Fall Back in Love With Your Home — Home Renovation in Minneapolis, MN

Design-build means the design and the construction happen under one roof, with one team responsible for the whole project — and it's the single biggest reason our renovations go smoothly. On a traditional project, you hire an architect to design and a separate contractor to build, and the seam between them is where most renovation problems live: designs that come in over budget, plans that miss a structural or cost reality, and decisions that fall through the cracks between two companies while you're stuck in the middle. As a design-build studio, we own the entire outcome. We design to your real budget from the start, so what we draw is buildable and affordable; we catch construction realities during design, not after; and you have one accountable team from first sketch to final walkthrough. For homeowners, it means far less stress, fewer surprises, and a project that actually holds together.

It starts on day one, not at the end. Because we design and build together, we design to your actual budget from the very beginning — pricing the work as we design it, so the plan you fall in love with is one you can actually afford to build. That alone prevents the most common and painful renovation surprise: falling for a design you can't afford. From there, we're transparent about costs throughout, make decisions with the budget in full view, and manage the project tightly so it stays on track. Renovating an older home always carries some uncertainty behind the walls, and we're honest about that and plan sensible contingencies for it rather than pretending it away. The result is that our projects come in on or very close to budget far more often than the industry norm, which is exactly what our clients tell us they were most afraid of and most grateful for.

In most cases, yes, at least for part of the project, and we work hard to make it as livable as possible. For a kitchen remodel or an addition, we can often phase the work and set up temporary arrangements so your family can stay in the home through much or all of it. For a whole-home renovation, there may be a period where moving out temporarily makes life much easier, and we'll be honest with you about that up front so you can plan. Whatever the situation, we treat your home with real respect while we're in it — containing dust, protecting your belongings, keeping the site clean and safe, and being the kind of team you're comfortable having around your family. Minimizing the disruption of living through a renovation is something we take seriously, because we know it's one of the biggest worries homeowners have.

Yes, and it's some of our favorite work — the Twin Cities are full of wonderful older homes, and we specialize in updating them for how families live now while honoring what makes them special. We know the local housing stock intimately: the 1920s bungalows, the character homes around the lakes, the quirks and the craftsmanship of older construction. We renovate them with genuine respect, preserving and restoring the woodwork, the details, and the soul that make an old home worth keeping, while modernizing the layout, the kitchen and baths, the systems, and the efficiency for today. We're also experienced with the specific realities of renovating older homes — the surprises behind the walls, the permitting, the structural considerations — so those don't derail the project. If you love your old home but wish it worked better, that balance of preservation and modernization is exactly what we do best.

It depends enormously on the scope — a bathroom remodel, a kitchen, an addition, and a whole-home renovation are very different projects — as well as your finishes and the realities of your specific home, so rather than a meaningless range, we give you honest, specific numbers early. After an initial visit and conversation, we can give you a realistic budget range for your project, and because we design to your budget, we keep the design and the cost aligned from there. We're transparent about the full picture, including the things people forget like permits, and we help you understand where the money goes and where you can prioritize. Our whole approach is built around no ugly surprises on cost, because we know that's what homeowners fear most. The first conversation and quote are free, and they're the best way to get real numbers for your specific home and goals.

Our studio is in Linden Hills in Southwest Minneapolis, and we work throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding suburbs — Linden Hills, Kenwood, the neighborhoods around the lakes, Edina, and the broader Twin Cities metro. This is our home, and knowing the local housing stock, the neighborhoods, the permitting, and the trades intimately is a big part of the value we bring. We focus on the Twin Cities so we can do it well. If you've got a home here that you love the location of but wish worked better, we'd genuinely love to come take a look and talk about what's possible — the first visit and quote are free.