The Design Trade

Blauvelt and Winter ground their soaring two-story living room with classics such as Eero Saarinen’s Womb chair and ottoman, a Noguchi coffee table, an Eames wire-base table and a Danish teak credenza, which displays their collection of pottery and a pair of Martz lamps made by Marshall Studios. Flor carpet tiles help add color to the neutral palette.

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“I simply was drawn to the notion of concrete. So much great modern architecture has made use of it,” Blauvelt says.

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The home’s mix of dark ipe wood, concrete, and glass give credence to Winter’s description of it as “an open bunker.”

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A portion of Blauvelt’s 3,000-book library is archived in the long entry hall where the geometry of a Noguchi lamp plays off a pair of minimalist prints by Daniel Buren.

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A loveseat and two Neo arm chairs by Niels Bendtsen in the living room offer Blauvelt a light-filled view to the courtyard beyond.

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The kitchen forms the centerpiece of the main living space.

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The kitchen features cabinets by carpenter James LaChance, Hanstone quartz countertops, Electrolux Icon Series appliances, and a Jenn-Air exhaust hood.

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This limited-edition ceramic plate by artist Takashi Murakami was specially commissioned for the Walker Art Center.

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A monumental German climate map enlivens the dining area, which also sports CH 23 & CH 30 chairs by Hans Wegner.

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The master bathroom has a bamboo screen and a Deauville tub by Victoria + Albert. A vintage enameled metal sign from the London Underground is framed by the screen and a cactus that sits atop an African stool.

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A pair of mid-century Martz lamps flank the Parsons bed from Room & Board in the master bedroom.

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Winter takes care of chores like tree trimming and the tending of his succulents.

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A tall steel gate grants entry to the courtyard.

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Friends gather in the courtyard to make the most of Minneapolis's limited temperate times.

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Here on the patio you can see that rigid grid that Blauvelt so likes at play in the landscape designed by rosenlof/lucas.

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Design tomes, a salient message, mid-century ceramic.

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Here's a proper view of the back of the house that reveals the height of the space and how the courtyard really does function as an outdoor room.

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By dint of the double-height ceiling in the dining area, the master bedroom has a nice view out to the courtyard. Though a mere pull of a pair of curtains is all that's needed to block out the light.

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Noguchi lamp, meet the business-card-carrying ceramic monkey.

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The neighbors get a glimpse of what goes on in the Blauvelt-Winters courtyard.

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Blauvelt sits at his Parsons dining table from Room and Board.

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Cheeky posters in the hall belie Blauvelt's training as a graphic designer.

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The darker gray garage door offers a chromatic and textural contrast to the concrete shell.

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The study houses not only a pair of plastic Eames shell chairs but much of the couple's large collection of architecture and design books.

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The sight line down the stairs leads right past the dining room table and out toward the coutyard.

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Which is the true design classic: the Eames rockers, Eames Wire Base Table, or those tasty M&Ms?

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Scott Winter determines precisely what his laptop is telling him at the kitchen bar. The poster on the wall behind him celebrates the Schubert opera Snow White.

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Here's another view of the mid-century ceramics the couple collects and displays around the house.

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