Featured in West+Main Magazine: A Milestone for The House of Us
We are beyond thrilled to share the exciting news – The House of Us has been featured in the recent issue of West+Main Homes Magazine! This feature is really exciting for us, we worked hard on this project and it’s really nice to share it with our home community.
Behind the Scenes:
In this blog post, we invite you to go behind the scenes of the feature. Explore the showcased designs, read about the inspiration behind the project, and get to know the creative minds driving our family business. We are grateful for this opportunity to showcase our work and share our designs with a broader audience.
The Article:
For Allie Carlson, Broker + Owner of West + Main Homes Minnesota, a love for remodeling homes and creating inviting spaces runs in the family.
“We bought this house in 2007 and I renovated it from top-to-bottom,” explains Barb Carlson. “Then years later we added a pool and transformed the outdoor area with landscape and hardscape. For years I had a vision of turning the outdoor side porch into an indoor eating area and as my family expanded and we needed more space, it became clear it was time to turn my vision into reality!
I wanted the space to feel warm and relaxing, pulling inspiration from styles and materials I’ve seen and loved from my travels to California. We wanted a light and bright base to build the room off of. So we chose soft white paint with white oak accents as a base so we could fill the room with things that brought me back to my favorite vacation spots.
She chose a star + cross terracotta-looking tile and aged brass chandelier and sconces that bring in some old-world charm, and built primitive butcher block benches with scalloped edges, styling them with unique textiles to give the space a pop of color. “This narrow spot behind the wood-slatted fireplace was the perfect place for a swanky little bar area. I ordered a ceiling-mounted metal and glass shelving system to house our glassware, giving hotel vibes, and we found the bar on Facebook Marketplace and refinished it, and finally we added a charming sitting area by the window to create a cozy anchor point for people to enjoy.
I am so fortunate to be surrounded by a talented circle of family members, we’re all in creative fields and everyone really came together to make it happen, from draeing up plans to finding furniture pieces, laying tile, painting + installing the fireplace feature, we all put in the effort and made it happen. It was a collaborative and heartfelt endeavor and I knew together we could bring the vision to life!
We were able to take a small area and create an open space that feels much larger than it is. The shiplap ceilings, walls and trim painted in a soft white with large black windows create an airy feeling that works seamlessly with the rest of the home. We use it for a lot more than gathering for meals, we gather there for business meetings, host celebrations, and relaxation…it has really turned into a special space to enjoy.”
— Barb Carlson
The Project:
Convert a three season porch into a light and bright dinning room and bar space, and open it up to the rest of the house.
Vendors can be found on our project page here.
Gratitude:
A heartfelt thank you to everyone involved, West+Main Homes and Allison Carlson for encouraging us to be apart of the magazine and Madeline Linder for designing such a beautiful spread highlighting our renovation. The wonderful photographers we worked with at spacecrafting, and all the people that worked on the space itself. We look forward to continuing our design journey on not only our own homes but our clients homes as well.
You can view the entire project here.
