The great room, entrance, and original master bedroom are to be fully restored, including all the custom millwork, floors and lighting, the wood wall paneling and furniture. The kitchen is relocated, creating a discrete dining room within the hexagonal tower. Working from Wright's commitment to communal gathering spaces, a new modern kitchen is framed as a second hearth. New doors link the kitchen to the great room via the terrace, restoring Wright’s original intent. The southern bedroom is fully restored and becomes a guest suite. The addition is primarily a master suite wing, with a buried, conditioned garage below. ADA access is provided from the garage to both the original house and the new master suite.
[The Olfelt House] features one of his great rooms with a stunning wall of wood-framed windows that offers a view over a swamp. And the built-in dining table is cleverly designed. The sloping roof over the carport is visually arresting, and the entry to the house incorporates Wright’s characteristic low hall opening to the large room - a spatial experience architects call “compression-release.” But the bedroom wing was a series of monk-like rooms arrayed along a narrow corridor made more unappealing by the tall built-in cabinetry that allowed for only narrow high windows into a bunker-like berm. If new owners were required to keep such a bedroom wing, it would be highly likely they would choose to demolish the house instead. So, the fact that someone was willing to buy the house, take on the challenge of renovating the desirable parts of the house and make the rest of it livable seems like only good architecture news. Linda Mack, former Star Tribune architecture reporter and critic