Home Design Top 50

High-Flying Carpets

The ultimate in custom carpets starts with a simple pencil sketch. From there, Richard Rehl meticulously paints a rendering of his proposed pattern, which itself is a work of art. After receiving client approval, he sends it to a mill for a sample—and ultimately the plush finished product. It’s been his livelihood for eleven years at Aubry-Angelo. Rehl is always eyeing exquisite ready-made carpets, too, including the one from Afghanistan, shown. Available to the trade at International Market Square, Mpls., 612-288-0898, aubryangelo.com

Photo by Mark Luinenburg

Home Theater 101

“John Deering is my go-to guy,” designer Billy Beson says. “He integrates home theaters with lighting and telephone controls and designs systems you can actually use. A lot of people’s programs are so complicated you need either a seven-year-old or Einstein to be able to make them work.” John Deering theater design, International Market Square, Mpls., 612-604-0202, jdtheaterdesign.com

Jewelry for the Home

Sleek Italian hardware source Valli & Valli is a favorite line of architect Julie Snow. You can find it at Nob Hill Hardware, along with dozens of high-quality lines representing every style. 7630 Wayzata Blvd., Mpls., 612-824-7424, nobhillhardware.com

Renewed Take

Whether it’s an antique door made in a British–occupied territory or an old iron grate from a local salvage yard, Robb Whittlef has turned repurposing architectural items and furnishings into a fascinating business. His shop, Great Estate Home & Garden, is chock full of distinctive items for the home, all with foundations in Whittlef’s special finds. 10001 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, 952-933-9924

Spunky Housewares

Brooms, boxes, and other bold household items from such places as Copenhagen and Cologne, on display at Roam, are so fun they’ll bring an appreciation for modern design to even the traditionally inclined shopper. 813 Glenwood Ave., Mpls., 612-377-6465

Warm Modernism

Room & Board is plenty proud of its own furniture lines, but sometimes the Golden Valley–based retailer squeezes in special designs from outside. This year, it’s the Hans J. Weger CH_28 Sawbuck chair, for which manufacturer Carl Hansen & Son granted Room & Board exclusive sales rights in the United States. The reintroduction is the first time the oak-and-walnut piece has been on the market since the 1960s; an original from that time is on display at the Danish Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen. 7010 France Ave. S., 952-927-8835, roomandboard.com

Exquisite Craftmanship

Cabinets custom built with care and creativity hold a special place in home design, and Matt Eastvold at Eastvold Custom Woodworking is architect Connie Lindor’s favorite source. “One of the most important aspects of designing an interior is to have the cabinets correct,” she says. “Matt is willing to take the risks and use new materials.” 12980 Dennison Blvd., Dennison, 507-645-1621, eastvoldcustom.com

Inspired Public Parks

“Rice Park in St. Paul is so beautiful in the summer and at Christmastime with the lights. Stepping out of the Ordway, you’d almost think you were in a European city with the Landmark Center, The Saint Paul Hotel, and the library—beautiful architecture all around.”
—designer Andrew Flesher

Local Innovations: Quartz Countertops

“More and more of our designers, including everyone in our firm, are creating green environments. Cambria is a manufactured product using crushed quartz, and the company is constantly coming out with new products that are actually cooler than granite.” —designer Billy Beson

Le Sueur–based Cambria recently opened a new, larger show room with kitchen and bath sets. International Market Square, Mpls., 612-604-0034, cambriausa.com

Local Innovations: Cool Furniture

The $699 Desk 51, shown, and the $99 Real Good chair (see GoodStuff, page 80) provide a sampling of the high-design, relatively low-cost furnishings that have brought national attention to Minneapolis–based Blu Dot. “We’re so lucky to have them here,” architect Connie Lindor says. “They’re always pushing the boundaries.” The furniture is available locally at Roam, or at bludot.com

City Sophistication

Originally built in 1927 as a residential hotel, 510 Groveland is considered by many to be one of Minneapolis’s most architecturally sophisticated buildings. “What I love about 510 is how it makes me feel like I’m on New York’s Upper East Side,” says designer Andrew Flesher, who lives in the building. “It feels like a grand old hotel, and it’s the only building of its kind in Minneapolis.”

“The glass-block–style windows at the front of Bank [restaurant] are decorated with stylized owls. The way they glow, they have an almost Lalique crystal quality to them. That whole façade is very much a jewel in the middle of downtown.”

—designer Bruce Kading
Bank, 88 S. 6th St., Mpls., 612-656-3255

Made to Order

Furniture designer Tom Oliphant  is highly regarded for inventive custom pieces and counts the Candy lamp among his offerings. “You can give him a furniture idea and trust it will be done perfectly,” architect Connie Lindor says. 612-781-8851, thomasoliphant.com

Going Green

Zero-VOC paints (with poster-size swatches) are among the eco-friendly home products at Natural Built Home. 4020 Minnehaha Ave., Mpls., 612-605-7999, naturalbuilthome.com

Worldly Goods

“Midtown Global Market isn’t fancy, it’s almost like a street fair,” says interior designer Andrew Flesher, who loves the rich mix of ethnic food ingredients and items for the home. Recent finds include the mud cloth from Mali and the basket from Kenya from Simba Craftware, shown. 920 E. Lake St., Mpls., 612-871-4887

Local Galleries

“Flanders is my favorite gallery in town,” designer Billy Beson says. “Where else can you find a pair of six-foot-square Jim Dine paintings for $500,000, as well as pieces by local artists more in the $1,500 to $2,000 range?” Flanders, 3012 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612-344-1700, flanders-art.com. Other galleries our panelists shop: Circa, 210 N. 1st St., Mpls., 612-332-2386, circagallery.org; Gallery 360, 3011 W. 50th St., Mpls., 612-925-2400; Griffin Gallery, 5222 W. 78th St., Mpls., 952-844-9884; Weinstein Gallery, 908 W. 46th St., Mpls., 612-822-1722, weinstein-gallery.com

Fantastic Tile

From the tiniest glass mosaics to stone-look pavers measuring two feet square, tile can define a room’s style. “Fantasia carries everything from modern to traditional,” builder Steven Streeter says. “Chances are, what you get here won’t look like what everybody else has.” The tile shown is from Fantasia, International Market Square, Mpls., 612-338-5811, fantasiashowrooms.com. Other favorite sources: RBC Tile & Stone, 1820 Berkshire Ln. N., Plymouth, 763-559-5531, rbctile.com and Rubble Tile, 6001 Culligan Way, Minnetonka, 952-938-2599, and 3220 W. Co. Rd. 42, Burnsville, 952-882-8909; rubbletile.com

Illuminating Ideas

Family run Citilights is a perennial favorite for contemporary fixtures. 1619 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-333-3168. Other sources our panelists love: Lappin Lighting, 222 N. 2nd St., Mpls., 612-339-5555,
lappinlighting.com, and Light Works (for vintage and hard-to-tell-they’re-new reproductions), 404 Washington Ave. N., Mpls., 612-724-8311, lightworkslighting.com

Hall of Famer: John Gabbert

While he’s from the Gabbert furniture family (his dad, Don, was the company’s founder and his brother Jim is its current president), John Gabbert has gone his own way with Room & Board, bringing warm modern design to furniture fans from coast to coast. From the company’s Golden Valley headquarters, Gabbert and teams of designers and buyers plan new products for annual launches, keeping in mind Room & Board’s high-quality, reasonable-cost roots while sneaking in the occasional surprise (see Sawbuck chair, page 118).

Hall of Famer: Stephanie Odegard

Sophisticated style and social responsibility are the hallmarks of the highly regarded carpet company bearing Odegard’s name. The former Minnesotan, once a buyer at Dayton Hudson, maintains eight show rooms in the United States, including one in Minneapolis’s North Loop, where you can see dozens of handmade Himalayan wool carpets and learn about the RugMark Foundation, which ensures that carpets are made without child labor. Odegard serves as a director of the foundation, and all Odegard carpets bear its label.

Hall of Famer: Ralph Rapson

Considered by many to be Minnesota’s most important architect of the twentieth century, Rapson designed the original Guthrie Theater and is credited with humanizing modern architecture. Both through work at his firm and as dean of the University of Minnesota’s school of architecture, he mentored three generations of young architects, making a lasting impression on the Twin Cities’ architectural scene.

Hall of Famer: Tom Gunkelman

With more than forty years in the business, interior designer Tom Gunkelman has made his mark on hundreds of Twin Cities homes. His firm, Gunkelman Flesher, has landed dozens of stories in such glossies as House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home, and Traditional Home, sharing its simple, classic look with the world.

Cool new technologies and design concepts at the University of Minnesota: Solar Power

The University was one of twenty universities tapped to compete in the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Its designs for an innovative solar-powered house and car will make their way to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., next year.

Cool new technologies and design concepts at the University of Minnesota:Cool new technologies and design concepts at the University of Minnesota: Carbon Neutral

The idea of carbon-neutral homes (buildings using materials and systems that don’t produce carbon emissions) is well under way in Minnesota, with a goal of 100 percent carbon neutrality for new buildings by 2030, thanks to the Center for Sustainable Building Research (csbr.umn.edu) and such architects as Sarah Nettleton.

Cool new technologies and design concepts at the University of Minnesota: Low Cost + High Design

The College of Design has discovered that recycled, waterproof oriented-strand board is an excellent low-cost structural material for the rapid construction of houses. A recently completed project in St. Paul, shown, boasts remarkable charm and comfort

Cool new technologies and design concepts at the University of Minnesota: Hello, Hydrogen

Seventy-two photovoltaic panels on the roof at the College of Design are being used to make hydrogen, which researchers then convert to electricity. It’s the leading edge of what’s to come, even on snow days.

World View

Many Minnesotans know of Ian Grant’s knack for finding Asian antiques and giving them a new twist, but folks nationwide were recently able to see him at work in New York thanks to the Travel Channel special The Deal Hunter with Ian Grant, which has aired several times this winter (no word yet on whether the cable channel will make it a regular series). His show room, Bjorling & Grant, moved last summer to a location that tripled the space for its treasure trove. 4906 W. 35th St., St. Louis Park, 612-827-3000, bjorlinggrant.com

International Market Square

The Twin Cities’ design center, International Market Square, boasts eighty show rooms within a dramatically sky-lit architectural envelope. Kitchen/bath and building products show rooms sell directly to the public; other firms work primarily with the trade, but the IMS Design Connection referral service connects visitors with independent designers. Highlights include the elegant 12,000-square-foot Holly Hunt show room, shown,
Waterworks, and myriad kitchen-design studios. 275 Market St., Mpls., 612-338-6250, imsdesignonline.com

Hip Hotels

The Twin Cities boasts an increasingly chic hotel scene, and Chambers is a design favorite. “There are so many wonderful places, from the outdoor courtyard to the great rooftop terrace to the interiors surrounded by art,” architect Connie Lindor says. “The variety of fantastic spaces makes it compelling.” 901 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-767-6900, chambersminneapolis.com

Exotic Elements

The allure of Morocco has long captivated Jennifer Vervoort–Smith, who still heads to Casablanca and Marrakesh for buying trips twice a year to stock her downtown Wayzata shop, Soleil Brule. Whether it’s a dainty perfume bottle or a walnut side table with mother-of-pearl inlay, shown (also see Trend Alert, page 77), her picks flavor any décor. 726 E. Lake St., Mpls., 952-476-9600

The Drives: Summit Avenue, St. Paul

It’s no wonder this sweeping street, considered the best-preserved Victorian boulevard in America, is full of inspiration for architects and designers: Every block in the four-and-a-half-mile stretch (starting at the Cathedral of St. Paul and heading west to the Mississippi) boasts intricately carved columns, magnificent doorways, and enchanting porches. Many of the homes were designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert.

The Drives: The City Lakes, Minneapolis

A beautifully maintained, diverse mix of houses—from Italianate mansions to shingle-style cottages—graces the banks of Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, and Lake Harriet. “I’m always borrowing ideas from those grand homes, looking for ideas to make new houses look like they’ve been around for fifty years,” designer Bruce Kading says.

The Boat Drive, Lake Minnetonka

Lining miles of the Lake Minnetonka shore are some of the state’s most beautiful architectural gems, including grand estates with boathouses from a bygone era.

Antiquing with an expert eye

Jane Ingenhutt with Zachary at International Market Square is a highlight on the Twin Cities antiques highway. “Jane contributes to all of our projects in some way,” architect David Heide says. “She has identified exceptional one-of-a-kind resources.” Zachary, International Market Square, 612-305-1201, zacharyltd.net. Other sources our panelists adore: Antique Manor, International Market Square, Mpls., 612-333-1685, and 1250 Wayzata Blvd. E., Wayzata, 952-476-8915; Coe & Channel, 272 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-872-2227

House Exhibit

“There’s something about the level of detail in which the Purcell–Cutts house was conceived, the collection of little moments that somehow all hangs together.” —architect Julie Snow
For tour information: 612-870-3131, artsmia.org

The North Loop

Sophisticated boutiques such as ID Inside Design and Odegard rub shoulders with kitchen/bath show rooms Montaggio and Poliform, plus Lappin Lighting and Lightworks (see page 121), Antiques Riverwalk, and the new (second) home of International Design Center in this mostly loft-residential Minneapolis neighborhood. ID Inside Design, part of the notable interiors firm Walsh Design Group, is known for such pieces as the Archer chair, shown. ID Inside Design, 211 N. 1st St., 612-317-0045; Odegard, 210 N. 2nd St., 612-455-6100; Montaggio, 150 2nd Ave. S., 612-333-6264; Poliform Minneapolis, 100 2nd Ave. N., 612-333-0053; Antiques Riverwalk, 210 3rd Ave. N., 612-339-9352; International Design Center, 219 N. 2nd St., 612-332-2342

Volumes of Ideas

“The bookstores at the Walker and the Weisman are two of the best resources in town. Here you get great exposure to architectural books and other design materials you can’t find at typical bookstores.” —architect James Dayton

Small Wonders

Alchemy Architects’ WeeHouses (651-647-6650, weehouses.com) meld compelling prefabricated modules, as shown at Phillips Garden in Minneapolis. Another fave: Flatpak (612-788-5355, flatpakhouse.com) by Minneapolis architect and BluDot co-founder Charles Lazor.

Easy Elegance

Although it has the sophistication of a to-the-trade show room, Schreier Home, run by Jeff Schreier, is open to all, with pieces available for purchase right from the floor. Upholstered items and casegoods from Baker, EJ Victor, and Century receive top billing, but there are plenty of smaller-scale, less-expensive options, as well, including dozens of accessories for under $50. 124 S. 2nd St., Stillwater, 651-426-8428, schreierhome.com

Inspired Exhibitions

What once was a Polish dance hall in Northeast has been transformed into the Minnesota Center for Photography, which pulls off six shows a year. “One of my favorite weekend days would be to go to the Modern Cafe for breakfast and then to stop here to check out the exhibits,” architect Connie Lindor says. 165 13th Ave. NE, Mpls., 612-824-5500, mncp.org. Another favorite: Midway Contemporary Art, 527 2nd Ave. NE, Mpls., 612-605-4504, midwayart.org

Amazing Decorative Artists

The rich finish of a fine interior often comes thanks to a talented decorative artist. “Jennifer Kranz has a mural in one of my client’s homes, a pasture scene with sheep,” designer Bruce Kading says. “Between its intricate detailing and the way it wraps around you, you’d swear you were amongst it all. And with her trompe l’oeil quoins, you have to look two to three times to know they’re not real.” Jennifer Kranz, 20055 Michael Ave., Hastings, 651-438-3327. Other favorite sources: Elias-Cartwright (mural shown), 1823 Western Ave., Roseville, 651-487-1684, eliascartwright.com; Steve Kleinpaste, 612-703-2404

Thoughtful Developments

Hailed by architecture critics and urban planners worldwide, Jackson Meadow in Marine-on-St. Croix beautifully blends land conservation and a strong sense of community. Duluth architect David Salmela’s work on the project, which pays homage to rural Minnesota’s simple vernacular and includes six miles of trails, garnered the American Institute of Architects Award for Urban Design and Planning in 2005.

Gourmet Kitchens

The latest in kitchen designs, right down to storage-savvy drawer fittings, is yours at such exceptional sources as Poggenpohl, Valcucine, and Pedini, all at International Market Square. Poggenpohl, part of Partners 4 Design, 952-927-4444, partners4design.com; Valcucine, 612-341-4588, valcucine mpls.com; Pedini, 612-746-0678, pedinitwincities.com

Distinct Variety

No other neighborhood boasts as many twentieth-century architectural styles as University Grove in St. Paul. A drive down its eight blocks reveals 103 homes built over a sixty-year period—colonials, capes, and contemporaries bound to inspire and educate.

The Next Generation

She’s a Minneapolis girl, he’s a St. Paul boy. She’s a classicist, he’s modern. But for all their contrasts, Andrea Swan and Charlie Simmons, both thirty-four, agreed they could make bolder contributions to the local residential design scene. In January they broke away from prestigious TEA2 Architects to form their own firm, Swan+Simmons, and are fast finishing their studio to prepare for their first clients. If their work at TEA2 is any indication, future projects are sure to be bright additions to the landscape.
International Market Square, Mpls., 612-338-5976