Antique Touches

A Cotswold cottage breathes new life into reclaimed treasures.

By Amy Nyvall

Published: July 1, 2009

Photo by Amy Nyvall

Mingling old and new has been a hobby for Lee and Jane Christofersen since they married nearly 40 years ago. Their love for antiques grew even deeper when they started buying and selling the fascinating treasures they found. Not always entirely sure to whom they would sell the antiques, Lee and Jane often just collected the prized pieces for themselves.

Even their lakeside haven in Detroit Lakes, Minn., was nearly an antique. Jane grew up vacationing in her parents’ century-old cottage and eventually brought her children there too. Finally, she and Lee bought it from her parents in 1980. “I tried everything to find a way to winterize the cottage and keep it as it was,” Jane says. “We knew we might like to retire here.” But, in the end, it was more practical to tear down and rebuild on the sandy-shored property of Lake Melissa.

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