FAVORITE THINGS

THREE TWIN CITIES DESIGNERS SHARE THE INSPIRATIONS, INFLUENCES AND DRIVING FORCES BEHIND THEIR STUNNING INTERIORS.

BY CHRIS LEE

Heather Peterson’s FAVORITE THINGS

HEATHER PETERSON CALLS HERSELF A SELF-TAUGHT DESIGNER. True, her formal education didn’t lead directly to interior design. But her master’s degree in modern art and curatorial studies from Columbia University certainly cultivated her visual sensibilities and sense of story — both of which help her create memorable spaces for clients.

The Minnesota native spent more than a decade in New York City, collaborating with artists on projects and public installations. All along, her love of interior design was evident: “I designed my own home, and friends would joke that I was their designer,” she shares. “But I never really thought of it as a career.”

When her family returned to Minneapolis in 2010, she started blogging about her home. Readers liked what they saw and wanted to hire her. “I had this moment when I thought, ‘Do I want to write about design or do design?’” she remembers. Serendipity led her to the latter. Heather Peterson Design recently moved into roomier digs at International Market Square to accommodate her bustling business. Her favorite things demonstrate her artist’s eye.

1 | Icon

“My grandmother’s taste had the biggest impact on me,” she says. “I don’t think I would be doing this job if not for her.” Peterson recalls her grandmother’s home (and wardrobe) as impeccable, with distinctive personality: “Her living room had acres of kelly green carpeting, gold-leaf tole sconces, and a suite of furniture all upholstered in a white quilted damask. A pair of the chairs and the sconces have followed me from home to home for two decades, and now they’re in my studio.”

2 | Space to Design

Bedrooms. “I’m a textile gal, and bedrooms are a great opportunity to layer pattern and texture,” she notes. Since the layout is fairly straightforward and symmetry is natural with a bed as the focal point, “it’s an opportunity to really push the mix without things getting too crazy.”

3 | Era

“I was a kid in the late seventies, so those are my formative experiences with design,” she shares. She loves the mix: a play of proportions, low-slung pieces, wild psychedelic patterns, and materials like plastic and wood cladding. “I’m also a fan of seventies color palettes,” she admits, “though I may be alone in that!”

4 | Artist

Peterson met Minneapolis photographer Shelly Mosman at Art-A-Whirl and considered purchasing a print from her Animal Child series. Instead, she and her husband commissioned portraits of their kids. “I love artwork with textiles and patterns,” she says, “so this highly stylized portraiture is perfect for me.”

5 | Shop

Locally, she turns to Umei for specialty housewares and gifts. “Owner Susan Brouillette lived in Japan and imports the best ceramics and paper goods,” she gushes. Peterson also finds inspiration from Hollywood at Home in Los Angeles and South Loop Loft in Chicago.

6 | Textile

Patchwork. She loves a collage aesthetic in any medium. “For a project in San Francisco, we designed our own color-blocked textile for a pair of antique slipper chairs,” she explains.

7 | Furnishing

She had been stalking this midcentury piece at Retro Wanderlust (one of her favorite vintage spots). “My husband surprised me with it on my birthday,” she says. “I had no idea he was getting it. It’s five feet tall and lives in our dining room — it’s truly one of my favorite things.”

8 | Trend

Decorating the fifth wall, AKA the ceiling. From paint to wallpaper, an unusual treatment can add drama, highlight architectural features like a tray ceiling or crown molding, or bring a high ceiling down.

Greg Walsh’s FAVORITE THINGS

GREG WALSH’S STORY ECHOES MANY AN ENTREPRENEUR’S tale: Talent and hard work lead from small beginnings to extraordinary success. In his case, the interior design studio he opened in his Minneapolis apartment in 1994 blossomed into the exquisitely curated boutique Martin Patrick 3.

Today, MP3’s specialties span fine men’s clothing and accessories, apothecary goods and, as of last year, women’s apparel. Walsh and partner/CEO Dana Swindler’s North Loop store boasts 20,000 square feet of apparel, home furnishings and luxury shops-withinthe-shop. All of it is designed to envelop customers in MP3’s holistic approach to the retail experience.

While the pandemic interrupted Walsh’s buying trips to Paris, Milan and New York City, it didn’t stymie his creativity. The interiors business is thriving, and the pause in demand for men’s business attire spurred a long-contemplated — and highly celebrated — move into women’s fashion. As a designer and international buyer, Walsh is surrounded by inspiration.

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Rooms with their own personalities. Driven in part by COVID, new residential construction reflects a desire for more compartmentalized living, “so we’re back to having spaces that evoke different emotions,” he observes. “If the dining room is part of the kitchen is part of the great room, you can’t have spaces with different vibes.”

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Walsh synthesizes inspiration from many sources: Bauhaus school pioneer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Irish architect Eileen Gray, French decorator Jean-Michel Frank, British designer David Hicks, and stage and set designer Tony Duquette. In the fashion world, he loves Brunello Cucinelli, the Italian creative director of his eponymous brand, and Missoni, the Italian family of fashion and luxury goods known for its colorful textiles and knitwear.

3 | Era

“My dream home would probably be a New York City prewar row house, with lots of molding and plasterwork,” he explains. He’d map midcentury furnishings and contemporary art onto that rich traditional background. “The artistry is in the mix,” he notes, pointing to his own midcentury home in Golden Valley. “I really enjoy modern architecture, but our house is warm. It doesn’t say, We’re living in 1956.”

4 | Accessory

The versatile bar cart. “You can pop a mod one in an old-school design and it feels appropriate,” he notes. Especially when people are entertaining more at home, they want a proper bar cart (like Richard Schultz’s design for Knoll) along with all the necessary accoutrements. “I like items with many layers of design to them that actually serve a purpose,” says Walsh.

5 | Artist

Los Angeles–based twins Simon and Nikolai Haas. The Haas Brothers collection for L’Objet is inspired by the otherworldly landscape of Joshua Tree and features a family of fanciful creatures.

6 | Textile

He prefers textiles that bring together multiple design elements and genres. A current favorite? Pindler’s multi-hued Prism, which undergoes a printing process to give it a painterly appearance with random color variation.

7 | Space to Design

The kitchen and the master bath. “Both are fun because there has to be a high level of organization and function; the whole form follows function,” he explains. After utility come furnishings and finishes, which he relishes as well. “How do you make the kitchen — always the center of entertainment — a show place but highly functional?” he asks. “And for the master bath, what’s the glamour? What’s the sparkle? How do you make it a sanctuary?”

8 | Shop

Where does the owner of Minneapolis’s most inspired retail destination find inspiration? 10 Corso Como in Milan, a high-fashion boutique, bookshop, art gallery and courtyard cafe. “It’s always evolving,” he notes, “and has a grit to it that keeps it local, artful and not processed.”

Kate Regan’s FAVORITE THINGS

KATE REGAN LAUNCHED THE SITTING ROOM STUDIO in a quaint Minnetonka location in 2003. Even then, the 500-square-foot space included a retail component — for good reason. “As a kid, I was enamored with furniture stores and made regular visits to local shops to get my design fix,” she recalls. So when the interior design firm moved to Excelsior’s Water Street, the addition of The Sitting Room Boutique was a natural one. Regan found her niche as a designer and merchant in the iconic Lake Minnetonka town, and her business has grown to a team of 11 employees.

Her affinity for classic design drives her work. “It is the foundation of our brand and is reflected in all our projects,” she explains. As the mother of twin teenage girls (and a beloved Havanese named Georgie), she understands the need for a home to be as functional as it is beautiful. To that end, her favorites are equal parts elegant and easy living.

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The Sitting Room Studio recently worked on the interior design and furnishings for Hotel Excelsior, the new boutique inn on Water Street. Even though this was a commercial/hospitality project, Regan’s goal was to create the comfort of a luxurious residence with upscale finishes and textiles. “We approached the four suites as individual projects, each with its own design aesthetic,” she says. “This is a unique opportunity for a larger audience to fully experience our work.”

2 | Accessory

An avid reader, she loves to include coffee table books in her own home as well as her clients’ homes. “Coffee table books are such a fun and insightful way to personalize a space,” she notes. The Sitting Room Boutique stocks an array of interesting titles, including the Assouline travel series.

3 | Destination

Malta. She spent a semester abroad on this Mediterranean island and later returned with her husband. She revels in the natural beauty, color and architecture found in every direction: “Malta is well known for its bold color palette, from fishing boats to the classic Maltese balconies and decorative residence doorways.”

4 | Furnishing

“We have a navy blue hutch that has lived in our kitchen for the past 12 years,” she says. “My husband and I purchased it as an anniversary gift years ago — the year of wood, maybe? — and it has remained a constant in our home.” This piece has stood the test of time because of its versatility: “It is currently filled with all-white accessories and dishes, but it has been a place to display family photos, kids’ artwork, holiday decor — you name it!”

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Kit Kemp, the founder and creative director of Firmdale Hotels, who also designs textiles, housewares and fragrances. “I love her vibrant, unique style and her approach to design,” she notes. “Her playful use of pattern and detail has a storytelling effect. You can step into any of her designs, and it radiates Kit Kemp.”

6 | Textile

London-based Christopher Farr Cloth, which collaborates with renowned artists, artisans and designers to create its distinctly charming collections. “We recently had a fabric showing of their latest collection, and it really resonated with our entire team,” Regan explains, highlighting its colorful, classic palette, interesting patterns and innovative weave structures.

7 | Summertime Hangout

Her family has a strong connection to the Minnetonka lakeside community of Cottagewood. “From the classic Cottagewood store, which has always held a special place in our hearts and where my twin girls will work their first jobs together this year, to the Minnetonka Yacht Club, where our family has spent countless hours honing a hobby we can participate in together, this place is such a big part of our life,” she shares.