The dwelling is a notable example of Prairie School architecture, featuring a long, narrow floor plan that disregards Victorian concepts about room divisions.

William Purcell and partner George Elmslie collaborated on the house, designed for a narrow, 50- by 150-foot city lot[3] near Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, Minnesota; construction costs totaled $14,500.

[5] William Purcell and his wife, Edna, conceived plans for a permanent home in 1911, while they were residing in an apartment building on Humboldt Avenue in Minneapolis.

In 1919, Anson Bailey Cutts Sr. (1866–1949), a chief rate clerk with the Great Northern Railway, purchased the Edna S. Purcell house.

[12] Occupying a deep, narrow lot, the plan of the house was organized on a single axis, open from one end to the other, evoking spaciousness within the relatively small interior.

Purcell and Elmslie set the house thirty feet behind the front property line, conserving a sense of privacy for its inhabitants and allowing them to look over their neighbors’ gardens to their north and south, rather than through their windows.

The back porch overlooked the Lake of the Isles, where the Purcells could enjoy a secluded natural haven in the center of Minneapolis, in concordance with Prairie School ideals.

[14] Its overall design and decoration emphasizes a clean, modern aesthetic while serving practical functions and staying in harmony with natural surroundings.

Overhanging eaves, with a 7-foot projection of the roof at the front (east) side of the house, emphasize the building's horizontality while also regulating heat and light at its entrance.

[15] The exterior features ornamentation created by George Elmslie, including bands of red and blue stenciled square motifs and sawn wood elements.

[22] Several noteworthy built-in furnishings include a combined bench and radiator cover beneath the front living room windows; a desk in the writing nook; and a combined bed, writing desk, bookcase, and storage area in the children's room, which Purcell designed after the Pullman-style bed of a train's sleeping car.

The Purcell home had a telephone nook, an electric call system for the maid, and a spring-loaded pocket door to the kitchen, activated through buttons in the floor.

[24] In 1961 letter, Purcell expressed his gratitude to Edna Cutts for opening her home to students and voiced the desire to have a share in any attempts to restore the house or make it public.

The suite is now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art,[27] renting the space to young couples at low rates, and allowing regular public entry.

[28] Though Purcell's plans did not come to fruition in his lifetime, Anson Cutts Jr.’s bequest of the house, along with funds for its restoration, led to a 3-year-long undertaking (lasting from 1987 to 1990) by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts with the firm of MacDonald & Mack Architects.