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3 weeks ago | 
startribune.com | Laurie Junker
The Home of the Month winner, built in 1956, now has a logical, tidy arrangement. For the Minnesota Star Tribune March 28, 2025 at 12:01PM Kelly Hinze knew this was the house the minute she walked in the door - even though husband Peter was out of town and unable to assess the Edina rambler's potential in person. Other prospective buyers had already done so, meaning the listing could sell before Peter returned. So after relaying all this to him on the phone, Hinze submitted an offer.
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1 month ago | 
artfulliving.com | Laurie Junker
What appears to be a modest one-story house sits at the end of a wooded driveway near Lake O’Dowd. But looks can be deceiving — and surprising. Thanks to an astute design by architects Mike Gray and Greg Vose of Unfold Architecture, this “modest” abode is actually a palatial 6,866-square-foot residence that melts into the landscape. It was love at first sight for Paul and AJ when they first saw the empty lot in 2021.
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1 month ago | 
artfulliving.com | Laurie Junker
It’s not every day a designer is asked to spruce up a yacht, but Mara Darrow of Traditions Classic Home Furnishings was more than happy to oblige. “I knew this would be a fun challenge,” Darrow recalls. The owners of this 112-foot superyacht named Seaquinn were ready to sell. But first, the couple wanted to refresh the interior and decks to make it more appealing to buyers. “It had a traditional Tuscan vibe, which made the boat feel dated,” Darrow explains.
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1 month ago | 
midwestdesignmag.com | Laurie Junker
Photos by Rich Michell This is a story of everything happening at once—a new business, a new relationship, and a new (old) house. “In 1997, I met Michael [Crull], started my studio, and sold my house soon after to fund it,” says David Heide, historical preservationist and owner of David Heide Design Studio, a local firm that specializes in working with historic houses while respecting their integrity.
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1 month ago | 
midwestdesignmag.com | Laurie Junker
Laurie Junker writes about home design, real estate, and trends and has been contributing to Midwest Home since 2015. She lives in Minneapolis where she's still trying to figure out how to style her bookshelves.
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2 months ago | 
startribune.com | Laurie Junker
Lake Harriet Home of the Month provides room for all hobbiesThe Minneapolis house has the coziness of a bungalow with the light of a modern home and still enough space for a vinyl record collection and cross-country skiing gear. For the Minnesota Star TribuneFebruary 21, 2025 at 1:02PMEmpty lots near Lake Harriet are rare, so when Gray Kimbrell found one, he thought there must be a catch — maybe it was because the hillside site didn’t have an alley.
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2 months ago | 
mspmag.com | Laurie Junker
Tastes, smells, sights, sounds, and the tactile feel of things from our childhoods can provoke powerful emotional responses even decades later. And yet, it goes so quickly. Designer Victoria Sass and her husband, Torben Rytt, were thinking about this during the pandemic, realizing the time they had their three children living with them was relatively short. They felt something was missing and called upon their own youth for clues.
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Jan 24, 2025 | 
startribune.com | Laurie Junker
Nordic-inspired North Shore cabins with private saunas make up Home of the MonthThe cabins in the contemporary village near Lutsen Mountains Ski and Summer Resort are vacation rentals through Ski Hill Cabins & Saunas. For the Minnesota Star TribuneJanuary 24, 2025 at 1:01PMThe story of these strikingly modern North Shore cabins begins with the story of a more familiar architectural form: the A-frame.
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Jan 9, 2025 | 
artfulliving.com | Laurie Junker
Architecture plays a role in memory, especially those formed during childhood when the mind is a sponge, and life is lived in technicolor. The kitchen nook where meals were served, crafts pasted together and squabbles settled as quickly as they started; the closets filled with coats, dog leashes, sporting equipment and other paraphernalia of family life; the quietest path from the front door to your bedroom past curfew.
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Jan 9, 2025 | 
artfulliving.com | Laurie Junker
Fargo lies along the Red River, part of the Great Plains region, where massive herds of bison once roamed its vast, flat expanse, and some of the richest farmland in the world yields bumper crops of sugar beets and spring wheat. The climate here is considered “continental.” Translation: frigid winters and hot, humid summers. Suitable for crops, more challenging for people.
