[DESIGN]Fridays

Day after Thanksgiving means that many of you will be beginning to decorate your home for the holidays. Before you go shopping for a new set of ornaments or a new wreath, check out these eco-friendly holiday decorating ideas from Inhabitat. Learn how you can create a DIY wreath, an edible rosemary Christmas tree and more!

If you are currently working on your house or thinking about starting a home repair project, you should make sure to stop by Natural Built Home’s Warehouse Sale this weekend! The sale is this Saturday, November 10^th from 10am-5pm and is located at 4020 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis, MN. There will be items previously used in displays, overstocks, returns, close outs, scratch/dents, and samples.

Click on Natural Built Home’s Facebook page to preview some of the items you’ll see at the sale. Hope to see you there!

Image from Bentz, Thompson and Rieto Architects

This Bryn Mawr basement, built circa late 1930’s, needed a little updating. Finished in exposed pine, the homeowners wanted to brighten the space and make it more contemporary. The basement functioned as a mudroom and living space, so we had to be creative with the existing design. Not only did we work around the existing duct work, but we also added a ¾ bath and a ½ finished laundry room. We wanted to complement the existing finishes, but also update the design. Our finished product included custom cabinets, a new marmoleum floor, spray foam insulation, low flow shower head and high efficiency toilet. Now the homeowners have a warm, welcoming new room to greet them when they come home!

We think Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Youth United leaders’ take on a haunted house is clever! On Saturday, October 20th^th from 4-7pm, they are hosting their second annual Haunted Substandard House as an opportunity to educate the community and other youth about the consequences of substandard housing and ways we can help eliminate poverty housing. Aimed at kids under 16, the event will transform TCHFH’s office, located at 3001 4th St. SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414 into a deteriorating home. You never know what you will find within the cool, crisp rooms with pests crawling around! Make sure to RSVP on TCHFH’s Facebook page.

We have a big love affair with Mid-Century modern architecture, so when the Minnesota chapter of DOCOMOMO puts on their fall tour day, tomorrow, October 6^th, it gives us a chance to drool over all the fantastic, local mod architecture (not literally drool, because that would be gross and ruin the homes). Haven’t heard of DOCOMOMO? They are a non-profit with locations across the world (including Minnesota) that strives to document and conserve buildings of the modern movement. They also put on lots of great local tours and events to educate the public on Minnesota’s Mid Century modern gems.

We do a lot of bathroom remodels which utilize energy efficient and low flow fixtures. The benefit is huge not only for the environment, but on both your water and energy bills. Inhabitat recently published a list of 7 ways to “green” your bathroom. For your next bathroom project, consider incorporating one of these fixtures and reap the rewards! Read the full list at Inhabitat.

One of the many fun things going on this weekend is the 2nd annual Constellation art crawl happening on September 8th and 9th? According to Constellation’s website, the art crawl highlights the integral role that art and cultural production play in our daily lives, neighborhoods and communities by opening up domestic spaces in the South Minneapolis neighborhoods of Powderhorn, Phillips, Corcoran, Longfellow and Seward for public cultural events.