Elkhorn Drive)
Style

2016 Craftsman
Project Type

Home Addition & Exterior
Scope of Work

Windows, siding, patio, landscaping, and garden space
Project Leads

Designer: Morgan Longhenry

Construction Management: Nolan Larson
Timeline

9 weeks
Featured Brands

Kichler, LP Smartside, Windsor Windows, Top Knobs, and Anderson Tuftex

Making a Seamless Transition with an Addition

With newer homes such as this 2016 build, the renovation challenge is less about tearing out features that don’t work and more about making the new space feel cohesive. Home additions can easily look tacked on if not planned carefully.

To make the addition look like part of the home, we needed to:

Coordinate the siding and window trim with the rest of the home.
Choose carpet for the addition that would complement the rest of the main level.
Refresh the surrounding landscaping to make the patio feel more established and connected.

Our Design Approach for a Cohesive Home Addition

With a large backyard space to work with, the home addition and patio weren’t limited to a specific footprint. This allowed designer Morgan Longhenry to plan a layout based on the Lagesons’ specific needs.

The design includes:

White LP SmartSide siding to blend seamlessly with the rest of the home.
Windsor Windows accented with modern black trim.
A large, black-pigmented poured patio to create contrast and coordinate with the window trim.
Fresh landscaping, including hydrangeas, hostas, and sun-loving sedum.
Black raised beds for gardening.
Kichler lighting to create ambiance.

For the exterior, it was important that the siding and windows matched, but more than that, the materials needed to be durable. LP SmartSide has exceptional impact resistance, making it ideal for withstanding severe weather. And its 5/50 limited warranty provides complete coverage for the first five years, followed by prorated coverage for a total of 50 years.

In the interior, we used Top Knobs for the new fixtures in the addition, as well as Anderson Tuftex carpet flooring. As a transition space between the patio and main-floor living area, we needed to use durable carpet that withstands high foot traffic from kids, pets, and family gatherings.

The low-pile carpet has a patterned texture to resist wear over time. Not only that, but carpet also acts as a thermal barrier to improve energy efficiency.

A New Space to Gather

With the patio and addition complete, the Lagesons can now enjoy more room on their main level, perfect for gathering with friends and family. Plus, the large east-facing patio door and windows fill the addition with morning sunlight.

With the addition leading directly onto the patio, complete with a fire table, the space is finally large enough for outdoor entertaining as well.

The patio’s large footprint also supports the Lagesons’ future goal of adding a hot tub to make their outdoor space complete.

When we met with JBDB it was clear they had the most realistic idea of what we were trying to do.

The Petersons, Burnsville, MN

Three Season Porch with a fireplace, television, and comfortable seating

Detailed, professional, reliable and a pleasure to work with. So often contractors are late or unresponsive, but not JBDB!

The Theisens, Rosemount, MN

I could not have asked for a better experience. Craftsmanship was top notch, scheduling was excellent, response to customer’s concerns/questions-excellent!

Tom Smith, Lakeville, MN

This is the third time we have used JBDB on our homes so it is obvious the trust we place in them to help us realize our vision for our homes. They listened to our ideas, and then in collaboration with us turned those ideas into reality. The whole process from beginning to end was handled professionally and smoothly. We would definitely recommend JBDB to anyone looking to update their home.

- Homeowners,

Every step of the project was itemized and scheduled. The schedule was followed like clockwork. The finished product is beautiful and was completed on time.

Doug Andersen, Apple Valley, MN

When our friends enter our new space, their reaction is wonderful. They gasp when they see how beautiful everything is and what a difference it makes. “You have a new home” is the constant refrain.

The Martins, Apple Valley, MN

Thank you so much for the extra efforts you and your team displayed in fixing someone else’s mistake. Your “Lead by Example” attitude is truly exceptional. Thanks to the JBDB team, we've received many many compliments!

Jay Micholic, Rosemount, MN

Anyone that provides customer service on such a high level and pays attention to the smallest detail (even setting our clock) is someone who will go the extra mile and do exceptional work. It's awesome to be working with JBDB!

Susie Smith, Lakeville, MN

Each year “Remodeling Magazine” recognizes 50 companies who have set the standard for professionalism and integrity through smart marketing, exemplary business practices, unique design, and extraordinary impact in their community or the industry at large. We are proud to include James Madsen, of James Barton Design-Build, as one of our Big50 inductees.

Sal Alfano, Editorial Director, Remodeling Magazine

James was extremely knowledgeable and listened to our issues,” said the homeowners. “We liked the advantage of having a full design before building to maintain timelines and budget, and we didn’t want to project manage the construction or different components of the build. Throughout the design process, we learned more about how JBDB operates and felt confident the job would be completed exactly like we envisioned.

Elise and Brian, Edina, MN

Emily, Ryan and Troy were great to work with though our entire project! The project commenced and finished on the dates established by Troy, adjusting the schedule where necessary to accommodate all of the variables involved with an assignment like ours! We could not be happier with our end product and cannot wait to work with this team again on our next home improvement project!

Tarrah & Dan, Chanhassen, MN

View Project

I can’t say enough about how impressed we are with James Barton Design-Build. I never had any doubt about the quality, but I didn’t expect to feel so comfortable with the amazing team you gave us.

Kevin & Jennifer Bollum, Apple Valley, MN

Two-story home exterior with elevated deck and landscaped backyard

The truth is, awards are really more for our homeowners than they are for us. They’re the ones who made the award possible by bringing us their dreams and by placing their trust in our work.

James Madsen, Owner & President, James Barton Design-Build

Modern bar seating area with floating shelves

Outstanding from beginning to end, we were impressed with the quality of work, attention to detail, professionalism, communication, and responsiveness by everyone on the JBDB team.

The Lees, Apple Valley, MN

Rosemount lower level remodel with pool table and entertainment center

When James Madsen heard the Chamber was considering moving into new offices, he offered to build a new conference room and storage room at no cost to the Chamber. The following year, he built an addition to the community center. This year, he provided a daycare in a building he co-owns and helped them purchase and install a new playground. True philanthropy is when you just do what is right and needed without asking for notoriety.

Ed Kearney, President, Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce

High end, luxury kitchen remodel from James Barton Design Build in Minneapolis

Teamwork is paramount at James Barton Design-Build. There’s no room for egos here, no finger pointing, no passing the buck. Just a total focus on working together to take care of our clients: resolving issues to deliver the products of their dreams with minimal problems.

James Madsen, Owner & President, James Barton Design-Build

This is the 4th project we’ve done with JBDB – they are an excellent company to work with and all their employees are great people as well as professional! Such a great team!

The Kauls, Burnsville, MN

Newly remodeled white kitchen with black accents and appliances

Very well done project! JBDB is a great group of people to have working in your home. They get it done and on time!

John and Keri, Apple Valley, MN

It was a fantastic project! The job John did getting all the subcontractors lined up was awesome. The project flowed so nicely. There were no problems that the JBDB team could not resolve!

Dan Cuka, Farmington, MN

We have followed your projects for at least 5 years & based on what we saw expected great work, but you EXCEEDED our expectations! Every detail met with our satisfaction. The entire team was fantastic!