Interior Ins and Outs

Also, although massive McMansions continue to mushroom across the landscape, designers are confident that people are actually happier in human-scaled rooms. A large house may be roomy without feeling like a barn, and this can be achieved with smaller furniture and a clever use of space.

Out: Anything too “fabulous,” or attention grabbing, and too much of it. “It’s not relaxing to be challenged by your interior,” LaMendola notes. The scale of furniture is shrinking, and lines are becoming cleaner and simpler. Strangis would be glad to see a move away from “overdesign” in lighting, and Ramsey-Engler denounces curlicue wrought iron.

In: Recognizing and reflecting the place where you live. This doesn’t necessarily mean pine logs, quilts, and Scandinavian artifacts. It does mean that houses need to be warm and cozy in winter, cool and airy in summer, and interpret Minnesota’s natural settings of prairie, woods, lakes and rivers, sandstone and granite. If you have a fabulous lake view, let that be the centerpiece, and don’t gild the lily with heavy-handed references such as duck portraits and reproduction birch-bark canoes.

Out: Crossing the line between alluding to your favorite places in the world and replicating your favorite places in the world. While Strangis says that professionals like their living space to reflect their education and travels, Beson is quick to point out that good design is not necessarily a literal translation. You don’t have to reproduce the ruins of the Forum or have rooms themed to reflect the seven wonders of the ancient world. “Themes are out,” Beson says firmly. “Taking things too literally is out.”

The Good, the Bad, and the Inexcusable

Not as in as you’d think: Green design. Clients talk about using sustainable design and materials, but in the end costs can be prohibitive, and people just want what they want.

More out than you’d think: Vessel sinks. They are pretty but impractical, as water splashes all over the place, turning a sleek design into a sloppy mess. “I was over them before they started,” Ramsey-Engler confesses.

Out and Out: Corian countertops. “There’s nothing beautiful about it,” LaMendola intones.