The result is a three-bedroom, well-crafted retreat with unique features that blend metal, wood, stone and glass. “We stretched them with a few things, but they kept working on it.” “They were good collaborators,” Tim says. “It was our job to take these ideas and combine them with a floor plan that worked on the property, and for the Brays’ lifestyle.” “Tim and Cindy came to us with lots of ideas,” Balmer recalls. “A lot of what we like in design attributes comes from visiting her.” Lands End worked hard at getting the exact look and feel the Brays wanted. “Our daughter, Erin, lives in Colorado,” Cindy says. The design of the new cabin mixes mountain and lake home styles.

“It was, at times, a dark and cold experience,” Cindy recalls. It got really cold in the fall, especially when the contractors came very early in the morning and didn’t leave until well after dark sometimes even working by truck headlights.

While Cindy was glad to be involved in the construction process, it was a little rough for her with only an outdoor shower for six months. As an added bonus, it usually provides great pride and satisfaction as well.” “These homes always represent the homeowner and how they live, which is so important for lake retreats. “While we often do the design and build of homes with limited involvement from the homeowners, it is frequently the projects that have heavy homeowner involvement that are the most fun for us as a company,” says Matt Balmer, co-owner of Lands End Development. Having Cindy on site allowed the contractors to get immediate answers to questions only a homeowner could answer. So in 2008, the Brays took on the building of a new cabin, using the services of Lands End Development, a custom home builder located in Crosslake.įrom June’s teardown to final construction detail on December 1 of that year, Cindy stayed in the cabin’s bunkhouse to help facilitate the building process. However, at only 800 square feet, the cabin didn’t offer enough space for extended visits with family or friends. Cindy made an abundance of memories there, both as a child and as an adult with her husband, Tim, and their three children. But it was the rebuild that put them over the moon with their retreat.Ĭindy’s father bought the original cabin in 1978. Paul, have always been passionate about their cabin near Crosslake, Minn. And you know that somehow through the design, construction and décor, both inside and out, your cabin conveys your particular identity. If you’re like most cabin owners, you feel pretty passionate about your cabin. Photos by Rick Hammer, Courtesy Lands End Development

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