Mpls.St.Paul Magazine - Home & Design Spring '24 by

HOME

& DESIGN Refresh!

ELEVATED IDEAS TO REINVENT YOUR ROOMS

SPRING 2024

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HOUSE. HOME.

Curious? Scan this code to see what’s coming soon:

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unfoldarchitecture.com

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things to do this weekend

Skip the google search and go straight to

getting your groove on.

CAITLIN ABRAMS

Your go-to source for what to do in the Twin Cities—only at calendar.mspmag.com

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HOME

& DESIGN Jayne Haugen Olson EDITOR IN CHIEF Shelly Crowley PUBLISHER Kelly Ryan Kegans EDITOR, HOME & DESIGN Michael Norseng CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Rebecca Rowland EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kelsey Head DEPUTY CREATIVE DIRECTOR

EDITORIAL

EDITOR AT LARGE, HOME & DESIGN Nicole Crowder ASSOCIATE EDITOR Madison Bloomquist CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Madeline Nachbar DIGITAL EDITOR Peter Diamond INTERNS Ella Anderson, Joey Erickson, Saija Maki-Waller COPY EDITOR Ruthie Nelson

DESIGN

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Laurie Hawton STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Caitlin Abrams CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Jill Adler

ADVERTISING SECTIONS/ BRANDED CONTENT

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lisa Rounds ASSOCIATE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jamie Korf ASSOCIATE EDITOR Natalie Larsen

ADMINISTRATION

•

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Anne McPhillips CREDIT MANAGER Dave Gschlecht NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR Joey Mele HELPDESK Jon Magadance

Irene Peterson SENIOR DIRECTOR INTEGRATED SALES

SALES & MARKETING

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kim Birkland, Jill Erickson, Amy Koliner, Amy Lindmark DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & PARTNERSHIPS Holly Dyson CLIENT RELATIONS SPECIALIST John Lyberg DIGITAL STRATEGIST Danielle Smith DIGITAL CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR Teague May SALES INTERN Madison Whipps

CREATIVE SERVICES CREATIVE DIRECTOR Katie Shaw

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Bea Jaeger MARKETING DIRECTOR Colleen Puent

DELIVERY SYSTEMS

SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER Josh Allen PRE-MEDIA SUPERVISOR Bill Sympson PRINT PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Paul Marihart PRE-MEDIA ASSOCIATE Aries King

DIGITAL & WEB DEVELOPMENT

SENIOR SPECIALIST, DIGITAL SYSTEMS Lauri Loveridge WEB DEVELOPER Ricky Hannigan

HOW TO REACH US

Letters to the editor, writer inquiries, and story ideas edit@mspmag.com Editorial internship program intern@mspmag.com • Job opportunities jobs@mspmag.com Advertising and sponsorship inquiries salessupport@mspmag.com New subscriptions mspmag.com/subscribe Current subscriptions mspmag.com/customercare • Subscription inquiries 800-999-5589

953 Westgate Dr., Ste. 107, St. Paul, MN 55114 | 612-339-7571 | mspmag.com CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & GENERAL COUNSEL Vance K. Opperman • CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Charles F. Thell PRESIDENT MSP COMMUNICATIONS Nathaniel Opperman CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Mary Authier • VICE PRESIDENT/FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION John Bienias PRESIDENT, CITIES MEDIA GROUP Jayne Haugen Olson • PRESIDENT, MSPC AGENCY Deborah Hopp PUBLISHER, MPLS.ST.PAUL Shelly Crowley • PUBLISHER, TWIN CITIES BUSINESS Shelly Elmore VICE PRESIDENT/CONTENT, CITIES MEDIA GROUP Allison Kaplan © 2024 MSP Communications.

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CONTENTS

Departments 14

EDITOR’S NOTE

INSIDER Local shops, fun ﬁnds for teatime entertaining, and new books by local authors—just in time for Mother’s Day.

LOOKBOOK Timeless heirloom goods that will outlast changing trends.

IN THE STUDIO Ceramic artist

Ginny Sims transformed her tree-houseesque backyard building into a seasonal showroom—take a peek inside.

Blue sapphires and diamonds light up heirloom earrings, page 26

STYLE SCOUT A bland 1980s dining

room gets a dramatic and moody refresh.

CREATIVES IN CONVERSATION

Entrepreneur Houston White talks with editor-at-large Nicole Crowder about the ways retrofuturism is fueling his creative and community ventures.

DESIGN KNOW-HOW Gardener and author Meg McAndrews Cowden pushes the boundaries of the growing season at her edible landscape in Orono.

Features 48

TRUE COLORS

Alex West Steinman’s Minneapolis home gets a joyful refresh thanks to her network of women entrepreneurs who helped make it happen.

THE LONG GAME

Pretty prints and tailored textiles mingle in a young family’s new Orono home.

PAST MEETS PRESENT

Designer Kristen Veenstra reimagines her house with warmth and depth through handcrafted touches with minimal ornamentation.

A NEW VIEW

In Uptown, a bachelor’s condo channels the design details of vintage Italian cars.

WOODLAND WONDER

A Wisconsin cabin cleverly packs character into every inch of its small footprint.

Alex West Steinman’s colorful Minneapolis reno, page 48

on the cover: Earthy materials and handcrafted touches warm up the renovated Hopkins home of interior designer Kristen Veenstra, page 62. photograph by alyssa lee

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SPRING 2024

PHOTO S BY WIN G HO ( HOUSTO N W HITE , CON D O) ; C OURTESY O F T HE LO UP E ( EARRIN GS ) ; B E T H AN Y B I R N I E ( ALE X W E S T S T E I N M AN ) ; S PAC E C R AF T I N G ( PAN T RY)

MSP HOME & DESIGN

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Editor’s Note

A STORY ABOUT THE IDEA OF NOSTALGIA and how the feeling can be mentally beneficial recently caught my attention. The Washington Post article, written by Richard Sima, notes that the concept of nostalgia is a “complex emotion that is innately human and felt frequently by people of all ages and across cultures.” Sima cites studies that suggest people feel more socially connected by nostalgia and it can be important to a person’s mental well-being. Certainly, memories of conversations, events, music, and TV shows (how many of us rewatch Seinfeld episodes even though we can recite them word for word?) can easily conjure this emotion. But just as often, physical objects also evoke nostalgia. Sima’s cites researchers who suggest that people in ancient civilizations used the old tools of their predecessors (even though making new ones would have been easier) because the primitive tools held emotional significance, serving as “memory objects.” I like that term: memory objects. No matter the design style, the objects that fill our living spaces have something to say about us—they help paint a picture of a personality. That’s one reason why we might hold on to treasured heirlooms or give a memento with little significance for others a pride of place, framed on the wall or propped on a shelf.

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SPRING 2024

K EL LY RYA N K EG A N S kkegans@mspmag.com Instagram @mspmaghome

P HOTO BY J . MARK KE GAN S

Nostalgic Notes

Memory objects appear throughout this issue. Some are subtle, like the scalloped built-in architectural details from a 1930s cabin that were echoed in a newly renovated cottage (page 74). “It lives like the original structure, with quirky elements that are part of the nostalgia and magic,” interior designer Lucy Penﬁeld says. Other examples are more overt. In Kristen Veenstra’s Hopkins home (page 62), the designer hung a famous reproduction image (which, by the way, is Minnesota’s official state photograph) in her dining room because it reminds her of a similar one in the Canadian home where she grew up. Entrepreneur Houston White references Black culture of the past as inspiration for the design of the many businesses and brands he’s created, including the color palette, art, and furnishings he infused into Camdentown Flats in north Minneapolis. “The thing I was attracted to was the regal nature of Black life in very difficult times,” White tells editor-at-large Nicole Crowder (page 36). “The ’60s and ’70s were so ﬂy. The music, the ways folks dressed...I don’t ever want to be trendy, but I always want to be on time and tap into the things that resonate most powerfully with me.” During the pandemic lockdown, Sima also notes, researchers found that experiencing nostalgia, even journaling about it, helped regulate emotions and provide comfort. That may serve as a good reminder when navigating what is likely to be another tumultuous year ahead. As Sima concludes, “Nostalgia can help us cope in uncertain times.”

MSP HOME & DESIGN

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MONACELLI

WHAT’S NOW, NEW & NEXT

ON OUR RADAR

FOUND NATURE

Insider

Documenting nature’s details (leaves, seedpods, and the like) close to her Shoreview home was all Mary Jo Hoffman set out to do when she started the creative exercise and her blog, STILL, 12 years ago. But in taking photos every day (“I haven’t missed a day,” Hoffman says), the simple and sometimes mundane became magniﬁcent. “To be that attentive to your environment, it snaps you out of autopilot,” she says. “It was a life enhancer that I absolutely did not want to quit.” In May, her efforts will culminate in the book STILL: The Art of Noticing (Monacelli, $60), which includes a section on microseasons of the north, inspired by a Japanese approach to seasons that divides the year into 72 ﬁve-day bursts. Visit mspmag.com/still for the full interview. —Shawn Gilliam

SPRING 2024

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MSP HOME & DESIGN

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two familiar faces in the local 4 design scene have teamed up on a new retail endeavor, Andie Collective. Founded by interior designer Beth Boucher and antiques veteran Andrew Schultz (who was a vendor at Loft Antiques), the new boutique oﬀers an assortment of antique and vintage pieces, with a smattering of new. 4601 Bryant Ave. S., Mpls., andiecolle.com

3 1 MARKET REPORT

LOCAL SCOUTING By Madeline Nachbar

Lake, the cozy 1,000-square-foot shop stocks both old and new goods sourced from markets, consignment shops, and estate sales across the country. “It’s something clients had been asking for for years,” McGauley says of the store. “It gives everyone the opportunity—regardless of budget—to take a little bit of Leona Rose home with them.” Find everything from grab-and-go gifts to furniture, lighting, art, and rugs to window treatments and paint samples. Psst: Word is McGauley is already looking to expand into a larger space to make room for more homewares. 4701 Banning Ave., White Bear Lake, leona-rose.com

interior designer Katie 2 Brandt has owned diﬀerent

having grown up on a safari 3 farm in South Africa, Kym Joles

iterations of studios and storefronts over the years. Most recently, she moved from Uptown to a lakefront space in Spring Park. Her new store acts as a design studio–meets– boutique filled with furnishings, art, décor, and pieces she finds on her travels. “I want people to come in and discover things that are unique and that you don’t see everywhere,” she says. Offerings include Stephen Wilson Studio trays, Eau d’Italie diffusers, Ginori 1735 porcelain, and hardware by P.E. Guerin. 4004 Shoreline Dr., Spring Park, katiebrandtinteriors.com

developed a love for entertaining and cooking with fresh ingredients at a young age. In 2022, she merged her culinary skills and background in textile and interior design to open The Fox and Pantry in Plymouth, a multifaceted coﬀee shop, retail store, cocktail bar, private event and dining venue, and workshop space with classes in ﬂoral design, fashion styling, and mixology. “I wanted to bring a concept rooted in experience and connection after losing so much of that in the pandemic,” says Joles. 15725 37th Ave. N., Plymouth, thefoxandpantry.com

SPRING 2024

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Above: A rotating menu of DIY classes is oﬀered at Plymouth’s multipurpose retail store, workshop space, café, and restaurant concept, The Fox and Pantry.

PHOTOS BY CAITLIN ABRAMS (1, 3, 4); COURTESY KATIE BRANDT INTERIORS ( 2 )

old soul” is how interior designer Kelly McGauley, owner of Leona Rose 1 “an Interiors, describes her new retail store. Now open in downtown White Bear

MSP HOME & DESIGN

SPONSORED CONTENT

A CONVERSATION WITH JIM & JEANNE MYERS OWNERS, TWIN CITIES CLOSET COMPANY

Q Why choose local? A We are Minnesotan and couldn’t be

prouder. As a local, independent, family business, we care deeply about making our clients’ experience positive from start to finish. We are truly innovative and solutionbased, with our clients always being our main focus. From design to installation, we deliver the highest quality products and services to our clients.

Q What is your process? A From the moment our clients

contact us, they are given the red carpet experience. We craft a custom design that fits their unique needs and lifestyle. Our expert designers meet clients in-home or at one of our showrooms in Minneapolis and Mound. Then, our engineering and manufacturing teams get to work at our Minneapolis facility to prepare the project for installation.

Q How does TCCC give back to the community?

A We’re proud to continue to grow after over 22 years in business, and we’re showing our thanks to our neighbors by giving back to our community. We give back each month by donating to local organizations selected by our team.

Q What keeps our clients coming back for more?

A Our product and reputation precedes us. The result of a new beautiful and functional space can be literally life changing. From the first phone call to the finished result, clients continue to come back to optimize every space in the home. Typically they start with their closets then continue on to the garage, pantry, office or most anywhere in the home. tcclosets.com

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NEW COLLAB

BRIA HAMMEL X CR LAINE

For Bria Hammel (left), it seemed only natural to collaborate with one of her favorite upholstery vendors: North Carolina– based CR Laine.

MUST READ

House Love

ä Ģäà ZĆŪĆĢú Dream with us at: MomsDesignBuild.com

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In his second book, author, HGTV star, Mona Williams owner, and “Laundry Guy” Patric Richardson steps out of the laundry room to teach people how to care for—and appreciate—their entire homes. House Love, out now from HarperCollins, takes readers on a home tour from entryway to garage, complete with cleaning, organizing, decorating, and care tips from Richardson and his longtime collaborator, Minneapolis-based author Karin B. Miller, plus laugh-out-loud anecdotes and memories from Richardson’s Kentucky childhood and current St. Paul home. “Sure, there are millions of resources to look for how to do things,” Richardson says. “The point of the book is to give you some things that maybe you didn’t know and to give you permission to do things the way you want”—and, he adds, to give yourself a little bit of grace, too, in one of his own favorite lines from the book: “Remember, only God sees under the sofa!” House Love ($28), HarperCollins, harpercollins.com —Madison Bloomquist

P HOTO BY C AITLIN ABRAMS (B OO K) ; CO URTESY BRIA H AMME L ( N E W C O LLAB) ; H OUSIN G FI R S T M N ( PAR AD E O F H O M E S )

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Mendota Heights–based interior designer Bria Hammel is unveiling a collaboration for the first time at spring ’s High Point Market. Hammel, who also founded Brooke and Lou (an online shop of home goods), is teaming up with CR Laine, an American upholstered furniture manufacturer, to introduce a capsule collection that reflects Hammel’s fresh, traditional aesthetic and wears well with today ’s modern livability. Shop the collection of silhouettes— beds, sofas, ottomans, and banquettes—and textiles through Brooke and Lou starting April 16. brookeandlou.com —M.N.

DON ’ T MISS

A fresh season calls for a fresh dose of inspiration. Be sure to bookmark Housing First Minnesota’s Spring Parade of Homes, returning in March with 380 new builds (and an additional 40 remodeled homes) spanning the metro from Big Lake to Faribault. Some trends to keep an eye out for? Modern Scandinavian interiors and exteriors are surging. Think: sleek lines, use of natural materials, and large windows, as are luxe community and neighborhood amenities like swimming pools and walking paths (and some are even serving up pickleball courts!). All homes on the tour are free of charge to enter, with the exception of six handpicked Dream Homes (three within Plymouth’s Hollydale neighborhood) for tourgoers to marvel at, each with a $5 entry fee beneﬁting and supporting the work of the Housing First Minnesota Foundation and families in need. March 8–April 7, paradeofhomes.org —M.N.

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HOUSING FIRST MN: SPRING PARADE OF HOMES

MARTINPATRICK3 STUDIO

BERNHARDT

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Interior design, fine home furnishing, and beautiful men’s and women’s apparel. Experience the classic and contemporary, brought artfully together.

A McDonald Construction home in Chaska boasts modern Scandinavian design touches.

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THE NORTH LOOP | MPLS | 212 3RD AVE N SUITE 106 | WWW.MARTINPATRICK3.COM

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NEW FOR 2024

Tour Dates

Spring Parade of Homes March 8-April 7

Fall Parade of Homes September 6-29

Spring Remodelers Showcase April 5-7

Fall Remodelers Showcase

HOME ENTERTAINING

SPILL THE TEA By Shayla Owodunni

Summer Artisan Home Tour June 7-23

Fall Artisan Home Tour October 4-20 Mpls.St.Paul Magazine is proud to be the 2024 media partner for the Artisan Home Tour.

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Pinkies up! Whether you’re hosting a book club, planning a brunch, or having a Mother’s Day celebration, we’ve gathered the goods for an elevated teatime table service. Might we also suggest an alternative to traditional tea sandwiches? Chowgirls Catering in Minneapolis (chowgirls.net) created this shareable board made with bread and hand-rolled butter (the Chowgirls use butter from Farmhouse Kitchens Cooperative in Wisconsin). “Soft, spreadable butter creates an excellent palette for the table,” says Amy Brown, Chowgirls co-founder. “Adorn with fresh herbs, interesting spices like crushed pink peppercorns, and edible flowers to tie your color scheme into your tablescape.” Pictured above: Pomegranate cotton tablecloth in Cactus Flower Red, $136 (60 × 120 inches), from Ampersand, Galleria, 952-920-2118, ampersandshops.com · Organic Silver Sprout loose-leaf tea, $14.50 for a 3 oz. bag, from La

Société du Thé, 2708 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612871-5148, teashop.us · Matte scallop white plate set (four dishes), $280, from J. Atelier, 875 N. 5th St., Mpls., 612-508-9143 · Small bowl, part of the Marietta five-piece tea service sold as a set, $78, from Anthropologie, multiple metro locations, anthropologie.com · Ceremonial-grade matcha, $45, matcha bowl, $49, and matcha whisk, $14, from River and Stone Tea and Northeast Tea House, 224 Hennepin Ave. E., Mpls., 612-3218215, northeastteahouse.com · M-Type stacking porcelain white teapot set with built-in strainer and teacups and saucers (not shown), $200, from The Foundry Home Goods, 110 5th Ave. SE, Mpls., 612-333-8484, thefoundryhomegoods.com · Vintage Wedgwood basalt teapot, $165, and sugar bowl, $132, in Egyptian Black, from Andie Collective, 4601 Bryant Ave. S., Mpls., andiecolle. com · Enamel 5.5-inch black teaspoon, $15, also from The Foundry Home Goods

Contributing editor Shayla Owodunni, owner of The Plant Penthouse, is launching a new business that includes etiquette workshops. Check out her latest Social Heirlooms classes at socialheirlooms.com.

P HOTO BY C AITLIN ABRAMS

September 27-29

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Desperately Seeking Sushi?

Insider

WE CAN HELP.

Visit Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s online restaurant guide to search more than 1,000 restaurants by neighborhood, price, cuisine & more.

mspmag.com/restaurantguide

MEET THE PRO

ORDER IN THE HOUSE Renee Brown had always dreamed of starting her own organization business. “I’m that person who declutters to de-stress,” she says. As a single parent working full time, launching her own company didn’t seem feasible. But when Brown, whose boys are now grown, was laid off last year after a long career in marketing, she decided to pursue that dream, with a focus on executive women. reneebrownorganizing.com Why did you decide professional women would be your niche? I see high-achieving women killing it at work but struggling with their home spaces—whether that’s too much stuff or not having systems—and it leads to overwhelm.

What are some ways to get started tackling the closet? Set up labeled boxes or bags for Donate, Sell, Recycle, and Toss. I recommend starting with speciﬁc categories such as socks, bras, and underwear. Also, think about why you aren’t wearing items—is it the color, is it too tight in the arms, would you buy it again? The important thing is to just start. We’re working toward progress, not perfection.

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P HOTO BY C AITLIN ABRAMS

What are some of the pain points for women? Their closets are a time capsule of sorts—bridesmaid dresses, executive suits before work-fromhome times, pre-pregnancy and/or pre-perimenopause outﬁts. We believe we should be able to wear the clothes we did when we were younger, but for most of us, that’s not possible. Women’s bodies go through so many changes.

PHOTOS BY SPACECRAFTING

IF YOU APPRECIATE the luxury of living close to nature yet still near the cities, come out to White Oaks Savanna just west of Stillwater. This unique, architecturally-driven community on 200 acres of lush prairie features 30 home sites, each with five to seven acres of land. Choose one of our award-winning architects and builders and we’ll help you select your perfect lot.

SCAN THE QR CODE FOR LOT AVAILABILITY AND PRICING.

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TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS UNIQUE, ARCHITECTURALLY-DRIVEN COMMUNITY, CALL 651-300-0129 OR VISIT WHITEOAKSSAVANNA.COM.

Lookbook

Heirloom Modern Elevate the everyday with timeless finds that defy trends and can be passed along to future generations. BY SHAYLA OWO D U N N I

PATTERN PLAY Print, pattern, texture, and light, all in one! “Gwenora” table lamp with hair-on-hide ﬁnish ($839), by Made Goods, from Traditions Classic Home Furnishings, 4245 Excelsior Blvd., Mpls., 952-285-2777, traditions.com

BIRDS OF A FEATHER Bird-watching takes on a new meaning with this pair of 18K yellow gold earrings. Marquetry blue bird earrings set with diamonds and blue sapphires ($5,280), by Silvia Furmanovich, from The Loupe at MartinPatrick3, 212 3rd Ave. N., Mpls., 612-746-5329, martinpatrick3.com

DRESS THE PART Prepare to turn heads in an off-the-shoulder fit-and-flare silhouette. “Auden” organza midi dress in Alfresco Floral ($695), by Theia, from Dugo, 3939 Market St., Edina, 952-746-4440, dressupgoout.com. Pair your dress with the hand-stitched and free-formed “Mignonette” beret ($399), by Celina Kane, Northrup King Building, 1500 NE Jackson St., Mpls., celinakane.com

TRADITION WITH A TWIST

SCREENPLAY Flip the design script with a pair of digital prints on a double-sided screen ($14,495), by Christian Lacroix Maison, also from Roche Bobois.

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SPRING 2024

P HOTOS BY CAIT LIN ABRA MS AN D C OURTE SY O F N OTE D RETAIL ERS

Upholster a classic style with a fabric of your choosing. “Volubilis” chair ($2,200), from Roche Bobois, 6950 France Ave. S., Edina, 651374-8333, roche-bobois.com

MSP HOME & DESIGN

WINE PAIRING Cheers to mix-and-match stemware! Glasses by Estelle Colored Glass ($43 each), also from MartinPatrick3. Make a toast with alcohol-free wine. Blanc de Blancs ($28), by Oddbird, from Lucille’s Bottle Shop, lucillesbottleshop.com

NEATLY NESTED Serveware that looks good enough to eat. Nesting cabbage bowls ($38–$70 each) by Bordallo Pinheiro, from The Foundry Home Goods, 110 5th Ave. SE, Mpls., 612-333-8484, thefoundryhomegoods.com

BRUSHSTROKES Invite a fresh perspective to your walls with abstract art. She Dreams in Green oil on canvas ($12,250), by Morgan Mercer, morganmercer.com

CABINET FOR YOUR CURIOSITIES This solid oak cabinet is crafted to last. “Tolle” cabinet in Drifted Matte Black ($3,779), by Four Hands, also from Traditions Classic Home Furnishings.

TEXTURED FINISH Wrapped in raﬃa, this shapely piece is as chic as it is functional. “Wonderland” scalloped tray ($322), by Jamie Young, available through Francis King Ltd., IMS, Mpls., 612-604-0033, francisking.com

C OURTE SY O F N OTE D RETAIL ERS

FULLY BOOKED Inspiration worth reading cover to cover (or just for the cover!). Coﬀee-table books ($45–$80), also from Traditions Classic Home Furnishings

COAT CHECK Buttoning up just became more fun—inside and out. Woven ﬂoral coat in soft rose tan ($1,090), by Marc Cain, also from Dugo.

SPRING 2024

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MSP HOME & DESIGN

In the Studio

Ginny Sims A tiny house in the ceramic artist’s Minneapolis backyard—largely inspired by the homes and studios of artists she loves—becomes its own work of art. BY S H AW N G I L L I A M

olorful cups, candlesticks, pitchers, and plates—many in shapes and with small painted scenes inspired by Staffordshire pottery from England—have brought Minneapolis artist Ginny Sims attention from collectors around the world. And while she’s best known for her distinctive ceramics, her family’s home in the Bancroft neighborhood of south Minneapolis has come to serve as a canvas for her creativity, too. Small hand-painted pendants she made hang in the kitchen, where walls are painted fuchsia, while upstairs the hallway is royal blue and the primary bath is emerald green. These and other bright colors combine with the 1912 home’s original woodwork for a cozy, cabin-y feel. “It’s kind of like a hobbit house, and it’s got some issues,” Sims laughs. “We love it.” But it’s what she calls the “tiny house”—a backyard structure that serves as her showroom in spring, summer, and fall, just steps from her main-house basement studio—where Sims feels especially free artistically. Built by friends who owned the property until she and her husband, Adam Burchard, bought it a little more than ﬁve years ago,

▼ Artist Ginny Sims welcomes visitors to her tree-house-esque showroom (left). The space has electricity but no eﬃcient means for heat, so it’s only open when the weather gets warm. Sims’s work (right) includes her trademark cups inspired by traditional English Staﬀordshire pottery.

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“At Mia, there’s this little room called the Frankfurt Kitchen that’s a model of a post–World War I German kitchen. I love that little room, and I thought about it when making my little room, too.” – ginny sims the structure originally housed guest quarters with a bed, desk, and lamp. “But through the pandemic, when we had it, it went through many iterations,” Sims says. “Is it the playroom? Can it be an office?” That’s when genius struck: It could be a showroom for her ceramics. (Although Sims primarily sells online, where pieces are snapped up in seconds, she loves selling in person to local buyers.) “So, we glammed it up a little bit with some real linoleum tiles in gold and green, and we painted the walls white so that I could paint back over them with fun colors,” she says. In the past, in other spaces, Sims has painted “perspective situations, where there are chairs and hallways drawn on the walls,” the walls here are too small, and each has a window. “So, it ended up being my daughter and me

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In the Studio

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Clockwise from top left: A hand-painted sign points the way through a narrow side yard to the backyard showroom. · White walls allow for all kinds of colorful designs, including free-flowing plants Sims and her daughter painted. “It’s a work in progress, always,” she says. · An antique sink (not shown) and farmhouse-style table provide plentiful display space. “I also built some funny shelves and a plate rack that hint at it being a little bit of a house,” Sims says.

AN ARTIST’S TRIP OF A LIFETIME August 25, 2023, is a date Ginny Sims won’t soon forget—the evening she set the table using her pottery for a special dinner in the kitchen at Charleston in Sussex, England, once a sanctuary for Bloomsbury Group artists and now a museum (right and below). Sims and Charleston director Nathaniel Hepburn hosted an editor from The World of Interiors magazine, the owners of the local bookstore, and other ceramics enthusiasts. “Every moment in every room, I was able to imagine life there,” Sims says. “It was surreal.”

C HARL ESTON P HOTOS COU RTE SY O F GIN N Y SIMS

painting some green plants and flowers,” Sims says. “That’s just a start.” Sims finds inspiration in artists who’ve taken similar steps, including renowned Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis, whose Painted House has been preserved and placed on permanent display at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax. “Just about every inch was covered with paintings by her,” says Sims, who paid a visit while on a family vacation a few years ago. “She had a disability, so she had to hold her brush a certain way. But her work is fantastic—and so is her house. It’s probably about the size of my tiny house.” More recently, her yearning for inspiration from artists’ spaces took her family to England, where Sims spent two memorable stints earlier in her artistic journey, first as a potter’s apprentice and later as a Jerome Foundation grant recipient studying English factory ware. This trip took her to homes and haunts of Bloomsbury Group artists in Sussex: Monk’s House, where writer Virginia Woolf lived, and Charleston, the country home of painters Vanessa Bell (Woolf ’s sister) and Duncan Grant. Instagram initially connected Sims to Nathaniel Hepburn, the director of Charleston. “[Hepburn] went to dinner at the house of one of my collectors and saw a bunch of my cups in his cupboards and said, ‘Oh, I’m going to look this person up,’” Sims says. As luck would have it, Sims had just posted the front page of her annual sketchbook on Instagram. “It had a painting of Vanessa Bell on it, and he said, ‘Hey, I know her.’ And we began a conversation.” That and subsequent conversations culminated in a candlelit dinner served on Sims’s wares at Charleston last summer. (See “An Artist’s Trip of a Lifetime” at right.) The setting was fitting, with Bell’s flourishes, layered onto walls in the living room and other spaces, creating what House & Garden magazine in the U.K. has described as “a riot of imaginative decoration.” Says Sims, “Even though I’d seen a million pictures, it was better in real life.” The experience more than likely provided inspiration to last a lifetime, too, even if it manifests itself, at least for now, on a much smaller and simpler scale in her Minneapolis backyard. “It’s been pretty fun, as a physical experimental space, for me to think about things besides my small ceramic objects— bigger things,” she says.

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Style Scout

Gold Rush With the help of a local design team—and some statement color choices— a Bloomington family took their dining room from dated to dramatic. BY M A D I S O N B LO O M Q U I S T

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t’s no secret that most houses people buy aren’t turnkey dream homes. Often, homeowners make sacrifices—like opting for a 1980s build in a preferred school district when their style is more midcentury modern–chic. Over five years, designer and Stockwell Homes owner Jen Stockwell and lead designer and project manager Minda Ringdahl helped Bloomington homeowners Krista and Robert Rundle gradually transform their rooms, including their once dated dining room, into more personal spaces. “I always knew I wanted the dining room to be dark and moody,” Krista says. “I wanted the space to complement the bright living room across from it.” Stockwell avoided gutting the room’s footprint and worked with the golden oak–trimmed windows. “I don’t like to give people design whiplash,” she says. “If they walk into a clearly 1980s home and then, whoa, it’s an atomic midcentury home on the interior, that doesn’t quite work.” In the end, the designers’ balanced approach also reflected the 2020s and modern life elements. Here’s how they did it.

BEFORE

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Style Scout

ELEMENTS OF THE LOOK Jen Stockwell and her design team share seven tips for transforming a ho-hum room into a dramatic jewel box.

Gilded Gold by PPG Paints

1. START WITH A STATEMENT-MAKING SHOWPIECE The marbled wallpaper was one of the first elements homeowner Krista Rundle and the Stockwell Homes team chose, since they knew a statement piece would affect the rest of the design. The goal was to find something mural-like and unique, but not so funky the Rundles would tire of it quickly. “There’s a pretty complex color palette throughout the home, but a lot of the colors that are in the wallpaper—magentas and teals— are sprinkled throughout the rest of the home, so you get this subtle repetition,” designer Jen Stockwell says. Marbled wallpaper in Teal (available to the trade), from Look Walls and Interiors, lookwalls.com

7. THINK IN 3D The luxe gold ceiling—Krista’s idea—is textured slightly to resemble gold leaf. “It blends with the golden oak in a way that there’s a oneness,” Ringdahl says. “The gold of the ceiling ﬂatters it in a way you wouldn’t expect.”

6. SHOP YOUR CLOSET Krista purchased the gold-base lamps on the buﬀet years ago at a vintage shop in Minneapolis, and including them in the design was a priority for her. “We’re big Frank Lloyd Wright fans, and they kind of have his water lily thing going on,” she says. “I’ve never had a place for them, but I love them.” The buﬀet holds her vintage china collection.

2. ADD A LITTLE LUXURY

4. GET PLAYFUL Finding the glass bauble chandelier was a love-at-ﬁrst-sight moment for Krista. “It’s like the jewelry of the space,” Stockwell says. “It plays well with the marbling of the wallpaper.” Julie Neill “Talia” chandelier ($2,529), from Visual Comfort and Co., 127 2nd Ave. N., Mpls., 612-255-3330

Cascades by SherwinWilliams

3. MAINTAIN YOUR ROOTS “Even though they really love midcentury modern design,” Stockwell says of the Rundles, “they really value and respect the woodwork in the home”—even if the golden oak wouldn’t have been their ﬁrst choice. “We worked to ﬂatter and not erase it.” Throughout the home, the Stockwell team sought out colors that complemented it, like the dining room’s teal paint, which also shows up in the family room and on the kitchen’s backsplash.

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5. BALANCE THE ENERGY In a small space, not every element needs to be the showstopper—so Stockwell and team went simpler when it came to the furniture in the room, all purchased from to-the-trade vendors (similar to chair and sideboard shown here). “Making them black was a strategic move,” designer Minda Ringdahl says. “We didn’t want to introduce more wood, with the golden oak.” Stockwell adds, “It’s very peaceful. Nothing’s ﬁghting against anything else.” “Emery” leather dining armchair (above, $1,595), from RH, 6801 France Ave. S., Edina, 952-206-6307; “Emerson” sideboard (left, $1,999), from Room and Board, 7010 France Ave. S., Edina, 866-401-7785

P HOTOS BY CH AD HO LD ER ( V IGN ET TE , C HAN D EL IER) ; OTH ERS COU RTE SY OF N OTE D RETAILE R S

Custom velvet draperies (see page 32) in the same teal shade found in the walls bring dimension and glam to the space without being visually overstimulating. “The tone-on-tone has this incredibly rich feeling,” Stockwell says.

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Creatives in Conversation

Legacy in the Making Designer, author, and entrepreneur Houston White is building brands and his future by bridging Black culture of the past with the present and future. BY NICOLE CROW DER

hat do you get when you cross a multi-hyphenate self-described retrofuturist with a serial entrepreneur from north Minneapolis who was born and bred to be cool? Houston White, designer, author, and founder of The Get Down Coffee Co., Camdentown Flats, and other ventures that span categories from fashion to beauty to building community spaces. Our editor-at-large, Nicole Crowder, visited with White inside the Camdentown Flats apartment complex that he built in north Minneapolis to talk about the seeds of his inspiration, which continue to grow into a legacy ﬁrmly planted in his hometown of Minneapolis. I recalled in an interview recently you called yourself a retrofuturist, and I wanted to explore that lens you’ve created

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for yourself and how that encompasses the work that you’re doing. That description started with trying to figure out a little bit of what my aesthetic was as a designer, because I started out building houses and making furniture. Then I realized that all these things were so similar. The thing I was attracted to was the regal nature of Black life in very difficult times. The ’60s and ’70s were so fly. The music, the ways folks dressed. So, I became really serious about trying to create a brand in 2014, and I don’t ever want to be trendy, but I always want to be on time and tap into the things that resonate most powerfully with me. Every time I see the “Phenomenal Woman” T-shirt I created—it’s timeless. But I also like the notion of Afrofuturism. I love color. This building—Camdentown Flats—is my personification of retrofuturism. It’s using yellow,

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Editor-at-large Nicole Crowder chats with Houston White inside the lobby of the Camdentown Flats apartment complex he designed and built in north Minneapolis. The wall art is a mix of custom screen-printed photographs.

P H OTOG R A P H S BY W I N G H O

and everything in here is digitally projected. All the photos in here—including the one of me cutting hair when I was 16—are part of the history of this place and my way of describing who I want to be and my legacy.

“I was born to build. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, and I understood that I didn’t have to be one-dimensional in my building or designing or creating. It’s multifaceted.” — houston white

There are many labels that are often put on you, such as “renaissance man,” “entrepreneur,” “activist,” “leader.” I also think of you like an archivist collecting these photos and experiences and using them as a reference for what you might create next. Oh my God, yes. Thinking of Black History Month and leaning into this concept of Black futurism—What were the people that we continue to study doing? Living lives where you’re being documented. That’s the way every day kind of is for me: How do we make this a little piece of history today? That can be everything from a conversation to capturing a photo—whatever it is that I’m collecting—but it always influences the next kind of work I’m trying to make. One of the many things that resonates with the work that you’re doing, for me, is the physical space making and building a holistic kind of community. What’s your process of taking something from your brain to figuring out the right time and/or collaborators to make it happen? The first thing is the mood board. I believe in trying to manifest ideas, and the first part of manifestation is either sketching it, drawing it, or grabbing a picture of an example of it. This, where we are today—it used to be a backyard where we hosted everything from crab boils to cigar parties, and it was private because we had 12 cypress bushes that [provided] perfect privacy. But it was a lot of space. I remember years ago saying, “What if there were three vertical condos there?”

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Style with scent.

Creatives in Conversation A tour of some of the spaces inside the Camdentown Flats apartment complex showcases White’s vision for creating comfortable live-work units, furnished with pieces from Target and Blu Dot (which partnered with White on the project), for young professionals. The rooms (left and below) feature small spaces that live large, without sacrificing on style. White also partnered with Best Buy to outfit the apartments with appliances, sound boxes, and record players (below left).

So, these ideas, they’re emergent, and they’re forever changing, but the thought is we have to use it differently than it is used now. And then you go through the process of iteration and ideation. It made more sense to have a nineunit building with a gallery versus just three houses. This building is nicknamed “A Different World” [a reference to the popular ’90s sitcom based on a ﬁctional Black university and its students]. It is deﬁnitely all about connecting these young professionals and getting them outside. We’re about intentionality. When we were designing the building, I said, “This has to have some retrofuturism going on, but what’s the color palette going to be?” We started looking at spices from West Africa and painted this entire building after spices like turmeric and cayenne.

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I feel that grounded, almost effortless nature in not only what you created but how you created it. How did you cultivate that? I don’t feel like I work a day in my life despite working extremely hard. A bird is designed to fly, and it flies naturally. I mean, that’s the goal of any person, right—to figure out what you are born to do and do it naturally. I was born to build. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, and I understood that I didn’t have to be one-dimensional in my building or designing or creating. It’s multifaceted. It doesn’t matter whether I’m building the coffee shop or building a building or a clothing brand or an enterprise. With your ever-growing enterprises, are there any future plans to develop a line of home goods products? No doubt. The rug we are sitting on is

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“All of the photos in here— including the one of me cutting hair when I was 16—are part of the history of this place and my way of describing who I want to be and my legacy.” — houston white

a sample of one product. Pillows and candles— this entire building is a part of what I plan on making, everything from coasters, photos, candles, custom art, all kinds of products that are in ideation. And with all that you have been building, where are you now creatively or mentally in terms of when you were starting out versus where you are today? I feel like I’m more mature creatively and extraordinarily patient and

confident. Along the journey, the confidence was more I think I’m doing it right, and then you get certain resistance. But now I’m certain because I’ve unlocked the code. I feel like I’ve cracked the cultural architectural code. I feel patient and confident and bullish because we’re entering into a culture where value truly is going to be derived from cultural fluency, and people expect that there’s more meaning behind the things that we create other than just more influence, more money. I feel calm in the work; I feel fulfilled on the daily, even though maybe I haven’t gotten to the big goal of, like, a 500-unit building or something. It will happen, just not today. It’s very rare that you hear from entrepreneurs words like patience and calm and slow, because of a societal pressure to be constantly doing versus flowing. Do you have any modalities or practices for calming or relaxing yourself that are not tied to work? I do very little without music in the background. It’s always kind of this grounding thing for me. It helps motivate me. You know how Minnesota is cloudy, but

you turn an album on and it’s sunny as hell outside. I cook most days [seafood and chicken are favorites] and try to eat what I love but in a healthy way. I do a lot of coffee barbecue sauces and coffee dry rubs. You speak so much about and so highly of Black culture, and I’m curious: Are there other cultures that also inform your design process or even how you live? Oh, Asian culture for sure. I started to study Buddhism, and I’m really big on the idea of trying to be one with oneself and what that means for the body and your core, like yoga and meditation. My best friend is German Irish, and Irish culture is so big on being festive and very connected, and I didn’t even realize that Irish folks and Black folks were so kin in spirit because of these equal kinds of hardships, with people coming together to make everything OK. I love that our differences as people make us understand one another better. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

D E D I C AT E D L I G H T I N G P R O F E S S I O N A L • E X T E N S I V E D I S P L AY • B U N D L E D I N C E N T I V E S • T R U S T E D D E S I G N E X P E R T S

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Design Close-Up: Edible Landscape

It’s Grow Time Author and edible gardener Meg McAndrews Cowden pushes the boundaries of growing seasonal vegetables in her sprawling Orono landscape. BY JAMES AU GUSTUS BAGGET T PHOTOGRAPHS BY TRACY WA LSH

Meg McAndrews Cowden knows a thing or two about growing food—especially about how to squeeze out a bounty of vegetables, fruits, and ﬂowers in the Upper Midwest’s relatively short growing season. The blogger and self-taught organic gardener is eager to share the secrets she’s learned while creating a 7,000-squarefoot edible home landscape composed of 26 garden beds in Orono. “I feel most alive when I’m off my phone and fully present in the garden,” Cowden says, “sharing the space with the insects and organisms that make it what it is, eating the best-tasting food on the planet right out of our own backyard every day of the year.” Cowden compiled the lessons she’s gleaned over the years into a book, Plant Grow Harvest Repeat: Grow a Bounty of Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers by Mastering the Art of Succession Planting (Timber Press, 2022). “I took my 1,000 or so Instagram posts—essentially little essays—and printed, categorized, and read them all,” she says. “The theme of succession planting popped out right away, and when I researched the topic, I was shocked that no one had ever dedicated an entire book to it.” After studying forest management and receiving a graduate degree in natural resource management from Oregon State University,

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We plan and plant our garden to have as many things in season at any point in time during the growing season— including flowers, vegetables, and fruit. — meg mcandrews cowden, homeowner, gardener, and author

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Cowden moved to Minnesota with her husband, John, for his work in 2003, thinking it would be a few-years stint. “Here we are, almost 22 years later,” Cowden says, “with very deep roots, including two teenage boys who consider themselves Minnesotans.” Cowden and her husband started the garden on their 2.5-acre property in 2016, beginning with deer fencing, a handful of raised beds, and a few espaliered fruit trees (John’s horticultural expertise). The landscape around their house has since become a botanical cornucopia packed with 1,500 square feet of perennial fruits (plus asparagus) and 2,300 square feet of annual flowers and vegetables—all cultivated in laborsaving raised beds. Last year, the couple har-

vested more than 1,500 pounds of produce, including at least 500 pounds of tomatoes. Cowden raises 156 varieties of vegetables, 37 varieties of flowers, 12 varieties of apples, and 13 varieties of blueberries, plus honeyberries, strawberries, pears, and apricots. “I absolutely love marveling at everything we can grow here,” says Cowden. “Our mindsets are framed to find what we lack, but if you stop and take it all in—especially in my garden, where I really push the boundaries and test the seasonality of long-season veggies—there’s actually not much we can’t grow in Minnesota. So there’s little zone envy, wishing I lived somewhere warmer with a longer growing season, because I can grow nearly everything I love here. And that’s more than enough.”

THINK VERTICALLY

Trellises like this one add vertical interest to the vegetable garden and make it more ergonomic, bringing rambling harvests of vining plants—like beans, cucumbers, melons, and squash— up to eye level. Many vining vegetables top out at around 6 feet in height, according to Cowden, the trellises add structure to the food garden and convert what might be visually monotonous into a more inviting space. The additional square footage also increases airflow around the plants, reducing pressure from fungal diseases.

RAISE IT UP

Meg McAndrews Cowden’s landscape is a labyrinth of raised beds surrounding a cheerful tomato-red storage barn. The raised beds allow herbs, flowers, and vegetables to cascade and can be heavily interplanted because they are sited in full sun without competition from overstory plants (and their roots). The results are breathtaking views and a highly productive food garden, thanks to the pollinators that are attracted to the blooming annuals.

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Design Close-Up: Edible Landscape

ENJOY THE BOUNTY Clockwise from far left: Pathways between the raised beds and the main garden paths are 30 inches wide for easy access to all sides of the beds. · Savoy cabbages are Cowden’s favorite form of garden art, and—since she plants new ones three or four times in succession—she grows them seven months of the year. · A single apple tree can produce more than 150 pounds of fruit at maturity. · Cowden’s spring harvest includes strawberries, kohlrabi, rhubarb, bush beans, and garlic scapes.

Meg McAndrews Cowden shares her tenets for creating a more bountiful garden. Plant in Succession: Cowden attributes her success to the practice of planting her crops in succession in raised beds. Rather than sowing rows and beds of vegetables in one weekend and then waiting a few months for maturation, she advocates a continuous cycle of planting, harvesting, and replanting. What’s more, the raised beds warm up earlier than the ground, giving her a jump start on spring. (She amends her raised beds annually with fresh compost, and she installed a drip irrigation system that’s set to run every other day for a half hour.)

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Provide Protection: Minnesota’s short growing season can be daunting even for the most intrepid gardener. “It can feel like an insurmountable challenge for all of us,” says Cowden, “with some vegetables lagging in late summer when we need them to ripen before the temperatures plunge. I’ve worked to curtail these challenges by using low tunnel hoops [to extend the season with protection from the cold] and timing each season eﬃciently.” She also relies on row coverings to help protect tender young seedlings until they are established.

Grow Organic: Cowden eschews the use of chemicals in her garden. “The thought of bringing them into the garden is just counterintuitive to me,” she says. “Maybe it’s the memory of the chem-lawns growing up, but the smell doesn’t evoke any sense of what a garden is. So, not only is it for environmental reasons, but it’s also for our health and the health of the little slice of earth we are stewarding— most importantly the insects, the bedrock of our entire ecosystem. We are nothing without them.”

PHOTO BY MEG MCANDREWS COWDEN (SPRING HARVEST )

SECRETS TO GROWING MORE FOOD

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Design Close-Up: Edible Landscape

SEED TO FORK Cowden (above) founded Seed to Fork, a gardening website specializing in “squeezing every last growing minute out of the short Northern climate here in Minnesota.” · Her new book (left), Plant Grow Harvest Repeat, is available worldwide. · Espaliered apple trees (far left) are trained to grow laterally and vertically, maximizing the growing space and saving room at the bases for herbs, strawberries, peppers, and eggplants.

5 EASY PERENNIAL EDIBLES

Strawberries: “June-bearing varieties make excellent ground cover and produce heavily for several weeks in their namesake month,” Cowden says. “Annual thinning of the sprawling plants is required for best productivity.”

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Rhubarb: “Grab a piece from a friend, and you’ll have a healthy and harvestable plant in a few years,” Cowden says. “Leave enough stems in summer so the roots can renew themselves for next year.”

Honeyberries: “These are blueberry adjacent without the fuss of needing acidic soils,” Cowden says. “These honeysuckle cousins produce in late June around strawberry season. Plant two because they need a pollinator. These are a relatively new edible, but so far highly disease resistant and easy to grow.”

Elderberries: “These are stellar for both humans and wildlife,” Cowden says, “and they make an excellent screen— especially the native variety, which can quickly exceed 8 feet in height and nearly as wide. There are many cultivars to choose from, too.”

Asparagus: “This is the earliest vegetable to harvest that you only plant once,” Cowden says. “Asparagus has deep roots and needs a permanent sunny home. Some weeding and the annual addition of compost is all you need to keep the spears poking up through that cool spring soil.”

S HUT TE RSTO CK ( PROD UC E)

Cowden’s picks for perennial fruits and vegetables that kick oﬀ the growing season early—and in tasty fashion. Best of all, since they return year after year, you only need to plant them once for years of harvesting. These are foods that are eaten best in spring, when fresh and from your own backyard.

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With a rich legacy spanning 48 years, Lake Country Builders stands as a distinguished luxury design-build and remodeler in the Twin Cities region. As a second-generation, familyowned and operated company, we embody a tradition of exceptional craftsmanship and unwavering commitment to customer service. Our expertise extends across remodeling and crafting custom homes in the Twin Cities, Greater Minnesota, and Northwest Wisconsin. We specialize in creating harmony between your home and lifestyle through innovative and functional designs, all delivered with a personal touch and reliable service. Our passion for building and remodeling is evident in our dedication to assisting clients in transforming their homes into personalized havens. At Lake Country Builders, we take pride in shaping spaces that resonate with your unique vision and lifestyle.

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Tom Henjum, President

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At Boyer Building Corporation, we’re full of them. Boyer Building has been a premier home builder and full-service remodeler in the Twin Cities area for over 70 years. Our company is steeped in a tradition of superior craftsmanship and our designs and attention to detail speak for themselves, as do our consistent list of referrals. Through remodeling and building custom homes, Boyer Building creates unity between your home and lifestyle by providing creative and functional designs coupled with reliable and personal service. Our extensive years of service has found us in many neighborhoods and homes in the area. We are grateful for the many opportunities, and we always look forward to the next project.

3435 County Road 101, Minnetonka (952) 475-2097 boyerbuilding.com

After

before

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Minneapolis homeowners Alex West Steinman and Matt Steinman and their children, Cooper (9) and Zoe (7), gather outside their front door. Mercury Mosaics owner Mercedes Austin set the tone for this ebullient home with a mosaic inside the front door—the pattern is Rise, and the palette is custom-blended.

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TRUE

colors

Alex West Steinman, co-founder of The Coven, collaborates with local women entrepreneurs to create a joyful and nurturing home for her family. BY LAURIE JUNKER

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BETHANY BIRNIE

ALEX WEST STEINMAN and her husband, Matt Steinman, never noticed the house that’s now their home in the Kenny neighborhood of Minneapolis. The one that drew their attention was across the street. “It used to have a pirate flag in the front yard, and we wanted to be the people in the pirate house,” she says. But the listing that came on the market was a dowdy one-and-a-halfstory with a formal layout and bland beige staging that made it feel lifeless. Still, it was on a bright corner lot with adequate square footage and a primary suite upstairs.

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The couple knew they could work with it, and Alex, co-founder of inclusive co-working business The Coven, knew who to call—her best friend and fellow Coven co-founder, interior designer Erinn Farrell. “Having spent nearly every waking hour together for the last seven years, I knew Erinn could take my half-thoughts and nonverbal cues and turn them into something beautiful,” she says. Farrell, in turn, recruited a few local female entrepreneurs she’d had her eye on—architect Joy Martin and mosaic artist Mercedes Austin, founder of Mercury Mosaics. “I knew these women would be able to intuit what Alex wanted and make this easy and joyful for Alex and Matt,” Farrell says. “We didn’t have to explain anything,” she adds. “They just got it.” The team’s goal was to translate the ethos and energy of the family into their new home and create a place where everyone would feel celebrated, cared for, and inspired, while adding more function. They needed a more efficient

kitchen and central spot for meals, board games, and homework; a mudroom with storage; a new home office; and easier access to the backyard. Martin and architectural designer/project manager Kayla Holzhauer streamlined the choppy layout by removing part of the living room wall and combining the kitchen and dining room into one open area with cooking on one side and a dining nook on the other—separate areas in a together space. “Matt and I are constantly sharing ideas, updates, and pickup schedules whenever we can, so walls don’t work in our world,” Alex says. Martin and Holzhauer also converted the too-hot-or-too-cold breezeway off the kitchen into usable space with an office, mudroom, and new sliding doors to the backyard.

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Bright color captures the spirit and generosity of the family, but Farrell carefully gave the vibrant hues a little breathing room so each could shine. Austin contributed the tile art in the house—which stemmed from a fortuitous sushi date with Farrell. Austin recalls, “I told her about this new tile pattern I was playing with and asked if she had a client who loved color so I could test-drive the concept.” That mosaic, Rise, is installed on the front entry wall—a splash of colorful hand-painted triangle tiles. Mercury Mosaics tiles also appear in Alex’s office. Alex says the home now feels more like them. “While we didn’t get the house with the pirate ﬂag, we bought the one across the street, painted it black, and, as a family of entrepreneurs, are basically pirates.”

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sum of its parts

“In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Shug Avery describes purple as a color you have to pause and appreciate. It’s also the color of Black royalty and dignity and a reminder that Black people have always been kings and queens,” Alex says. “I want my kids to remember that they are descendants of brilliant Black leaders, not only known for their struggles but for their contributions, power, and grace.” Designer Erinn Farrell considered the house a canvas and the colors a composition. “I wanted it to read as a work of art that allows you to zoom in and enjoy diﬀerent elements,” she says. The sofa and ottomans, from Blu Dot, mingle with Target barrel chairs in the living room. A painting by Minneapolis artist Leeya Rose Jackson hangs above the ﬁreplace. Wall art is by Lora Hlavsa, a Twin Cities artist. The purple wall color is Socialite by Sherwin-Williams.

The entry’s bench is built by Iron Roots Woodworks, a shop owned by Matt’s dad and brother.

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make a statement A coat of dark paint (Tricorn Black by Sherwin-Williams) and a lilac front door (Obi Lilac by Sherwin-Williams) gave this corner bungalow a bold confidence (right).

bold and bright Custom-painted navy cabinets and white countertops let the eyes rest as bright colors peacock in the new open kitchen. Red mesh Blu Dot stools and a limegreen back door (Center Stage by Sherwin-Williams) are playful pops of color. The dining nook (opposite) is a bright spot for meals, homework, and games with punchy wallpaper (Havana from Jupiter 10), pink velvet Blu Dot chairs, Sunbrella fabric on the banquette, and an Iron Roots Woodworks table.

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We love hosting dinners with people from diﬀerent parts of our lives, so we wanted the house to be the container for belly laughs and warm hugs.” — ALEX WEST STEINMAN, HOMEOWNER

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“This 40 square feet is one of my favorite spots in the whole house,” Alex says of her home oﬃce. A gallery wall showcases art from local African American women. Mercury Mosaics Mid Mod Squares tile and a Blu Dot chair add pops of color. The paint color is Obi Lilac by Sherwin-Williams, the built-in desk is by Iron Roots Woodworks, and Aksel wood ﬂoating shelves are by Shelfology.

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smooth moves

Architect Joy Martin converted a toobreezy breezeway into a hardworking oﬃce and mudroom (opposite, left, and right). Rubber ﬂoor tiles, and a pegboard and cabinet, built by Iron Roots Woodworks, help control mess and clutter. A mural (below) by artist Molly McDougall, which stretches up the stairway to the bedrooms, includes a hidden cat and stegosaurus and provides daily cheer.

interior design: Erinn Farrell Design, erinnfarrelldesign.com // architecture: Joy Martin and Kayla Holzhauer, Joy Martin Architecture, 4325 Upton Ave. S., Mpls., 612-616-9472, joyarchitecture.com // construction: Knutson Custom Remodelers

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T H E LONG GAME A young couple plans for the future with a classic French countryside–inspired new build that is both comfortable and tailored for their growing family. BY MADISON BLOOMQUIST

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PHOT OGRAPHS BY SPACECRAF TING

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GRAY GARDENS With family close by, the couple wanted a formal dining area (left) for dinner parties. Soft gray wallpaper (Chinois Palais by Schumacher), a custom Krueger Fine Furniture dining table, Bernhardt upholstered chairs, and crystal chandeliers (a must-have for the homeowner) from Currey and Company feel formal yet fun. An antique hutch from 1stDibs holds vintage dish collections.

CUSTOM COOL The mudroom (opposite page, bottom left) is designed with the growing family—and golden retriever—in mind. A built-in dog crate painted in a custom mix by Backdrop has a life-friendly countertop drop zone. The green-and-white wallpaper in the powder bath (bottom right) is actually the same print as in the butler’s pantry (top left), just in a diﬀerent colorway: “The homeowner just loved it so much she wanted it both places,” designer Jennifer Davis says of Schumacher’s Toile De La Prairie. And the nap-friendly living room (top right) has plenty of comfy spots, including an Ethan Allen bergère chair and ottoman.

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NEW NEUTRALS To make the kitchen feel more French than farmhouse, Davis fought for a custom metal hood with brass strapping rather than a basic white design. “It’s a sizable investment piece, but it’s so lovely,” she says. Warm woods and bright whites were important to the homeowners, and the white oak flooring, beams, and an island cozy up the space.

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Designer Jennifer Davis loves a challenge. So, when a young newlywed couple came to her and explained that they were building a new house in Orono and wanted it to look lived in and full of legacy pieces— but set very few other design parameters—Davis jumped at the opportunity. “One of the homeowners was really worried she was going to build this house and it was just going to look new,” Davis says. “She wanted it to have some character—to not look like everything you see on Instagram.” The couple, then pregnant with their first child (and already pup parents to a beloved golden retriever), were transforming their lives virtually

overnight: They were going from a family of twoplus-a-dog in a small Indiana apartment to new parents in a brand-new four-bedroom house in the wife’s home state of Minnesota—and they didn’t have time to debate every design detail, nor did they want to move with the apartment furniture they’d used throughout their 20s. Once the building process was underway with Norton Homes, the wife found Davis’s design firm through a referral and resonated with her classic, sunny style. “She really likes European things and antiques,” Davis says of the homeowner. “So, immediately, we started going in an updated, neutral country French route. We knew she liked those things and a light and

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CAFÉ CHIC A sunny breakfast nook (right), with upholstered chairs and a banquette seat, helps start each day on the right foot. “The seat is actually a furniture piece, not a built-in, because the homeowner wanted ﬂexibility for high chairs and kids’ seating down the road,” Norton designer Amanda Hook says. Window treatments are from Kravet, and the pendant is by Visual Comfort and Co. from Rabbit Creek.

PRETTY PANTRY The arched pantry doors (far right) were custom-made for the space and beat up with wire brushes to look antique. Toile wallpaper from Schumacher and glass-and-brass shelves lighten up the small space, while extra storage and appliances make entertaining a breeze.

We wanted to go the FRENCH COUNTRY route, but an UPDATED, YOUTHFUL French country.” —JENNIFER DAVIS, DESIGNER

COMFORT FIRST The homeowners and their baby spend a lot of time in the living room (right), so the materials needed to be life-proof. “We did test them; we put chocolate and wine and all kinds of things on the furniture fabric to prove they would be OK,” Davis says. A herringbonepatterned sofa from Kravet ﬁt the bill, and an ottoman coﬀee table is also covered in Kravet fabric. SPRING 2024

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bright color palette, but honestly, she just said, ‘Go with it.’ We really aligned, and I knew exactly what she wanted.” The primarily cool-blue-and-white color scheme is warmed with white oak floors and beams, antiques, and patterned wallpaper dotted throughout the home. Now, with new-to-them furniture and custom elements that fit their family, such as multiple entertaining spaces, a built-in dog crate, and a Peter Rabbit–themed nursery, the home is set to grow with the family for years to come—just the way they wanted. “It’s classic but doesn’t feel older or dated,” Davis says. “When young people are willing to go for antiques—I think there’s a trend toward that, and it makes me so happy that people are embracing old things.”

MAD ABOUT PLAID “The primary bedroom [shown left and right] was supposed to be a more formalfeeling space, so we blended a coﬀered ceiling with a plaid wallpaper [Seabrook’s Newcastle Plaid] to feel a little more formal but more masculine and comfortable,” Hook says.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

It was really important that it was super COMFORTABLE but also looked ELEVATED and TRADITIONAL.” —JENNIFER DAVIS, DESIGNER

“We knew we wanted something kind of masculine and showstopper-y in the oﬃce” (below left), which both homeowners use, Davis says, so her team painted all of the walls and shelves Benjamin Moore’s Everard Blue—a deep teal that separates the glass-walled room from the rest of the house while still ﬂowing with the overall design.

URBAN HIDEAWAY The home (lower right), set on nearly three acres on a former golf course, is all about warmth— inside and out. “That warm stained wood carries into the interior of the home, too,” Hook says. “The homeowners loved the steep rooﬂines and giant planter boxes.”

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interior design: Jennifer Davis, Davis Interiors, 6430 Oxford St., St. Louis Park, 952-451-2384, davisinteriorsmn.com // builder: Norton Homes, 18215 45th Ave. N., Plymouth, 763-559-2991, nortonhomes.com

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PAST MEETS

PRESENT

Earthy materials and handcrafted touches update this 1980s home with warmth and character that seems to have evolved over time.

BY J O DY G A R LO C K PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALYS SA LEE

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Designer and homeowner Kristen Veenstra raised the floor of the formerly stepped-down living room with 2-by-6-foot boards, which were then topped with subflooring and white oak. To give the room interest without too much adornment, she added a gas fireplace and designed a surround, mantel, and “chimney” around it—all framed out in sheetrock. “It was budget driven and seeing how much bang I could get without spending a lot of money on stone or slabs,” she says. The room’s biggest hit of color—a pair of matching chairs—reminds Veenstra of the rustcolored carpet in the house she grew up in. “It’s a nice, warm shade,” she says.

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s an interior designer, Kristen Veenstra is used to walking into a house and almost intuitively knowing what it needs. Yet with her Hopkins home, her vision took a bit to gel. Before she agreed to purchase the house, her husband, Josh, who was enamored with the three-car garage, had to drag her back ﬁve times to convince her it was the place for them. “I needed time to process,” Veenstra says. “The house needed more than just decorating, and even though I knew I could do it, I just didn’t know if I wanted to do it.” After moving into the two-story that would give her, Josh, and their three kids, ages 7 to

12, more space, Veenstra spent about a year figuring out how the dated interior, with a fair share of odd features, could live up to its potential. Her vision: The house was built in 1980, so she would lean into that. “I’m a child of the ’80s, so I have a soft spot for that time period,” she says. “But it needed to be well handled so it didn’t venture too far into looking like that decade. I wanted more of an understated nod to what the ’80s offered.” For her, 1980s home design has a clean, modern look with minimal ornamentation—not much in the way of crown molding, built-ins, or focal-point features. “I think a lack of ornamentation was a hallmark of that decade, but

people swung a little too far in that direction,” she says. “It sort of has a stark quality to it.” While she liked the minimalist vibe, she conversely wanted the home to feel warm and provide a sense of connection for her family, much like the feeling of her childhood home. “My childhood was pretty idyllic—middle income, loving family, very family-centric,” she says. “I wanted to evoke that sense of warmth and lifestyle in this house.” Widening the openings between rooms improved the ﬂow and connectivity, particularly between the once closed-off kitchen and dining room. Arched doorways, exposed wood headers, and wood slat detailing (which

A modern brass chandelier keeps sight lines clear to a newly added window. The vintage Grace print of a man praying reminds Veenstra of one like it in her childhood house in Canada. (Eric Enstrom took the original Grace photograph in his Minnesota studio in 1918. In 2002, the beloved image became Minnesota’s oﬃcial state photograph.)

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includes basic half-round molding, artfully installed) provide “bits of pared-down architectural moments,” Veenstra says. White oak, including the ﬂooring, nods to the wood-heavy era, yet in a light and fresh way. “I reimagined the red oak that was everywhere in the ’80s and peppered it throughout the house,” she says. For Veenstra, connecting to the outdoors was as important as the interior connections. Adding a few new strategically placed windows helped bring in nature views once closed off by walls, while replacing existing windows with blackframed ones drew the eyes to them and then the views beyond. “We’re better off mentally and spiritually because we have a sense of what’s outside the four walls in every season now,” she says. The same can be said about the remodeled interior. The kitchen, which received a complete overhaul, features a long island that gives the kids a place to sit or do homework while Veenstra prepares dinner. “The island is oriented toward the cook zone so I could be present with them and have organic conversations,” she says. There are no TVs on the main level, another deliberate decision to encourage conversation and time together. (For the record, though, Veenstra says her kids have watched all the episodes of beloved ’80s and ’90s shows such as Family Matters and Full House.) Furnishings and accents—including a sprinkling of vintage items that Veenstra recalls being in her or her friends’ homes when she was a child—provide a comforting connection to the past. Despite her initial hesitation about purchasing the house, Veenstra couldn’t be more pleased with the results—visually, functionally, and emotionally. “I feel like the house had something to say,” she says. “It just took a little time to percolate.”

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“ ONE OF MY GUIDING PRINCIPLES WAS: HOW DO YOU ADD INTEREST WITHOUT A LOT OF ORNAMENTATION?” —Kristen Veenstra, designer and homeowner

Natural Instinct Veenstra and her husband, Josh, got in DIY mode to redo the sunroom themselves. They clad the ceiling in common board to create the slat design. On the walls, black paint (Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black) creates a dramatic foundation for light-colored furnishings. “It draws the outside in,” Veenstra says. “The room feels like a tree house.”

Frame of Reference Black-framed windows with drywall returns rather than casings create a simple, modern look. “They help create something a little diﬀerent but that still speaks to the style of the house,” Veenstra says. An antique end table that was in Josh’s family warms the mix of furnishings, including a travertine coﬀee table from the 1980s. The couple purchased the tapestry on a trip to Mexico.

Open Up

Veenstra reconfigured the entry of her Hopkins home by moving the stairs—which initially angled out into the space and impeded flow into the kitchen—against the wall. The widened doorway into the kitchen gives a first glimpse of the home’s arches. White oak floors laid in a herringbone pattern add interest underfoot.

Removing a wall opened the kitchen to the dining room (right), creating a better ﬂow to the family’s main eating spot and a view out a new, strategically placed window. “The way the kitchen relates to the dining room was important and a big part of what drove the project,” Veenstra says. An exposed wood header is a decorative feature that adds warmth.

Bar Code A coﬀee/beverage bar (far right) brings style and function to a wall of the kitchen. Cabinets painted Sherwin-Williams Greenblack, a soapstone countertop, and a marble backsplash with rows of half round above it for texture set it oﬀ as a focal point. On the right, a hinged cabinet door with a magnetic closure opens to reveal a hidden pantry with a worktop and shelves recessed about two feet.

Modern Contrast A simple, monolithic-style range hood is a modern counterpoint to the kitchen’s traditional styling and materials. “It creates tension with the classic warmth,” Veenstra says. The designer’s sleight of hand shows in the wall with the paneled refrigerator. The cabinet doors each have a solid panel below the glass area (and above a drawer) to allow a shelf with closed storage. To the left, a series of half rounds camouﬂages a broom closet: Veenstra’s stylish way to bring function to 15 inches of empty wall space. “I wanted to bring in that design element and make it functional,” she says. interior design: Kristen Veenstra Interiors, kristen veenstrainteriors.com // builder: PorchLight Homes, 612-360-0286, porchlight.biz

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“ I WANTED TO TAKE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO THE HOUSE AND THE FLOW—WHAT WAS WORKING FOR US AND WHAT WAS WORKING AGAINST US.” —Kristen Veenstra, designer and homeowner

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Channeling the clean lines and luxurious textures of vintage sports cars, designer Victoria Sass reimagines a lakefront condo in Uptown for her client’s next chapter. by LAURIE JUNKER photographs by WING HO

Overlooking Bde Maka Ska, the homeowner’s condo in Uptown serves up lakeside views for his next chapter. A pair of bouclé Design Within Reach sofas and a wool Loloi rug create a grounded and inviting spot to take in the treetop views in every season. Designer Victoria Sass found the 1970s Aldo Tura midcentury modern coﬀee table during a shopping trip to Chicago. The table’s lacquered parchment suggests a vintage car dashboard, and in serious bachelor-pad fashion, it has a brass-lined compartment for storing full-size liquor bottles.

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SPEED WAS THE MAIN PRIORIT Y for this newly divorced father after buying a light-ﬁlled condo overlooking Bde Maka Ska. Bringing little more than his clothes, he only had a few months to furnish it down to the last spoon. “I wanted a fresh start and to spend time with my kids here as quickly as possible,” he says. Buying in Uptown was an easy decision: His teenage sons and business are nearby, and he has good memories of living here after college. But deciding on furnishings was another matter. That had been his former spouse’s bailiwick, and he feared that if left to his own devices, he would ﬁll it with one trip to IKEA. Instead, he contacted his friend and former neighbor, designer Victoria Sass of Prospect Refuge.

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For Sass, who’s known for her work on older family homes, it was a fresh experience to think about life through the eyes of a new bachelor. She was fascinated that this was his first experience putting together a home and, even though he gave her carte blanche, sought to draw him into the experience. “This was also about building and enjoying his next chapter, and I worked hard to bring him into the project in places that were meaningful to him,” she says. Sass and her team developed a vintage Italian sports car concept for the design details—channeling classic textures such as leather detailing and wooden dashboards. They relied on in-stock retail for the bigger pieces, augmenting with vintage and handmade furniture and accessories. “The leather details on the lounge felt reminiscent of classic leather driving accessories, such as a wrapped steering wheel or leather driving gloves, and the rounded shapes of the furniture reminded us of aerodynamic shapes of automobiles,” Sass says. To add some finishing touches, Sass and the homeowner attended the MCAD Art Sale. The event sparked his interest and inspired him to fill his home with art he loves. A few new commissioned pieces, including a ceramic vase from artist Paul S. Briggs that Sass converted into a lamp, further personalized the condo. Sass says the additional time and expense are worth it to have things that are made with intention specifically for the homeowner. “We may not notice it consciously, but I think that energy affects us,” she says. “A human can feel the difference.”

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“having handmade pieces creates good energy. there’s a connection between you and the person who made it.” — victoria sass, interior designer

ROCK AND ROLL

QUIET CORNER

The pleasing harmony of a round cement pillar and the rolls of a vintage leather spring lounger creates a sophisticated and masculine vignette. The TV lifts out of the ebony console, a custom piece by St. Paul–based Designed and Made. “I didn’t want a big TV that dominated the living room or blocked the view,” the homeowner says.

Taking advantage of a window nook to create an intimate moment was one of the ways Sass made the large room multifunctional—here with a stone table from CB2 and chairs from Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams that can be moved into the dining room for additional seating.

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“this home had a lot of air space that i tried to ground

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with some mass.”

— victoria sass, interior designer

FRESH AIR The balcony, outﬁtted with a Kettal rope sofa and chair, oﬀers views of Bde Maka Ska and a comfortable place to take in nature.

DEFINING MOMENTS “This home had a lot of air space that I tried to ground with some mass,” Sass says. These sculptural chairs from Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams almost form a banquette and help deﬁne this area as the dining room. The midcentury pendant is vintage, and the giant bowl is from Minnesota-based potter Mayeron-Cowles.

interior design: Victoria Sass, Prospect Refuge Studio, 4801 Nicollet Ave., Mpls., 612-789-2507, prospectrefugestudio.com

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COTTAGE CUES A mix of styles in both the built-in banquette (right) and the cheerful homespun kitchen (opposite) plays into the refreshed vibe of the spaces. The modern bucket chair from Hunt and Gather is paired with a mint-green Windsor chair. The milk glass globe pendant is from Filament.

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woodland wonder A M I N N E A P O L I S C O U P L E ’S Q U A I N T W I S C O N S I N C A B I N I S R E V I V E D W I T H L I V E LY C O L O R S A N D B L E N D E D S T Y L E S , U N I T I N G Y E S T E R D AY ’S C H A R M W I T H TO D AY ’S L I VA B I L I T Y. B Y K E L LY R YA N K E G A N S

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SPACECRAFTING

J U S T A S T O N E ’S T H R O W from their main cabin in Cable, Wisconsin, Doug and Nora O’Leary’s small guest cottage is quickly becoming the coveted quarters for the Minneapolis couple’s visiting family. It’s easy to understand why—every inch of the compact 540-square-foot getaway oozes charm, and it functions like a dream, comfortably sleeping up to six adults. The O’Learys had worked with architectural designer Sara Whicher and interior designer Lucy Penfield a few years ago, when they renovated their main cabin on the same lakefront property, so when they decided to make the guest cottage livable again, the couple called back the design team. “It gets very busy in the big cabin, so this is a great spot where we can have in-laws, our kids and grandchild, whoever is visiting to have their own space,” Nora says. Although most of the original 1930s cabin had to be rebuilt due to its deteriorating structure, Whicher, Penfield, and Wisconsin builder Jake Kinnunen maintained its historic character, enhancing existing features with a modern, fresh flair. “It lives like the original structure, with quirky elements that are part of the nostalgia and magic,” Penfield says. Inspired by the surrounding nature’s palette, Penfield and Whicher infused the small space with warm woods and whitewashed pine paneling, sunny yellow painted cabinets, and statement-making tile, such as the arrow motif in the kitchen area.

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A WARM WELCOME

From the cabin’s front Dutch door, there’s a path that meanders down to the lake. “The door is a whimsical touch because that’s something you would have at the lake—to keep the critters from coming in but not allowing the dogs to escape,” Whicher says.

IMAGES CHISEL ARCHITECTURE LLC (RENDERINGS)

SUNNY SIDE UP The kitchen signals a bright “Hello!” on the wall opposite the front door in the open gathering room. The tile backsplash is New Ravenna marble mosaic Arrow Rows from Fantasia Showroom at IMS, and the cabinets are painted in Dayroom Yellow by Farrow and Ball.

Multifunctional furniture, including two sleeper sofas, and plenty of chairs and small tables can easily move around the space to help accommodate whoever is staying there. “When all of the furniture landed up here, Nora said, ‘Let’s see all the different ways we can set this up,’” Whicher says. “We came up with three or four different ways to position that living room couch in case they need to cram more people in here.” The town’s hardware store was a beacon that guided their design choices. “It’s the cutest oldfashioned store where you can get everything, right down to a swimsuit,” Penﬁeld says. Whicher adds, “We thought, What would you be able to get from Rondeau’s? That’s what we’ll use here.” Instead of making room for closets, the design team incorporated built-in shelves, benches, and plenty of hooks for guests to store their belongings. Performance fabrics and materials withstand wear and tear. “We splurged on a couple of things, like the kitchen backsplash, but we were mindful to not overgild this sweet gem,” Penﬁeld says. “It was so important to Doug and Nora that this feels comfortable and lived in, but that it’s not fancy.”

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“Right when you walk in, you know exactly what to do and where to put your bags, how to get a cup of coffee,” says architectural designer Sara Whicher. The wood-burning fireplace had to be rebuilt, but it incorporates the cabin’s original fieldstones.

IMAGES: CHISEL ARCHITECTURE LLC (RENDERINGS)

Summer Breeze Whicher’s early renderings helped the design team channel the spirit of the 1930s cabin in the new space, which they call “Summer Breeze.” “We wanted to preserve and hold true to what was sacred to the original cabin,” she says about the decision to rebuild. Whicher also affectionately named some of the areas inside, such as “Apple Crumble” for the bay window seating area and “Cafe au Lait” for the coffee bar. “Personifying each of the spaces helped preserve the original personality,” adds interior designer Lucy Penfield.

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RETREAT AND RELAX

W E ’ R E D E S I G N I N G F O R G E N E R AT I O N S . I T ’S N OT A T I M E W A R P. T H E R E A R E S O M E CLASSIC, MODERN, AND FOUND PIECES, S O I T F E E L S T I M E L E S S .” —LUCY PENFIELD, INTERIOR DESIGNER

SPRING 2024

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The enclosed screened porch oﬀers a secondary sleeping area with a pull-out sofa from Francis King Ltd. and another spot to relax for visitors. Whitewashed pine walls are a light contrast with the rest of the cabin’s stained wood. Penﬁeld painted the ceiling a sky-blue shade (Brittany Blue by Benjamin Moore) to further the outdoor vibe.

MSP HOME & DESIGN

READING NOOK The O’Learys’ log rocking chair pairs with

a log table Penﬁeld found at Clarabel Antiques in Minneapolis. The footstools are covered in a Mexican textile, and the handmade wool ﬂat-weave rug is from Tapis Decor at IMS. The rattan cocktail table (left) is from Made Goods.

INTO THE WOODS The cabin’s new

deck, just oﬀ the enclosed porch, overlooks a large picnic table where the O’Leary family likes to spread out, not far from the lakeshore. “I love how the cabin is situated, tucked back out of the way but still part of the main activity,” Penﬁeld says.

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MAKE A SPLASH

“We wanted to add some pizzazz to the pint-sized bathroom,” Penfield says of the patterned floor tile and green shower tile, both from Ceramic Tileworks. The mirror above the sink slides from side to side in front of the windows. The vanity is painted Alligator Alley by Benjamin Moore. The vanity top is Silestone.

SPRING 2024

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COZY QUARTERS A sliding door and drapery (not shown) can be drawn closed between the bedroom (above) and the screened porch, providing a cocoon-like escape in the cabin’s only bedroom. Penfield layered the brushed metal bed with quilted coverlets. “It’s so cozy when you climb into bed, and then in the morning you open it back up and see the lake view beyond,” she says.

architecture: Sara Whicher, Chisel Architecture, 328 Barry Ave. S., Wayzata, 952-426-8663, chiselarch.com // interior design: Lucy Penfield, Lucy Interior Design, 755 E. Lake St., Wayzata, 612-339-2225, lucyinteriordesign.com // builder: Jake Kinnunen, Sawhorse Construction, Grand View, Wisc., 715-763-3117 // cabinetry: Chad Johnson and Debbie McKee, Ingrained Wood Studios, 6026 Pillsbury Ave. S., Mpls., 612-363-7663, ingrainedwoodstudios.com

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CELEBRATING 20 YEARS IN REAL ESTATE

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SUSANGARYWAHMAN.COM susanwahman@edinarealty.com (952) 334-4663 garywahman@edinarealty.com (651) 270-4709

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With more than 300 kitchen and bar stools, you’ll definitely be sitting pretty after a visit to our showroom.

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