Designer Magic

The Minnesota Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers represents more than 500 local interior designers. Each year, Twin Cities ASID designers submit their best work to be judged by a chapter from another state. This year designers from Colorado selected Minnesota winners. In addition, the local chapter selected a 2005 Designer of Distinction and an Emerging Talent. Winners were recognized at an awards gala held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on November 8. We're pleased to showcase their work.

The Village at St. Anthony Falls Model

First Place: Model home/Showcase Home Room Linda Engler, Allied Member ASID Becky Kohout, Allied Member ASID Engler Skogmo Interior Design Edina, 952-746-2007

To set this Minneapolis condo building apart from the competition and help potential buyers visualize life in the large, open-volume urban box, the developer and sales team wanted an upper-bracket interior with distinctive design elements.

The first thing interior designers Linda Engler and Becky Kohout did was incorporate more of the downtown skyline into the great room of the model unit. By placing three large floor mirrors at an angle in front of the balcony, the skyline becomes an interior backdrop; custom sheer drapery softens the views of the neighboring building. To help potential buyers envision dinner by candlelight and city lights, a midcentury chrome and glass dining table flanked by dark wood-frame chairs was placed at the edge of the great room near the interior wall.

The interior furniture is structural and clean-lined, perching confidently on the rich-hued, thick wool area rug that offers visual, tactile, and acoustical softening. The designers kept the color palette warm and approachable throughout the space, using ochre, blue green, and truffle, boldly punctuated by Chinese red. To add interest, colors are spelled out in a diverse selection of materials—the tête-à-tête chaise is upholstered in mohair and topped with pillows in silk and flat-weave cotton; a heavy, blackened-steel side table balances the hand- painted parchment wall covering on the fireplace façade; leather counter stools belly up to a zebrawood cocktail table.

Northern Minnesota Cottage

First Place: Residential—Best in Show First Place: Design for Residential New Construction, Addition or Remodeling David Heide, Allied Member ASID, AIA Associate Mark Nelson, Allied Member ASID, AIA David Heide Design Studio Mpls., 612-337-5060

This Arts and Crafts–style lakefront home with timber forming both the structural and stylistic framework is well suited to its northwoods environs. In keeping with the cottage’s function as a place for socializing and relaxing, while furthering the Arts and Crafts aesthetic, the design team of David Heide and Mark Nelson used subdued colors, natural materials, and carefully crafted details.

The vertical-grain fir cabinetry with iridescent glass inlays, complementary wainscoting, millwork, and rails rounds out the warm-wood theme. The designers added a fieldstone hearth and stone floors to contrast with the rich glow of the woodwork. In the kitchen, a hammered copper hood offers a handmade touch, while modern appliances are camouflaged  behind the cabinetry. Modern necessities are also cleverly hidden in the living room, where a leaf-print textile frieze conceals a sound system and gives another nod to the cottage’s pastoral settings.

Heide and Nelson served as the interior designer and architect, respectively, custom-designing many of the elements as well as conceiving the open floor plan. The result is a house that is rich in character and reflective of its nature-rich surrounding, with abundant lake views and open spaces for informal gatherings.

Flathead Lake Retreat

First Place: Historic Preservation Bruce Kading, ASID, CID BesonKading Interior Design Group Mpls., 612-338-8187

When two empty nesters wanted to return to their roots and provide a legacy for their children, they decided to redevelop a fourteen-acre site on Montana’s Flathead Lake. Interior designer Bruce Kading’s goal was to restore and remodel a dilapidated log cabin perched on the site—and to make it handicap accessible.

The home was built by a local craftsman in 1936, and Kading wanted to maintain its integrity and charm while providing a backdrop for the homeowners’ collection of Western art. The design incorporated the homeowners’ fascination with Adirondack camps by including a guesthouse, cabana, boat-house, pavilion, and chapel.

To carry out the theme, Kading incorporated cowboy-inspired furnishings that resemble popular 1930s-era Molesworth–style décor. Close attention to the historical charms and old bones of the home, as well as an understanding of the new homeowners’ needs and expectations resulted in a space that is appropriate and authentic, with an undertone of humor certain to be enjoyed for generations to come.

Asian Bath

First Place: Residential Bathroom Brandi Hagen, Allied Member ASID Eminent Interior Design Mpls., 612-767-1242

Brandi Hagen faced two challenges in the redesign of this large master bath. The first concerned architectural layout, the second was to accommodate the varying aesthetic tastes of the homeowners. The interior designer  answered both challenges stunningly, with a Asian–inspired space outfitted with modern appliances.

To begin, Hagen created a layout that would offer more privacy and address the challenges of marrying wood and water. She created a shower area flanked in Golden Siena Patika marble and added a Shinto chest to provide both beauty and storage. The larger area, with a floor sheathed in exotic Brazilian walnut, houses a deep bath and dual vanities. To keep the bath private from the lavatories and to again reference the Asian theme, the designer inserted a large horizontal screen made of Lumicor and botanical beach grass in a soft matte finish. The rectangular shape of the screen is repeated in a picture window, which allows the bather to look out onto a private atrium.

The mahogany cabinetry is stained dark to complement the Brazilian walnut flooring and the Shinto cabinetry, while the hardware varies from modern satin nickel to antique-style Asian bronze. The warm tones of the marble are accented by countertops in polished Pistachio onyx and an intricately carved, antique Chinese bench on which a favorite piece of sculpture is displayed.  The close attention to symmetry is also found in the framework of the Golden Sienna Patika marble tub.