It's in the Details

Step into the entry of any home and chances are some special detail will catch your eye: a bank of soft cove lighting expertly concealed by molding along the ceiling, warm hickory paneling on the walls, or a smoothed wide-plank hardwood floor. Even better, you may walk in and notice nothing more than a cleanly designed, sophisticated home. Whether they’re meant to stand out or blend into a cohesive whole, a home’s special finishes definitely contribute to its character and livability.

“People have lots of reasons for different interior finishes,” says Erin Mathern, development director of Mendota Homes of St. Paul, which specializes in town home and condominium construction. “Maybe they saw something they really like, or it’s something they have in their current home. They’re really styling the place where they’re going to live.” Pat Schumacher, managing partner of Koestering Schumacher Homes, a Savage-based designer and builder of custom homes, agrees. “Depending on the overall statement the house is making, it all begins with the selections going into the house,” she says. A craftsman-style home, for instance, calls for quarter-sawn oak as opposed to standard rotary-cut oak accents. Darker woods smack of an Old World, European look. Using the right type or treatment of wood in a particular design aesthetic is important to maintaining the overall effect.

Clearly, the little things do mean a lot. Flooring, countertops, paneling, molding, and other seemingly minor architectural elements contribute in an integral way to make a home more interesting.

Ground Level
Flooring has a significant impact on not only the feel of a home, but the rest of the finishing details a homebuyer selects. “It’s the base of your palette,” says Mark Youngdahl, CEO of Senn & Youngdahl, a Stillwater custom homebuilder. “It has such an influence on cabinetry, walls, fixtures, appliances.” The flooring, therefore, is one of the first things that should be decided on in a new home.

More and more homebuyers are deciding to shun shag and choose hard-surface flooring, which includes wood, tile, concrete, or stone. Several homes built by Water Street Homes, a custom residential design and build contractor in Excelsior, include no carpet whatsoever. “Hardwood is the most popular of hard-surface choices,” says Water Street Home president Rick Carlson. “It’s the warmest visually and underfoot, without a heated floor. And the most affordable versus a tile or stone product.”

Wood floors can be solid hardwood, composite with a wood veneer on top, or a laminate floor with a wood-grain design, such as Pergo flooring. Folks who prefer solid hardwood floors have a plethora of wood varieties from which to select. Old standards, like walnut and maple, are giving way to new materials, such as cork and more-sustainable bamboo. “Ten years ago, nine of ten wood floors we put in would be oak, and the other something like maple or birch,” says Schumacher. “Today, there is very individual selection on wood floors. Importers have gotten more availability and are bringing in a lot of stuff from outside the U.S.” Santos mahogany, Brazilian cherry, and other exotic imports now compete with new treatments of old favorites, such as rift- and quarter-sawn oak floors offered in larger slat widths.

Other hard surfaces work well to finish spaces that wood can’t, especially in a basement-level room. In fact, the concrete that slate or tile would cover in many of those spaces is increasingly seen as a finished floor treatment in its own right. “There are lots of different concrete solutions,” says Mathern. “The way it’s laid and finished and troweled will encourage different elements to rise to the top. You can dictate a rough feel or influence the color through the finish.” Concrete floors can be colored before they’re poured or stained for subtle color effects. They can even be etched with acid. Still, many who opt for concrete like a natural look, even if that means a surface patina showing the scuffs of construction tools.