Take Notice

Take Notice
Photo by Max Blank

1 Another Home Show

A new expo kicks off this month, and its organizers promise nary a massage therapist, specialty fudge seller, nor cell-phone service in sight. Just architects, contractors, remodelors, and other bona fide home professionals. The Mid-America Remodeling & Design Expo also promises interior designer-led decorating and entertaining seminars, energy-savings demonstrations by the Center for Energy and the Environment, and a state-of-the-art garage and basement constructed on the expo floor by Odyssey Construction & Remodeling. November 4 and 5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Call 612-798-7256, or visit www.101expos.com for more information.

2 Scandinavian Resettlement

Not content to rest until every Minnesota home is outfitted in bold Marimekko patterns and Iittala accessories, Saga Living and FinnStyle—the metro’s competing purveyors of Scandinavian home and fashion wares—have both moved to new, pedestrian-friendly locations. Saga relocated from Grand Avenue in St. Paul to Edina’s 5-0 Mall last year, only to move back to Grand for a spacious spot across from The Bibelot. Saga Living, 1055 Grand Ave. S., St. Paul, 651-290-8577, www.sagaliving.com. FinnStyle has taken its leave of the Minneapolis Warehouse District for Gaviidae Common, though the old space will still be used for its Internet sales business. FinnStyle, Gaviidae Common, 651 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 612-333-2127, www.finnstyle.com.

3 Wood You Attend?

Photo courtesy of LilyJoe

Throwing a late autumn party? Creative St. Paulite Katie Thomey’s custom invitations may provide the perfect personal touch. She uses cuts of Northern white birch veneer as the basis for her cards, which often feature an autumnal theme, and sells them under the business name LilyJoe. Thomey stumbled upon her idea when she was working at her family’s fourth-generation lumber company. Now she focuses on her veneer invites, custom sewing, wooden step stools, handmade pillows, and beaded lanterns, many of which can be seen at Bibelot locations. To contact LilyJoe, call 651-343-6643.  

Classy Christmas

Give your holiday finery an early debut at the Black Tie Christmas Tour of Homes, November 17. For $75, guests will be squired via limousine to the historic Octagon House and five more elaborately decorated area residences in Hudson, Wisconsin. Door prizes, wine, and gourmet hors d’oeuvres round out the evening. If a shuttle and a $16 price tag (before November 10) are more your style, the tour continues on November 18 and 19. Call 1-800-657-6775 for tickets and information.

Essential Scents

Add seasonal scents to your home with a colorful new accent. AromaCones, made by Chanhassen manufacturer Lightstone Productions, are pinecones sustainably harvested in Northern California and Minnesota that are dipped in food-grade wax scented with essential oils. Available in verbena mint, clove and balsam, or cedar and sage, and in a number of autumnal and holiday hues. Find AromaCones at Smith & Hawken stores and at Squire House Gardens, Afton; EuroNest, St. Louis Park; Tonkadale Greenhouse, Minnetonka, and other metro locations.  

Instructional Texts

Do your homework before setting foot in a showroom with Plan Your Kitchen (Collins Design, 2006). The hard cover, spiral-bound book lays out multiple options for kitchen configurations, stove types, refrigerator types, and storage solutions. Includes a nifty mix-and-match color selector. • In The Perfect $100,000 House (Viking, 2006), Dwell magazine founding editor Karrie Jacobs documents her quest for a magazine-worthy modern home within her tight budget. Spoiler alert: Jacobs doesn’t find that mythical architect willing to build custom for cheap. She does, however, introduce her readers to several architects and designers who are doing cool, inventive things. • Manspace, by Sam Martin (Taunton Press, 2006), profiles the electronics geek, the big-game hunter, the backyard bowler, and other masculine characters who’ve carved out niches for themselves in the sheds, attics, and garages left to them by the women in charge of the house.

BIG DEAL

1700 Kenwood Parkway, Minneapolis

This 2001 Mediterranean-style home sold in late July for $2 million, just over the $1.999 million asking price, after 25 days on the market. The three-bedroom, five-bath villa has all the de rigueur amenities—home-theater system, touch-screen control panels, a programmable lighting system—plus a few rarities: a porte-cochère with a screen porch above and a carriage house. Built by Eden Prairie-based Keith Waters & Associates, this home won the 2001 Reggie Award for best home in the 2001 Parade of Homes Fall Showcase. (Listing broker, Debbie McNally, Coldwell Banker Burnet; selling broker Bruce Birkeland, Coldwell Banker Burnet)

Flying Carpets

Photo provided by
Cyrus Carpets

Now is the time to snatch up that hand-woven, imported rug you’ve been pondering. Cyrus Carpets, preparing to relocate from the Galleria to a 12,000-square-foot showroom in Bloomington, is holding a moving sale through November and December. The increased square footage will allow the retailer to expand its collection of imported floor coverings from Iran, Russia, Tibet, Egypt, and elsewhere, as well as to expand its rug repair and appraisal service. Current location, 3659 Galleria, Edina, 952-922-6000. As of January, 5115 American Blvd., Bloomington, www.cyruscarpets.com.

Gathering for a Cause

Baraza, the Swahili word for gathering, is also the name of the annual Assembly of Architects evening gala and discussion. A fundraiser that supports the Jay Tyson Memorial Scholarship for African American architecture students, the November 10 baraza at Windows on Minnesota will include live jazz, heavy appetizers, and a panel discussion about the work of black architects and designers in Minnesota. Also on view will be recent work by more than 25 black Minnesota architects. Tickets are $45. Call 651-489-7489 or visit www.assemblyofarchitects.org. 

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