Artisan Home Tour
Recently I had the opportunity to participate in the Minneapolis Artisan Tour of Homes as both an investor and interior designer for a beautiful new construction home in the historic Mount Curve neighborhood.
This event has been showcasing new construction and renovated luxury homes in the region for decades. Tens of thousands of people participate in the tour to get inspired, meet professionals in the industry and maybe even house hunt!
As exciting as it was to be a part of it and to have a clean new construction slate to play with, it was also incredibly daunting as a small design firm just getting started. My approach to just about anything that feels overwhelming is to break it down into manageable parts and pieces. Sometimes this means thinking really big picture, and sometimes it means getting extremely detailed and granular.
I learned so much from this experience; here are some of my key takeaways.
Partner with people you trust. For this project, I collaborated with Hage Homes, the same builder I entrusted with my own custom home. Because of that, we already had a relationship that was built on the trust I had in their experience and ability to produce an extremely high-quality outcome. In particular, the team at Hage is great at both innovation and problem solving as well as staying calm and grounded through the process. This helped set the tone for the whole project and bolstered my own confidence.
Create a detailed budget and stick to it. One of the goals with this home was to serve as a critical backbone project in the Regarding Design portfolio. Because of this, it was important to create a budget that would allow me to invest in high design moments, but without breaking the bank in other areas. The nature of this project gave us a healthy amount to work with, but regardless of the size of the budget, it’s always a good idea to sit down with your numbers ahead of time and decide which areas of the project are the highest priority for you, and therefore where more funds may need to be allocated.
Always know your client. While we didn’t have a specific client for this house since it was a “speculation build,” we did do our research on potential buyer pools and kept them in mind when making architectural, space planning, lighting, and design decisions. A good realtor, broker or home builder in the area can help you figure out what those boxes are that buyers in that particular neighborhood are looking to check.
Ensure the exterior and interiors are in harmony. We wanted this home to blend in seamlessly with its historic neighborhood. We didn’t want it to scream “new construction.” To do that, the home is modeled after an era-appropriate, old-world Tudor with classic craftsman materials: brick and mortar, timber, slate roof and cooper gutters. We carried this style inside with expansive ceilings, hefty cased openings, moldings and wainscoting, organic stone, and plenty of wood elements. While the flow and function of the house is designed for a modern family, the architectural details make the home feel like it’s been there for centuries.
Plan the space with purpose. The layout of the house has very purposeful rooms, but they’re still flexible in use for modern living. In practice this meant an informal kitchen and family room space paired with a more formal dining space with a table that could also serve as a spot for game night or puzzles. It meant rooms that could be used as bedrooms, craft spaces, or a second office. And it meant spaces that were clearly used for a single purpose: office space, working out, and wine storage.
Lighting, Lighting, Lighting. Nothing screams “spec house” more than boring, run of the mill lighting. Lighting should never be a last-minute decision or afterthought. I laid out a lighting plan that enable the future owners to layer light appropriately for both tasks and ambiance. I then chose lighting that was grand in scale and proportionate to the rooms. When done right, lighting adds visual interest and a sense of luxury without overwhelming the eye.
Use color wisely and confidently. I chose a tight color palette of four colors, but didn’t back down from using bold colors in purposeful places. Paired with traditional wallpaper patterns with a modern twist, the overall effect was calm and serene with moments to surprise and delight.
Staging makes all the difference. For this home, the furnishings were a blend of modern elements paired with antiques and traditional textiles. Because it is a spec house, and of course, because it was on the tour, it was critical to show visitors or potential buyers how the house could function so they could really see themselves living in those spaces. Good staging is all about finding pieces that aren’t too taste-specific but are never so dull that you don’t even notice them.
It's all in the details. Scent, music, landscaping – these are the details outside of traditional design that make a huge impact on a home’s first impression. Especially for an open house, you want the home to feel warm and welcoming, or as we say at Regarding - to evoke a sense of belonging.
I look forward to sharing more about this home with you through my portfolio and social media, so make sure you’re following us @RegardingDesign_ for more photos, design tips and inspiration.