Kyle Huberty’s enthusiasm is contagious. “He’s really good at making unfun situations fun,” says David Rollyn Powell, his closest childhood friend and surf buddy. A people person if ever there was one, Kyle, an architect at Minnesota firm RoehrSchmitt, along with his wife, Elsie, a clothing designer, purchased a 112-year-old Saint Paul duplex in 2017, set on bringing that same energy to communal living.

In turning the second level of the garage behind their duplex into a multifunctional workspace without breaking the bank, Kyle Huberty relied on friends, family, and the community at large." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Kyle Huberty" photoUserId="6765500314818269184"/>

Fast forward to today and theirs is a full house—and still growing. Best pal David, an illustrator and graphic designer, moved in, along with his wife, Morna, a clothing maker and product designer who also happens to be Elsie’s younger sister, as well as their Australian cattle dog, Trout. In October 2020, the Hubertys welcomed a daughter, Birdie Lou. The Powells are expecting their first child this spring.

Before the pandemic hit, the Powells were often van-living on the West Coast, where David does a lot of his work (and, of course, surfing). But suddenly they were all home full-time, working, and one of them pregnant. So Kyle decided to retrofit the garage behind the house into a “creative escape” that would help the cohabitants set healthier work/life boundaries.

As it stood, the garage’s second level was little more than a dark, empty storage room with two dinky windows—framed but not insulated. But Kyle had big plans for an overhaul, finding inspiration in the work of Scandinavian modernists like Alvar Aalto.

He describes his vision as “wine taste on a beer budget”: natural light, real wood (no MDF here), and a subtly curved ceiling. With help from his housemates, Kyle got busy, tackling the refurb during his 12-week paternity leave. “Kyle is the dreamer,” David says. “We’re just the executors.”

Kyle scrimped by purchasing double-pane Marvin windows and enamel light fixtures from Bauer Brothers Salvage in Minneapolis, visiting a dump in St. Paul where he stumbled across discarded patio pavers, and scouring Facebook Marketplace for a deal on a secondhand cast-iron Jøtul stove.

“We wanted to make it feel like a surf shack. It was important to us to have a low-key, slow, easy lifestyle.”
—Kyle Huberty, architect and resident

When the price of wood shot through the roof because of supply-chain shortages, it nearly killed the project. But along came another Marketplace score: a gold mine of Douglas fir from a decommissioned munitions plant in Minnesota, some of which had been stockpiled in a Wisconsin garage for nearly 40 years. That many of the heavy-tongued boards were stained with oil from the boots of World War II bullet makers only added to their appeal.

The resulting 600-square-foot studio is snug but inviting—much like a Minnesota cabin with a surf-shack vibe. The crackling warmth of the woodburning stove hits you the moment you walk in, and there’s even a hot tub on the deck, which Kyle insists makes the local bitter winters more tolerable.

Although the studio is compact, it serves everyone in the creative coven. Elsie has her industrial straight-stitch machine, small serger, and pattern-cutting table, while David and Kyle have a desk where Morna, who works part-time in the space, occasionally joins them. A hammock hangs from hardware anchoring the trellis. “When two functions align—that’s the umami,” says Kyle.

made of second-hand Douglas fir cleverly conceal a built-in closet next to the mini kitchen." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Kyle Huberty" photoUserId="6765500314818269184"/>

Budget-Saving Highlights

Gallery Wall: The gallery wall, illuminated by track lighting mounted on the room’s center beam, features imagery shot mostly by Kyle. The photos include sand dunes in Morocco and cold-weather surfing on Lake Michigan.
Mini Kitchen: A small kitchen by the entrance has a vintage fridge, purchased at an estate sale. A Husky workbench with double drawers serves as a kitchen countertop.
Office Chairs: Soft-padded leather-and-chrome office chairs by Laura Davidson were purchased secondhand from a local design studio that gave up its physical office during the pandemic.
Computer Desk: The oversize computer desk was scrapped together with leftover wood and mounted on a wheeled Husky base. It was designed to fit two people but easily accommodates more. “Our friends know this spot is an open seat,” says Kyle. “That’s part of the vision: People can come here when they need an office.”

The project was not without its challenges. Kyle and David struggled to sheetrock the curved ceiling and eventually had to start over, calling in a drywaller friend, Taylor Roby, to help finish the plasterwork. A spray foam insulation gone terribly wrong wound up being one of the biggest line items in an otherwise scrappy budget. “We learned why you do not hire cheap labor,” says Kyle. “What a mess.”

In the end, Kyle, who now has a design firm of his own, succeeded in making a space where people could hang out and spitball ideas. “It’s about feeding our creativity and passions,” he says. “I don’t care if the studio is imperfect as long as we’re all here, making fun things.”

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Kyle Huberty / @kylehuberty

Drywall Installation: Taylor Roby

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Budget Breakdown: Four Minnesota Housemates Turn Their Dingy Garage Into a Workspace for $26K