This blog post is authored by my 10-year-old son.  Recently, Zeke and Izzy felt inspired to create something truly magical as a gift for their teachers to express their gratitude.  In our family, we often enjoy crafting personalized gifts, and this idea is one of my favorites.

Over the past 6 months, I've had the privilege of working on numerous projects at Carpet Court. One remarkable trend I've noticed is the growing interest in owner's suite bathroom remodels. My clients seek to transform their bathrooms from outdated, cramped spaces into havens of quiet sophistication.

Creating a home oasis is an important concept for our homes. I first realized this during my second honeymoon in Hawaii for our 10th anniversary. The experience was so magical and memorable that I wanted to embrace the idea of creating a home oasis. Even my husband, Michel, commented on how we were acting like it was our first honeymoon.

I had the pleasure of being a part of the Minneapolis Home + Remodeling Show with Carpet Court at the beginning of February. The event was a great opportunity for me to engage and interact with homeowners and assist them in making informed decisions about their flooring, kitchen, and bathroom projects.

Colors have a powerful impact on our moods and emotions. As a parent of autistic children, I have observed that my daughter is extremely particular about the colors and textures of fabrics. She strongly prefers bright colors, with her favorite colors being red, white, and yellow in that specific order. She even distinguishes between colors to wear based on who likes what. For instance, if I present her with a blue shirt or pants with her favorite animal on it, she immediately assumes that it is for her brother since he likes blue. When it comes to home decor, selecting the right colors is crucial in creating a welcoming and comfortable space that reflects your personality and style. In this article, I will share my expert tips for using color psychology to create a home you love.

In the ever-changing world of interior design, the latest trend that has been gaining momentum in the design community is the minimalist approach to casing and baseboards. This approach brings a fresh and contemporary look to any space by focusing on clean lines and simplicity, which enhances the interior aesthetics, functionality, and overall design.

When it comes to creating a well-designed interior, we often overlook the importance of the stairway. However, a thoughtfully designed staircase can do wonders for enhancing the overall aesthetic of your home. Not only does it captivate the attention of anyone who enters, but it also sets the tone for your interior design style. That's why revamping your stairway should be a top priority.

Jury Duty is hard. It’s an honor to do it but it’s a huge ask to put your life on hold for the trial period. Well, it happened to me just last week. I didn’t realize it would be a healing process for me. I know you are probably thinking healing and jury duty don’t mix. It did for me due to my past.

August always seems to fly by, doesn't it? There's just so much going on with my business, events, family activities, and more. And now that it's back-to-school season, you might be thinking about tackling those projects you didn't have time for over the summer.

I had a wonderful opportunity to tour Cambria with Select Surfaces earlier this month. It was an amazing experience to tour the one and only manufacturing plant right here in Minnesota (Le Sueur). Cambria is privately held and owned by the Davis family. Marty Davis took the time out of his full schedule to speak to us “the designers” who spec and create beautiful designs with their product.

My eldest son recently purchased an SUV in Arizona. It was an amazing deal, and I couldn’t believe he scored it. Since he is paying for the car, I decided to pay for his one-way ticket to retrieve it. My husband & I had some flights we had canceled from Southwest Airlines previously. I wanted to use the reservation number from the canceled flights to pay for my eldest son & his girlfriend’s flights. Little did I know it would take 1.5hrs and I still didn’t get what I wanted because I DIDN’T ask the right question 🙄. I was beyond frustrated at this point because what the previous CSR’s (customer service representatives) told me would not work with according to CSR #4. This personal experience reminded me how important it is to ask the right questions. The problem is if you are not in the industry | business | service, how do we know what questions to ask?

Last weekend we embraced my Uncle’s Mark Celebration of Life. He passed away Wednesday November 23, 2022. My Uncle was caring and giving person who would give you his shirt off his back. He helped me through my divorce.

On Friday June 9th I had the opportunity to attend the Summer Artisan Home Tour from June 9 – 25, 2023. I only viewed 3 homes #11 construction2style, #6 Gordon James, and #2 Harrison Custom Builders, LLC due to the amount of detail and sensory overload. The one thing all 4 homes had in common was paint trends. They were all smoking hot and participating in the “quiet luxury” with paint.

Last month, I had the opportunity to embark on the Vacation Rental Design Summit before High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina. It was a two-day event learning from the best in this market.

So, here’s 5 Expert Vacation Rental Design Tips to boost your earnings…

My husband asked me the other day “What’s a Hood Liner? I see you have a class about it.” Yes, as a woman-owned small business and having elementary children we share calendars. My calendar is full of business & personal items. When he asked that I was speechless. I thought everyone knew about hood liners. I started telling him about it but then stopped mid-sentence. “I told him thank-you for inspiring me for my next blog.” So, let’s get down and dirty about hood liners 😍.

I have been touring the Parade of Homes for the last 25 years, ever since I graduated from SDSU with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design, but this is the first time I blogged about it. I didn’t even think about doing it. It was my brother-in-law who told me I should write a blog about the trends I am seeing in the 2023 Spring Parade of Homes. I will be focusing on the trends I saw in most of the homes over a weekend, which were 15. Here’s the trends from my perspective (MN Certified Interior Designer)….

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to speak to my fellow colleagues on “Aging in Place.” It was a brunch & learn through ASID and Francis King graciously hosted us. It was empowering and scary for me at the same time for this was my first speaking event. Let’s just say it went amazing 😍. I was overjoyed with the positive feedback. We even had an ASID member join through Zoom from Brainerd.

We all have obstacles/things in our lives to grow or shrink from. I have experienced both…. Here are some lessons I have learned from a personal side & design side.

ASID MN Chapter once again held an amazing event sponsored by Select Surfaces. The challenge was to create something beautiful out of the mysterious item we receive in the white box. This year it was saw dust. Yes, Charles Cabinets provided the saw dust for the designers to make something seemly unattractive into something stunning.

I (currently came) returned back from Design and Construction Week 2023 which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. “More than 200,000 house and design professionals from across the globe” came together for 5 different shows; NKBA – Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), NAHB – International Builders’ Show (IBS), The National Hardware Show, The International Surfaces Event and the Las Vegas Winter Market. These trade shows did a fabulous job collaborating for if you purchase a ticket from KBIS you were able to attend the rest of them. My focus was on KBIS & IBS.