Sports Recreation Courts: More Than Practice Spaces

Minnesotans are no stranger to frigid temps and cabin fever. As many of us hunker down during the long wait for spring, an indoor sports recreational court sounds like the perfect place to burn some energy and blow off steam!

While indoor recreational spaces are excellent for upping your game, they’re also useful in countless ways. Read on below for a list of fun ideas for putting these rooms to work outside of breaking a sweat!

• All-out crafting sessions

• Competitive scooter, car, or bike races!

• Host kids birthday parties

• Install a projecter for movie marathons

• Gymnastics and tumbling practice

• Create an indoor obstacle course

• Build epic large-scale forts!

• Challenge the neighborhood to a pillow fight

• Rent an inflatable bounce house

• Create your own play or puppet show

• Throw the best dance party ever

• Host a holiday carnival

• Design a massive Rube Goldberg machine

• Set-up marble or toy car races

• Have an indoor picnic

• Host a family talent show

2021 Home Remodeling Trends

The past year's events impacted us all in extraordinary ways; it’s no wonder our homes were also affected. As 2021 begins, we have been thinking a lot about what remodeling and home design trends will rise in the coming year. Scroll below to read what styles, features, and finishes we think will be popular.

Oversized Kitchen Islands

While many of us haven’t entertained much family or friends this year, our kitchens have hosted everything from conference calls to schoolwork to Zoom happy hours and more! To accommodate all of the extra action happening in our homes these days, we think kitchen islands will continue to expand in size and functionality.

Home Offices

More people are working from home than ever now, which has left many families craving a dedicated home office space. Creating a separate space for work means more peace and quiet for important phone calls, strategy sessions, and focusing on big projects.

Bringing the Outside In

Being couped for so long has all craving fresh air, natural light, open spaces, and time spent outdoors. From porches to oversized windows to dual indoor/outdoor spaces, we think homeowners will want to bring the outside in more than ever before in 2021!

At-Home Entertainment

From restaurants to movie theaters to bars, so many regular entertainment venues have been restricted indefinitely. Custom media rooms, play spaces, game areas, and home bars are a great solution for anyone looking to recreate a night on the town at home. The best part? Simply walk upstairs at the end of the night!

Amped Up Storage

All of this time in our homes has really exposed their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a lot easier to ignore your space’s shortcomings when you’re too busy to notice. We think organization, storage solutions, oversized pantries, and meticulous mudrooms will all be trends to look out for in 2021!

Kitchen Islands: Heart of the Modern Home

A home's design reflects that family's lifestyle. Few floor plans have risen to prominence as much as the island-anchored, open concept kitchen. Most of us know the virtues of open concept homes; they’re bright, welcoming, and visually appealing.

Flowing floor plans offer a lived-in vibe. Instead of formal, one-purpose rooms, these homes have a cohesive family-friendly feel. Each space is designed to multi-task and accommodate the different rhythms of everyday life.

Centerpiece kitchen islands have been popular for a while now, but lately, they’ve become bigger and better! Islands have evolved to include everything from entertaining areas, minibars, prep stations, eat-in tables, and so much more.

Recently, the double kitchen island has also become incredibly popular with our clients. This trend allows for hosting with elegance and ease; one island is the workhorse, while the other remains clutter-free for guests!

Islands are a gathering place. They're the kitchen MVP of weekend pancakes, holiday gatherings, late-night study sessions, weekday snack time, work-from-home conference calls, family baking parties, and so much more. We’ve pulled together a few of our favorite kitchen islands below – take a peek!

white farmhouse kitchen Edina mn

Creating a Bedroom Oasis

The bedroom is a sacred space. Perhaps the most intimate room in any home, bedrooms are private and personal. They're where you get away from the rest of the world, a cozy sanctuary and warm safe-haven. Besides being the spot where you rest your head each night, the bedroom is where deep family bonds are forged and lasting memories are made. Bedrooms are a place to steal away and gather your thoughts, comfort little ones during bad storms, whisper pillow talk into your partner's ear, and lazily snuggle together on Saturday mornings.

Your bedroom should make you feel comfortable, safe, and at ease. A place of peace, it's where you can let go of stress and unplug from responsibilities for a little while. The worries and to-do list may overtake your day, but if only briefly each morning and evening, your bedroom should be a secluded oasis. We take great joy in collaborating with our clients to create each of their calming bedroom retreats. Browse through the photos below of a few standout client bedrooms we love, hopefully they'll inspire to start planning your own hidden bedroom refuge.

Oaklawn Bedroom