Recently by Shawn Gilliam

Top Twin Cities architects will converge on the beautiful Hotel Ivy in Downtown Minneapolis this Thursday evening, and the time is perfect to see and hear about some of the best new homes around. The scene is the RAVE Awards, produced by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

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We at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine have known for months that this year's ASID Showcase Home would be pretty cool. My colleagues and I worked with a team of 40-plus interior designers, architects, and contractors on the renovation of the 1951 home in Edina's Sunnyslope neighborhood—and although the project maintains the home's mid-century modern roots, it also features the latest in environmentally friendly materials and elegant furnishings that can easily translate to homes of many styles.

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As someone who covers the homes beat for a living, I suppose I should have a healthier do-it-yourself spirit. Although I come from a family of successful DIYers and can point to beautiful DIY projects I've seen in the field, I personally know to call in the professionals for nearly everything.

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Since opening late last year, Casa Verde Design has shown Minnesotans that environmentally friendly home products can work into homes of all styles, including elegant traditionals. With Earth Day quickly approaching (tomorrow, Wednesday!), the time is perfect to check out the show room if you haven't already. Join Casa Verde staff designers Rosemary Merrill and Liz Schupanitz along with notable chefs, furniture designers, and others from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. as they discuss eco-friendly home design and prepare gourmet organic dishes at the show room's first-ever Gourmet Greens event. The event is free, but an RSVP is required. Call 612-353-4401.

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I'm often asked for ideas on mixing furniture of different styles to create a comfortable, personal look. It's tough to explain succinctly, but this two-minute video with Martha O'Hara from Martha O'Hara Interiors, shot in the living room, dining room, and kitchen at the Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Idea Home at the Minneapolis Home & Garden Show, does a pretty good job. You'll see how Martha's team brought traditional, transitional, and contemporary styles together, using a timeless palette of neutrals with pops of color. Enjoy!

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It has been a pretty crazy week for my colleagues and me! We finished the Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Idea Home at the Minneapolis Home & Garden Show, and the response from the media and show attendees has been phenomenal. So phenomenal that I've been at the convention center for live TV at 5 a.m. twice so far this week!

Anyway, the charming cottage-style home (it's a real home, not some sort of stage set) was built in a Chanhassen warehouse by McDonald Construction and Carpentry Contractors. They disassembled it last week and then trucked its pieces to the convention center. It has been rebuilt and fully finished and furnished throughout the last several days. The design, by Teresa St. Amant, looks much like 1920s and '30s homes in the Twin Cities, as you can see here.

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Jennifer Vervoort-Smith is known for filling her boutique, Soleil Brule (recently relocated from Wayzata to Gaviidae Common), with beautiful home accessories from buying trips to Morocco. Some of the most eye-catching come in small packages—and at fantastically small prices.

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Check out this beautiful chandelier ($1,428) I spotted on a visit to the new Vivid Home store in Bryn Mawr.

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One of the best parts of my job is visiting architects, designers, and other creative people in their workspaces. It's so inspiring to see where they come up with ideas and how their walls, bookshelves, and desks play into that. In our Winter 2009 issue of Mpls.St.Paul Home (coming out in late January), we visit trend expert Robin Culbreath at her Marine on St. Croix studio. Here's the approach to the home, designed by architect David Salmela in the Jackson Meadow development. Her studio is in the structure to the right, behind the garage. A hall above the breezeway connects it to the main house.

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