Minnetonka Living Room and Sunroom

Designer: R. Thomas Gunkelman, ASID
Firm: GunkelmanFlesher Interior Design, 81 S. 9th St., Ste. 340, Mpls., 612-333-0526

Patriarch of Twin Cities interior design Tom Gunkelman found challenge in the conjoining living and sun rooms of a fifteen-year-old builder house in Minnetonka: How would he reconcile the sensibilities of traditional furnishings, contemporary art, and modern architecture, while staying true to the personalities and needs of the homeowners? Gunkelman answered the question brilliantly by flanking the basic linen white palette with animated antiques and contemporary accents. “This,” Gunkelman says, “showcases the great collection of pieces from the homeowners while keeping the basics soft.”

Both rooms start with a neutral base palette of taupe gray and linen white in varying textures. In the sunroom, Gunkelman inserted bold accents—a supple sofa reupholstered in textured eggplant fabric; antique Oriental pieces in indigo and white. In the living room, he added contemporary punctuation with a Lucite table and two lounge chairs. The prominent placement of two “little perchers” carries out the antiques theme. Organic basics and elegant accents are brought together on the sunroom’s walls—which are upholstered in floral fabric by French textile house Manuel Canovas—and in the floor-to-ceiling sheers that drape the windowed wall.

Gunkelman is known for his keen eye, and his talent is visible in his combination of a seemingly disparate collection of good-boned antiques and contemporary art and furniture. He has bravely mixed varying woods—from fruitwood to lacquered black—and reupholstered the accent seating in shades of soft white and varying textures. The space is lofty and cozy—and dramatic. With oversized floral wall coverings, a grandiose window on a smaller wall, and high ceilings with tiny accents, the space becomes as much a showcase for fine antiques and contemporary art as it is a study in skillful scale.