Overwhelmed with too many décor choices for your new custom home? Consider minimalism. The minimalist decorating style is an exercise in restraint, where space, lighting and objects play equally important roles. This style inspires you to pare down your furnishings to the bare essentials so that you’re left with a set of curated objects that deliver maximum impact. Far from being boring, this style is bold, functional and highly memorable. In a recent Harvard Business Review interview with successful businesswoman and organizational guru Marie Kondo, you can implement these seven tips if you a ..read more

You may be hanging on to the joy of the holidays or anxious for it to be over. If that’s the case, taking down your bows of holly is easy but now, decking out your existing hallways may require a touch of design know-how. According to design experts at Housebeautiful.com, hallways are the most important and most overlooked transitional spaces within your home when it comes to design and décor.   Make the most of your hallway space with these inspirational tips and ideas:   Create a gallery wall. Make use of a long hallway or one leading to a stairwell and display some of your favorit ..read more

If you live in the Twin Cities and feel giddy right now with fresh snow, seasonal treats, and festive activities happening, then it’s time to dash out of the house! According to Exploreminnesota.com, here’s a list you’ll want to check twice of eight outdoor-spirited event ideas near you:   Winter Lights Celebration at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Enjoy sparkling light displays featuring flowers, nature and winter fun on an accessible and stroller-friendly walk that spans over a half-mile.   The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train visits more than two-dozen Minnesota towns on its ..read more

When you’re in the mood to eat Bavarian pretzels, drink Hefeweizen and be merry, you may be anticipating Oktoberfest season. Oktoberfest began as a wedding celebration more than 200 years ago when Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810. The wedding was celebrated with multiple days of drinking, feasting and horse races. The celebration then became an annual event. People all over the world celebrate and you too can feel festive regardless if you have German heritage or not. Traditional dress for Oktoberfest is a dirndl for wom ..read more

When designers talk about wallpaper these days, they are referring to wall coverings for custom homes like yours, not the screens of our laptops and phones. Designers are looking at current trends and asking new homeowners, “Why not wallpaper?” Wallpaper is enjoying a renaissance. According to a recent Vogue.com article, Google data and Pinterest statistics indicate wallpaper-related searches are spiking. Wall coverings date back to China’s Qin dynasty and have slowly evolved for hundreds of thousands of years across the west. Who can forget Jackie Kennedy’s Zuber wallpaper of the Boston Harbo ..read more

It’s summer in Minnesota and perhaps invigorating to fixate on the abundance of color everywhere. Whether you’re building a custom home or remodeling, be the “talk of the block” by fixating on the right color for your home. Exterior paint colors can enhance your home’s features, solidify its architectural style, and make it stand out from the street. While color should reflect you and your personal style, it should bring you joy too. To help you sort through the sea of color options, a recent Better Homes and Gardens.com article rounded up a variety of popular exterior paint color ideas that m ..read more

  The mixed signals of typical Minnesota “spring” looks like it’s finally made up its mind and is going full force into Summer temps.  That means it’s time to stop dragging your heals and tackle any spring chores around the house that you may have been putting off. According to a spring cleaning survey from the American Cleaning Institute, 72 percent of households engage in some form of spring cleaning. The tradition dates back centuries and is a hallmark of Jewish, Iranian and Chinese cultures. The Chinese little New Year, known as Xiaonian, is designed to symbolically rid their hom ..read more

If you’ve lived through a few Minnesota winters, the saying, “April Showers bring snow plowers.” Is familiar then. The dreary view of the Minnesota outdoors right now will soon transform into beautiful and the famous quote from 1500’s English poet Thomas Tusser, who wrote the phrase, “Sweet April showers do spring May flowers.” Will hold true. Stay on trend by planting The Color of the Year in your gardens and pots this year. According to pantone.com, one of the most respected global authorities for color trends, the 2022 color of the year is called “Very Peri “PANTONE 17-3938—a deep shade of ..read more

If you’re building a custom home, you may decide not to keep up with the Joneses. A recent National Association of Home Builders’ survey indicates that wine cellars are perking more interest among design-build homebuyers—catching up to media rooms, home gyms and swimming pools. As consumption of wine grows nationally, so does the appeal of a “focal feature” wine room or cellar. It’s no longer relegated to the lower level and resembles an Old World Cave with dripping candelabras. Today’s wine room can be the jewel of the home showcasing the owner’s personal expression filled with art, collectio ..read more

When the temperatures drop and the days shorten in Minnesota, you may feel like diving under a blanket and staying there until spring! That feeling of warmth and contentment is what the Danish describe as “hygge”.   What is hygge and how do you pronounce it?  BBC.com says hygge is pronounced “hoo-ga” and roughly means coziness in English.  But it’s much more than that, it’s an entire attitude to life that perhaps holds the secret of why Finland, Iceland and Denmark are the world’s happiest countries. Hygge can be families and friends getting together for a meal with the lighting ..read more