Designer showcase home rescheduled for fall

If touring the designer showcase home is a rite of spring for you, you'll have to wait a few more months this year. The annual event, usually held in May-June, has been bumped back to September-October. Designers have chosen their makeover target, a 1925-built Tudor house near Lake Harriet that will undergo a complete remodel. Because of the size and magnitude of the renovation, more time is needed to complete the project, according to the local chapter of ASID, the American Society of Interior Designers, which hosts the annual fundraiser.

For the first time, the homeowners, Mark and Susan Lacek, are also the "charitable partners" for the showcase home. The Laceks founded Faith's Lodge, a nonprofit that serves families coping with the serious illness or death of a child, and proceeds from this year's showcase event will benefit Faith's Lodge.

What style home will you see when you tour this year's showcase? The Lacek family, which includes two daughters and a rescue dog, has lived in the Caribbean and has asked designers to create a "Minnesota beach house," according to ASID. The remodeled home will have a "Coastal Chic" aesthetic, reminiscent of Cape Cod or the Hamptons.

A team of interior designers will work their makeover magic on every room and space in the 6,400-square-foot home; the results will be open for touring starting Sept. 18.

KIM PALMER

DIY bridal design

You can never plan too early for wedding details, so March 12 is high time for Bachman's DIY Wedding Floral Design workshop. Bachman's veteran bridal consultant will help you learn how to create stunning centerpieces fit for a wedding that still allow easy conversation and views across the table. The $75 fee covers all the materials used for your floral creation. Register at www.bachmans.com or 612-861-7711 for the 5:30-7:30 p.m. class at the Bachman's on Lyndale Design Room.

If you're looking for additional DIY bridal options, you can check out new online company Itsbyu.com, which delivers fresh flowers, tools and online videos to help you make wedding bouquets, centerpieces, corsages and boutonnieres. Arrangements are rated by degree of difficulty and give an estimated time to make them. The venture is an expansion of a floral business by sisters Christine and Caroline Strzalka of Philadelphia. Find the options at https://itsbyu.com/diy-flowers/diywedding.

Shopping at the arboretum

Farmers market mini fixes can bridge the gap until spring. The first Mill City Farmers Market outdoor market won't be until May 9, but a winter market version will pop up at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum March 7 in Chanhassen.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the arboretum's Oswald Visitor Center, shoppers can look for fresh produce and bread, milled grains and flours, coffee beans, cheeses, meats, kimchi, preserves and art work. Find a full list of vendors at millcityfarmersmarket.org.

If you're still in the mood to shop after you've checked out the market, swing by the Arboretum Auxiliary's spring sale of green and growing gift items from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While you're at the arboretum, you also can check out the Minnesota Society of Sculptors Exhibit, which runs March 1-April 12 in the Oswald Visitor Center, Great Hall. Look for more than 50 sculptures ranging from tabletop pieces to large, free-standing creations in a range of media, from bronze to welded steel to wood and ceramic. It's free with gate admission ($12 ages 13 and older; free for members and ages 12 and under).

Need another reason to visit? You can take a sustainable perennials class, March 7 from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Learning Center. Learn about native, noninvasive perennial plants with horticulturalist Julia Bohnen. Fees are $41 member/$55 nonmember; register at www.arboretum.umn.edu/gardeningclasses.aspx.

Martha Buns