Where does Garth hang out between shows? In this backstage retreat

Two weeks ago, a pair of interior designers got an unusual request: Would they be interested in creating a backstage lounge for country-music superstars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood?

Target Center was looking for a way to make the singing spouses feel at home during their long-running gig — 11 shows in 10 days, with back-to-back shows on some nights.

"They [Target Center] wanted something homey and comfortable," said Jacquelyn Carter of Renewing Spaces, Minneapolis. "They liked our stuff and called us out of the blue."

Carter and her business partner, Stacy Sternberg, have designed and staged a lot of interiors, but they'd never before been called upon to create essentially a pop-up den for a performer who was passing through town. "This is a first," Carter said.

The time frame was short; the project would have to be completed in just a couple of days, before Nov. 6, the date of the duo's first concert. But the designers were game.

"The whole idea of it was fun," Carter said. "And who doesn't love Garth Brooks?"

Unlike many big-name performers with exhaustive backstage requirements, Brooks and Yearwood hadn't asked for anything special, according to Katrina Jaeger, marketing manager for Target Center. "This was done by Target Center for them," she said. "This is a really big deal for our venue. We wanted to create something unique and special."

The space — two rooms that can be opened into one — started out bare bones: concrete walls, black curtains and black and gray carpet tiles. During basketball games it's used as a changing area for Crunch, the Timberwolves' mascot. Although it has been dressed up for other events, Jaeger said, it's never before gotten a complete designer makeover.

"We've done a lot of different things for different performers, but we've never used a staging company to come in and transform a space," she said.

Carter and Sternberg, who were given free creative rein, came up with an "urban country" look. The furniture, which was pulled from their staging inventory, is clean-lined and contemporary, while accent pieces are more rustic. The color palette of browns, creams and grays was inspired by a pair of decorative yak horns that the designers rented from Ciel Loft & Home in St. Louis Park. "It's a little shop with creative, cool things you don't find anywhere else," Carter said.

Cowhide pillows, faux-fur throws and decorative metal panels add to the rustic chic vibe.

To personalize a space for people she'd never met, Carter turned to the Internet.

"I googled to try to find out what he [Brooks] likes. I couldn't find anything in particular. He's not like some stars with long lists of demands. … I know he likes baseball." So she stocked the coffee table with books about the sport, Target Field — and Johnny Cash.

Brooks is using his first initial, lowercase, as a tour logo, so Carter and Sternberg found a similar "g" to display as artwork, along with a "T" for Trisha.

Other artwork, sepia-toned prints of rural images, such as barns and cows, were produced by Target Center. "They said, 'We're making them different sizes and you're welcome to use them in the design,' " Carter said. "They really fit in with what we wanted to do."

The designers didn't get to meet Brooks or Yearwood, but they do plan to attend the singers' show on Friday. They've heard through the grapevine that the couple were pleased with their little refuge.

"They seemed honestly surprised to see a space uniquely created for them," Jaeger said.

In a news conference to kick off the Twin Cities concert series, Yearwood thanked "whoever made us feel so welcome" at Target Center. "This place turned into Garth and Tricia Central backstage," she told reporters, while Brooks took note of "all the Gs."

Carter, who watched the news conference online, heard the shout-out. "I hope our space had something to do with it."

Kim Palmer • 612-673-4784