Robb Whittlef

Call this our every-now-and-then update on mister-on-the-go Robb Whittlef. HGTV fans instantly recognize him from his regular “Trash to Treasure” segments for Joan Steffend’s Designing Cents and longtime followers know him for his Great Estate Sale Company—and his former store, Sticks & Stones. But in the past year, Whittlef has been behind the scenes networking, traveling, and planning his next move. Now he’s ready to unveil Great Estate Home & Garden.

Whittlef is using his life’s work and influences (OK, so he’s only thirty-five, but the guy cocreated Sticks & Stones when he was nineteen) to launch a furniture and home décor store unlike anything else in town. The store opens later this month in the same 15,000-square-foot spot where he and Steffend have hosted their wildly successful Not So Secret Sales. It will be open seven days a week and is co-owned by his brother, Mike.

“It’s a funkier version of Sticks & Stones,” says Whittlef. “My personal taste dictates the direction—designwise and stylewise,” he says. “Ten years ago, I would never have had a modern piece in my own home.” But, says Whittlef, “the market has changed. I’ve changed.”

To know where Whittlef's coming from, you must know where he’s been. He grew up in Fridley, “the ultimate suburb of the world,” in a “Ward and June Cleaver home,” he says. “Design wasn’t a part of how we lived. But I have watched my mom and dad [both former school teachers] make their home their own. They watch HGTV.” Whittlef believes networks such as HGTV have given viewers an inner license to create. “But it’s hard for people to find their personal style.”

Whittlef has lived in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Palm Springs and  traveled around the world. And he’s observed that the eclectic look, for many homeowners, has gotten out of hand. “The problem is, there’s no editing. It’s a big hoo-ha of stuff—like a crazy gypsy person,” he laughs. He believes that “great designed stuff” from different periods and countries can work together if you use the “objects for what they are.” The goal of the new store is to show homeowners how to do that.

The new store will be “incredibly unique,” says Whittlef, and have five basic concepts: Rusticks, representing cottage to lodge, à la Sticks & Stones; Retro & Repro, which includes authentic, reproduction, and reinvented old pieces; Organic Modern, with pieces in natural materials such as marble, clay, stone, and raw timber; Kenwood, which represents the store’s traditional side; and Continental, offering hand-selected pieces and collections from India, South America, and Asia. Though each concept will have a place in the store—the beauty will be in how they will merge.

For customers who aren’t good at DIY, Whittlef has partnered with Jim Henke to launch Historic, the design service side of the business. The duo consider themselves “design chameleons” who have a classic modern style and will take on large revamp projects as well as quick fixes.

Great Estate Home & Garden, 10001 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, 952-933-9924