For Sandi Adams, there's no gray area — just an emphatic black and white.
Her re-imagined Minneapolis home's interiors juxtapose the two crisp clean colors in every space — from the kitchen's pendant lights to tiled walls in the shower.
"I love the contrast of black and white," she said. "It's how I dress."
Adams completed her whole-house makeover this year; it's among the 55 projects open for tours during the Remodelers Showcase, Sept. 28-30. (It's one of two Dream Homes that cost $5 to tour.)
Adams splits her time between Fargo and Minneapolis for business and personal reasons. Fargo is her home base, but she travels to Minneapolis to spend time with family and friends.
After renting a condo near Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun), Adams decided to buy property in Minneapolis. "I really liked the vibe of Uptown, the city lakes and the investment opportunities here," she said.
While house-hunting, Adams scrutinized many older traditional residences but in the end, couldn't resist a glassy contemporary house built in 2007.
It was in the Linden Hills neighborhood on a hill overlooking Beard's Plaisance park, with Lake Harriet only two blocks away.
"It had mature trees, big windows and was built well," she said.
The home's contemporary flair was repeated inside with a cool metal cable chandelier spanning the three-level, steel-railinged staircase.
However, the floors were covered in blah gray tile, the bedrooms in taupe carpet, with basic builder finishes throughout the 10-year-old house.
"Every room felt so cold," said Adams. "I needed to make it my own design."
She enlisted Jeremy Glynn and Nate Jurmu, owners of Frontier Structures in Buffalo, Minn., to transform the generic gray-and-white tiled box into a smarter, efficient layout, with upscale finishes and up-to-date technology.
Adams also collaborated with designer Danielle Loven of Vivid Interior in Minneapolis to create sophisticated modern spaces that expressed her eclectic taste within the 4,500-square-foot home.
"It's the same size house, but it feels much bigger with the new finishes, colors, lighting and better functionality," said Jurmu.
You'll also find some surprises in the new spaces — from a modern-day tub and shower combo to a laundry room built inside a closet concealed behind folding doors.
But the luxe black-and-white cook's kitchen is where Adams spends most of her time, baking cheesecakes and grilling flank steak for dinner parties.
"I saw the home's potential and knew it could work for me," she said.
Kitchen that cooks
The light-filled kitchen's new layout was driven by Adams' passion for cooking and entertaining. Two center islands provide plenty of work space and encourage congregating and sitting. "I put people to work," she joked.
The islands are topped with white and gray-veined marble-look quartz contrasted with a black Rubio finish on the island base.
The sculptural range hood, composed of wood and industrial metal accents, plays off the mosaic-tile backsplash in shades of black, gray and silver that shimmer like pieces of metal.
"The movement gives the kitchen a 'wow' factor," said Adams.
The spacious area is equipped with amenities, including a built-in wine refrigerator and coffee bar.
The "light cloud" in the ceiling is an architectural detail that also creates ambience, said Jurmu.
"There's so much power in little details," agreed Adams, pointing out a pop-up outlet set in a countertop so it doesn't impede the clean backsplash.
"The kitchen's monochromatic tone feels so dynamic," she said, "and it's easy to add color during the different seasons."
Curvy tulip table
Adams chose a mod white Saarinen tulip table for the adjacent dining area. She's ordered lime dining chairs to bring in bursts of color amid all the black and white.
The geometric hexagon-shaped chandelier was carefully curated so it doesn't obstruct views to the backyard patio.
Living room redo
Frontier Structures dressed up the spare living room with white painted shiplap above a gray-streaked marble fireplace surround flanked by oak built-in shelves and cabinets.
They also removed the outdated raised hearth and lowered the fireplace box for more flat-screen TV space. Finally, the cold gray tiles were replaced with sandy-hued French oak floors.
Cozy corner
White textural shiplap, a sleek new linear fireplace and black carpet turned the den from cold and uninviting into warm and welcoming.
Owner's suite retreat
Adams continued the graphic black-and-white motif in her bedroom with a black-beamed ceiling as a counterpoint to the floor-to-ceiling white marble fireplace surround. A drop-down flat-screen TV doesn't block the treetop views.
The reconfigured bathroom had limited space, but Adams didn't want to give up a soaking tub.
Jarmu's creative solution was to place the free-standing tub inside a big glass-enclosed shower.
"I saw it in a design magazine, so I knew it could be done," she said.
