architecture

We're proud to show off these photos of a recently completed kitchen remodel near Lake Nokomis. Click here to read all about it and to see more stunning before & after photos.

This hobbit-like home was built for less than $5000! The owners built it by hand (with help from passers by), and from natural and reclaimed materials. They're able to live completely off the grid, with a low impact on the environment. While hobbit-living isn't for everyone, clearly it suits some. Could you handle it, for a home that rustic, beautiful, and cheap? (Not to mention environmentally friendly.)

From Grist.

Natural Home & Garden put together a great article on how to easily install a sliding barn door in your home, with information on the required hardware and assembly instructions. They recommend using sliding doors in a bathroom, both to save space and to save a complicated remodel for a pocket door.

We think there are lots of creative ways to use a sliding barn door in the home:

To cover an office nook:


For a laundry station:


To easily divide living spaces:


Or on a bathroom:


What's your favorite use of the sliding barn door? Would you put one in your home, and where?

See more examples of sliding barn doors in action at Remodelista.com.

This kitchen remodel in the Kingfield neighborhood is a great example of how a few simple updates can bring new life into a space! We put in new cabinets, countertops, and appliances, and left the structure and the flooring the same, and now it feels like a whole new space! Click here for more photos.

The Minnesota Historical Society just rolled out the beta version of the new MNopedia - the first online encyclopedia all about Minnesota! It includes essays and articles on things like architecture, women's history, and immigration. There's also historic photographs from the MN Historical Society's collection, and an interactive map that lets you find sites of historical interest near you! Since it's still in beta mode, they're still adding content and need user feedback to improve the site - so check it out!

Remember the colorful house from Disney/Pixar's "Up"? Well, an exact replica has been built in Herriman, Utah! They got all the details just right, including the cute little front porch and the weathervane. How fun!

More info here, and more photos here.

Natural Home and Garden found some pretty crazy examples for their "10 Homes Made of the Darndest Things" - including a home made out of pallets, a temple made out of beer bottles, and a hotel made from a Boeing 727. Here are our favorites from their list:

A two bedroom hotel suite in a Boeing 727:

A Buddhist temple made of 1 million green Heineken and brown Chang beer bottles:

This architect-designed home is made of repurposed pallets, train rails, and recycled aluminum:

Spherical meditation treehouses are made from local wood and are suspended from the tree canopy on Vancouver Island:

See more here.

This rustic, vintage-inspired treehouse retreat is just one of the vacation rentals available at Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, WI, but it is the most unique. Local artisans and builders helped create the three story cabin, with a tree growing right up through the middle of it. There's more to that story here, from Chicago Home & Garden, but when this cozy of a campsite is so close, doesn't it make you want to take a summer road trip over to our neighbor to the east?

Seen at Remodelista.com.

This Old House magazine has put together a list of the "Best Old House Neighborhoods" across the country, which includes "64 timeless neighborhoods in the U.S. and Canada where the historic homes have extraordinary pasts and unarguably promising futures."

Among the top 15 in the entire Midwest is the Prospect Park neighborhood in Minneapolis. Its well-maintained gardens, its eclectic residents, and the multitude of historic homes give this neighborhood its appeal. And its location smack dab in the middle of Minneapolis and St Paul make it the ultimate in convenience and culture.

Find out more about Prospect Park here.
See the full list of their "Best Old House Neighborhoods".

Do you live in Prospect Park? What do you love about it? Leave us a comment on Facebook or Twitter.

Introducing...our newest listing! 716 N. 1st St. #532, a beautiful two bedroom North Loop loft with brick walls, wood beams, and peaceful views to the river.

Click here for more pictures!

Contact us for more details.