June/July 2012 - Coulee Region Women Magazine

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The moDeRn home
A Modernist La Crescent home features river views and its homeowners’ vision.
BY MAUrA Henn
Photos by Jaimie Sullivan of Forever Photography by Jaimie rose
Jim Stansfield is a man of passion. He loves his Midwest
heritage, his family, artists and cars. When the opportunity to
combine these things into one of his dreams, building a Modernist
home, he and his partner, Kathy Mickelson, jumped at the challenge.
Finding the right site was essential. Stansfield wanted this house
near the main channel of the Mississippi River. After searching
surrounding communities bordering the river, the perfect place
became available on Shore Acres Drive between La Crosse and La
Crescent. The winding path leading to it, sheltered on either side by
marsh plants and trees, gives the feeling of being far out in the country,
but around the bend, several residential homes become visible, each
nice, but relatively traditional. When you see Stansfield’s house, you
know it, because you have never seen anything like it. Part Seussian
castle, part midwestern barn, with a cream-colored exterior giving off
a warm glow, this house instantly tells you how special it is.
something reminiscent of a riverboat
The site had several renovations before the house could be built.
First, the original home on the site had to be razed. After the original
40 JUNE/JULY 2012 www.crwmagazine.com
house was gone, the ground beneath it was raised four-and-a-half feet
to keep the new house safe from flooding.
Stansfield is the first to explain this project was not possible alone.
Architect Jim Weiss was instrumental in bringing the vision to life.
Weiss created a physical miniature model incorporating Stansfield’s
love of the river and Mickelson’s interest in old farmhouses. These
elements are expressed in the slanting roofs, a round garage and jutting
silo-shaped tower, but as you turn the model counterclockwise and
see the protruding roof and rounded edges and arches, what begins
to appear is something reminiscent of a riverboat. Weiss seamlessly
combined these two romantic midwestern archetypes; the merging
of these two ideas mirrors the relationship between Stansfield and
Mickelson. It’s clear this house would not be what it is without their
affection for each other. “The idea of this house was very much a work
in progress, but was also truly an adventure,” Mickelson explains.
Stansfield and Mickelson were high school sweethearts, but like
many things in youth, the connection was fleeting. “She sent me a
Dear John letter,” says Stansfield with a glimmer in his eye. Mickelson
goes on to explain that over the next 38 years, they both married