so many homes we feature in our “sneak peeks” feature beautiful white shells and bright colors, and are located in some major coastal city. so today is an extra refreshing look into the minneapolis, minnesota home (and studio!) of katie kirk and nathan strandberg. together the talented couple make up eighthourday, a multi-disciplinary, multi-talented design boutique. i love the way that the color black and dark wood become the focal color of their home without feeling dark or heavy. both katie and nathan claim their midwestern upbringings as inspirational to their style, which is then topped off with clean lines and a modern twist. it’s great too to see how their living and work styles compliment each other for a very well designed (life)style. don’t miss more images of both their spaces right here. {thanks, katie and nathan!} -anne
[above: The side table lamps are Jonathan Adler and the artwork is from CSA images.]
The dining room opens to a hallway that connects to the living room, and we didn’t want it to feel like a disconnect, so we stayed within the darker palette. However, in this room we tried to bring in some more lively, modern fixtures and accessories. If the living room is a glass of red wine, this room is a cocktail. We went with a large dramatic light from Design Within Reach.
Squirrel art and terrariums.
We went lighter in the bedroom to contrast a bit with the rest of the house.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Katie’s sneak peek after the jump!
The print above the bed is an illustration I did awhile back and we recently had a large screen print of it made, specifically for the purpose of framing and putting above the bed, we do also have it available in our Etsy shop! I think we wanted something big and bold to act a bit like a headboard.
In the bathroom, we wanted to keep it clean and white.
The artwork is from Office, a design firm in San Francisco. They are from a series of pirate posters and promotional items they did for 826 Valencia, a nonprofit tutoring center for youth. We like to think this is how designers do a nautical theme. Bunny and books.
In the living room we were really inspired by the dark red woods of the trim, it reminded us of a study or a library, so we went with cozy dark colors on the walls combined with elements of nature. Slightly separated from the main seating area is a chaise reading or working area (also shown, our pooch, Eli, who coincidently matches the furniture)
In the kitchen, the cabinets are original to the house, and were restored in the renovation of the building. The artwork is a vintage find, birds of prey at the moment of attack, we don’t know why, but we find them fitting for the kitchen. I think the bizarre location makes us laugh. All and all though, we haven’t done a ton to the kitchen… after 7 years, sadly I think we will probably try to sell it coming up here in the spring, time to be moving on.
Front door and patio. Our home is a condo in a four unit building in South Minneapolis. The building was built in 1922 and was restored with a high attention to detail, particularly, the wood features (the trim, floor, cabinets, etc). When we were looking at places it definitely jumped out at us, the craftsmanship.
We have loft studio in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis in the SoHo building, a unique space that combines commercial condos and loft living spaces. It’s been really great for us to have this creative space and keep it separate from the house.
Sitting area / meeting room / nap couch (used only in emergencies) / and also, the chair on the right is where I typically work with my laptop. We use two large wardrobes from IKEA to help divide up the space from the meeting area up front and the working area in the back. An ongoing collection of vintage and thrift finds. We like to call this Grandma’s Wall.
In the front, we have our meeting area. Because we don’t get a ton of natural light that far back in the studio, we decided to go bright yellow on the walls to help lighten it up. The artwork was created by us, for a while we had some of our work on display in the same location, however, I think the “inforgraphics” are much more fun. Our meeting table is the same as our dining room table at home. We have 2 haha! It’s an IKEA table and I just love the simple lines it has. The logs are actually ceramic (always a bit surprising to those who go to pick them up), got them from the Walker Art Museum shop.
Unicorn and quail vintage finds.
