This unique tiled wall is a play on mending old tile with new. The darker green tiles are in the shape of Minnesota’s lakes. They’re the creation of Kristen Falkirk, who thought it would be a delightful homage to our Land of 10,000 Lakes. Photo: Taylor Hall O’Brien
“To thine own self be true,” describes the ethos of designer Victoria Sass.
In a world where conformity often dictates the blueprint of our homes, there’s a quiet renaissance stirring. It’s a movement where walls aren’t just barriers but opportunities for expression. Where rooms aren’t confined by their designated purposes but liberated as canvases for individuality. Welcome to the realm of home design where the traditional layout takes a backseat, and the only rule is to make a home truly yours.
Function Before Tradition
“There is a lot of reimagining of the function of rooms,” says Victoria Sass, design director of Prospect Refuge Studio. “Do I need a formal dining room? Do I just want to have kitchen dining space? Do we need to be beholden to the traditional structure? People are really reinventing it and tailoring it toward their lifestyle.”
Sass helped one Edina family transform their home into a place where the whole neighborhood could gather.
“It’s an open door to the neighborhood. It’s a meeting space,” Sass says of the redesign, which they call the Public House, as it is imbued with the charm of a traditional British tavern. “They’re wanting neighbors to come and go and use their home like a second home. You walk in the door, and you’re greeted with, rather than a formal living room, we just filled it with a big TV [and] a pool table. It was more about entertainment than about sitting and talking.”
Sass says more clients are getting comfortable choosing what works for them. “Maybe the dining room doesn’t go in the traditional place. Maybe, we don’t even have a formal living room. You can make it what you want. It’s a fun trend to really think about what works for you,” Sass says.
Wall Art
If room swapping is too avant garde, Sass also recommends incorporating art in an unexpected way.
“We’re really encouraging [homeowners] to pick a thing or two and incorporate art into your home, [and]not in a framed, photographed-like way. Can the tile be art? Can the stone be art?”
Sass says, more and more, she is reaching out to artisans and craftspeople to produce one-of-a-kind installations. “It’s really a work of art. It’s nothing we’d fabricate for anyone else,” she says.
One recent project was the work of ceramist Kristen Falkirk. Sass asked her to create a tile installation that looked timeworn but with a field of accent color. “It looked like it had been patched back together over time,” Sass says. “[Falkirk] studied Minnesota lake shorelines, and she painted these various shorelines and used them as inspiration as shapes. This isn’t a tile that you get from a catalog. It’s totally, uniquely made for this project.”
Uniquely made to embrace the limitless possibilities that come with crafting a home that reflects our identities. When a home becomes a journey of self-expression, every corner becomes a story, every space a sanctuary and a testament to the boundless creativity that resides within.
Prospect Refuge Studio
4801 Nicollet Ave., Mpls.; 612.789.2507
Instagram: @prospectrefugestudio
Streeter Homes
18312 Minnetonka Blvd., Wayzata; 952.449.9448
Instagram: @streeterhomes
Kristen Falkirk Tileworks
Instagram: @kristenfalkirk_tileworks
Full Circle Construction Inc.
4040 Harriet Ave. S., Mpls; 612.384.7295
Instagram: @fullcircle.construction
