Well-Crafted Comfort
Nestled into north Fargo’s Edgewood neighborhood is an unexpected offspring borne from thoughtful, small-scale innovation. One could even say it’s a new lifestyle blueprint designed by Craftwell Architecture + Construction and the home’s evolving family of four. Intriguing yet unassuming from the streetside, this Scandinavian-style home invites exploration around every well-crafted corner. The home eliminates unnecessary square footage while reimagining the concept of comfort with minimalist materials, sleek lines, inspired art, and surprising twists. From the front yard’s native prairie grasses to the backyard pool, indoor climbing wall, and sauna, this smaller home is living large.
BY Tracy Nicholson
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Scott Amundson & Dan Francis Photography
HYGGE HOME
Designed for the modern family, Craftwell balanced the demands of working parents with the power of play and high-performance design that’s environmentally agreeable. At the homeowner’s request, the Craftwell team, including Principal Architect Chris Hawley, with project managers Grant Simonson and Johan Joubert, leaned into sleek Scandinavian minimalism, weaving in condo-style comforts to suit the family dynamic today and into retirement.
“The owners love Scandinavian and contemporary design, so they brought a fun style that’s really well done,” said Hawley. “When we started the project, we talked about life with kids; the owners had kids later in life, so they didn’t want to completely abandon their more sophisticated taste. The whole main floor is similar to a condo – the kids have their space below, and the adults have theirs above, with comfortable space on both levels for family. There aren’t a lot of overly sized spaces; it’s just a really comfortable home, with a design centered around the pool and outdoor features they love.”
SMALL-SCALE SOPHISTICATION
The family’s home is just over 3,600 square feet, and every inch of its design was intentional. “They didn’t want a big house; it’s just a really comfortable house. When you see it from the street, it has a cool aesthetic, but it doesn’t seem that big,” said Hawley. “Moving throughout the home, there are 10-foot ceilings on both levels, white oak doors and flooring, and a lot of little pockets of space you wouldn’t expect to see.”
“The homeowners came from an urban place, where they had lived in several smaller, yet really nice condos and houses – they had a lot of life experience from their travels and understood how they truly use a space,” said Hawley. “The kitchen and pool area were big priorities, and the window quality was really important to them. Aesthetically, everything else was pretty minimalistic; they wanted to really use and designate a purpose for every space in their home.”
CORNERING INDOOR/OUTDOOR CONNECTIONS
Stepping inside, the right-sized foyer opens to the main living space and an inviting stairwell that leads down to the kid’s lower-level quarters. A few feet further is the home’s centerpiece, a stunning kitchen that neighbors a family seating lounge and entrance to the primary suite, 3/4 bath, and sauna. Tucked around the corner is a pantry, mudroom, lounge, and cocktail bar – all showcasing an appreciation for high-quality craftsmanship and simple Scandinavian forms.
The architectural kitchen was designed to live seamlessly at the heart of the home, showcasing impeccable German-made cabinetry design by Minneapolis-based Belle Kitchen, with lead designer Tricia Bayer. The perimeter counter, backsplash, and kitchen island, with Galley workstation sink components, are all designed with Dekton slabs, a compressed quartz, porcelain, and glass material highly resistant to scratches, stains, and heat.
The Belle Kitchen design features German-engineered Gaggenau appliances and premium Leicht cabinetry. “Tricia was amazing to work with – we absolutely love these cabinets, and the installer was a perfectionist,” said the homeowner. “The cabinets don’t have any pulls, so with just a touch, they open automatically, and we love that every one of the drawers is lit from within.”
“This was such a great project, mostly because the clients were incredibly fun to work with; they had a fantastic sense of style,” said Bayer. “They took great care in making selections and understood the value of every detail. Our Leicht cabinetry fit so well into what they were trying to accomplish; sleek but not overstated, and super functional. We integrated this design throughout the bathrooms, mudroom, closets, bar, and even the laundry. Projects like this only come together with a carefully curated group of people involved. Craftwell, along with everyone else on the job site, made it happen.”
The kitchen and main living wrap around an outdoor kitchen, dining, and pool area, with a separate entrance leading from the pool to the indoor 3/4 bath and sauna. The outdoor space directly connects and opens to the kitchen through an 18-foot, soft-close patio door and window installation from Innotech.
“This patio door and windows are triple-paned, so when we were working on the home in the middle of winter, we only used the basement’s floor heat and the temperature was perfect,” said Hawley. The whole house is super energy efficient, and the windows are high-performance – they don’t get condensation, even in the middle of January.”
Using stained cedar and steel dowels, along with a steel plate and knife detail, the home’s screen walls and stair railings were collaboratively designed and installed by Straightline Design, Craftwell, and Eric Berg Construction.
ELEVATE THE ORDINARY
Throughout the home, Craftwell worked with Eric Berg Construction to elevate the eye with a refined pattern of white oak plywood ceiling panels, black joint reveals, and an oil and wax finish, adding a more contemporary, squared recessed lighting.
Overlooking the pool and outdoor kitchen with a wood-fired pizza oven, three heaters in the deck’s ceiling lend comfort to outdoor dining throughout the cooler months. Here, screen walls are used for privacy from neighboring views to the outdoor kitchen and pool area. The backyard patio was designed by Bryan Leininger of AGL Landscape Architects, with pool installation by Troy Derheim of My Aquatic Services.
WELL-CRAFTED COMFORT
Keep traveling around the kitchen’s fluid corners to another cozy seating lounge outfitted with Mid-century modern and Scandinavian furnishings, accented by a collection of regional, nostalgic, and pop culture art installations. Here, 60s-style furnishings, like the vintage B&B Italia bubble chair, play to the European influence of the ceramic wood-burning stove from Wittus. Designed by Adriano Design Studio, the stove is handcrafted in Italy by La Castellamonte, using ancient clay working techniques and a ceramic baffle for optimal combustion.
Within this more sophisticated lounge is a 70s-inspired cocktail bar with a custom banquette and leathered black Dekton countertops, once again including cabinetry design by Belle Kitchen. Based on Belle Kitchen’s design, the banquette was custom built by Randy’s Booth Co. and then assembled in the home by Belle Kitchen. The banquette’s abstract sputnik chandelier is one of the home’s few decorative lighting pieces chosen by the owners, with most rooms focused on maintaining a recessed-lit, gallery-style space.
In the more public spaces of the home, the owners worked with Fargo’s Scan Design and the Minneapolis-based ROAM and MartinPatrick3 Studio to add some of the finishing design touches, including a larg-scale Prince installation. The home also features hand-selected photographs from American lens legend Slim Aarons, renowned for capturing the essence of socialites, jet-setters, and celebrities.
On the far wall of the lounge is a trio of paintings the owners discovered while visiting Seattle – noticing the artist’s “701” area code and discovering it was a Devils Lake artist, Leslie LaFleur, who was pursuing her doctorate in Art Psychology at NDSU. The paintings were created with pinecones and newspaper, all modeled after her personal interpretation of her clients’ emotions.
CRAFTY CLIMBING
Just beyond the bar is an unexpected view, offering guests a glimpse through tempered glass into the two-story climbing wall that ascends from the family’s lower-level gym. The climbing wall was a perfect narrow-space solution, embracing the homeowner’s love of the mountains.
“It’s pretty cool that they can be entertaining upstairs while the kids are having a blast climbing from downstairs – all with a clear visual of the wall,” added Hawley. “It’s a super fun layout; this is just one of many little moments that open up as you move through the house.”
“This home is perfect for entertaining indoors and outdoors—the entire back side of the house focuses on entertaining, outdoor living, and pool space—which really drove the project,” said Hawley. “It’s not a very big house, but it lives big; its connection to the backyard doubles the entertainment space.”
“We don’t have a lake cabin and we have close family on the lake that we can visit, so our backyard is our version of a cabin,” said the homeowner.
PRIMARY PERFECTION
Just around the corner from the main living area is the home’s primary suite, including a minimalistic bedroom design and bath with heated tile, double sinks, and a walk-in rain shower. Further into the suite, the owners’ expansive closet system and laundry utilize another Belle Kitchen design, hidden behind sleek Leicht cabinet panels.
LOWER-LEVEL LIVING
Since the lower level caters to the couple’s two kids (6 & 10)—including a casual living room, glassed-off workout space, and a two-story climbing wall—Craftwell kept it simple with polished concrete over a heated floor that warms the entire house. The basement also designates space for a home office, Gaggenau wine fridge, under-stair laundry room, hideaway playroom, and a large, shared bathroom, complete with double sinks and a custom tiled shower.
The lower level’s 23-foot climbing wall was an added element of fun, ensuring unused space found its purpose. To complete the custom climb, the owner sought out local expertise from the past owners of Nature of the North, and Craftwell worked alongside Eric Berg Construction to finish the design, including safety mat features and TruBlue iQ auto-belay catch-and-hold technology.
“WHAT I LOVED MOST ABOUT THIS HOME WAS THE UNORTHODOX APPLICATION OF MATERIALS, THE SIMPLE FORMS, AND THE REALLY UNIQUE LAYOUT. IT’S DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER HOME I’VE EXPERIENCED, AND THE WORKMANSHIP IS INCREDIBLE.”
LOW-MAINTENANCE LIFESTYLE
The exterior cladding of the house was designed using Siparila, a pressure-treated pine Craftwell additionally used to create the home’s indoor sauna. The exterior’s black panels are designed with Skatelite, an extremely strong paper composite material that carries its black coloring all the way through. “It’s weather-resistant and fire-resistant,” said Hawley. “Most people have seen it used in outdoor furniture, but it was originally designed for building skateboard ramps.” Skinner Roofing also worked with Craftwell to complete the home’s contemporary curb appeal with a flat roof design that was carefully insulated, sized, and tapered to withstand the region’s snow load.
Putting the project on hold for a year during COVID, Craftwell was later challenged with navigating widespread material cost increases. “One of the ways we overcame this was finding new ways to use inexpensive materials like plywood and concrete,” said Hawley. “You’ll also notice we didn’t use any stone, not on the exterior or on the countertops. We really tried to strike a balance between natural, low-maintenance, and cost-efficient materials while keeping with a high-quality aesthetic. We’re getting ordinary materials to go as far as they can.”
The pandemic also created challenges in securing the right craftsmen for the job. “We were really careful about selecting certain people, like Belle Kitchen, Jason Studt, and Eric Berg Construction,” added Hawley. “The kitchen, bar, and closets are beautifully designed by Belle, the stairs were hand-crafted by Jason Studt, and all the plywood details and ultra-narrow trim work are Eric’s – you can really see the meticulous quality of work in every room,” said Hawley.
"As the project and construction manager on our team, Johan (Joubert) played a big role in ensuring everything was completed as designed," said Hawley. "Also from Craftwell, Grant (Simonson) excelled as the home's project manager on the design side."
The home’s sustainable features include its smaller footprint, lower ceilings, high-performance windows, heated concrete and tile flooring, and 100% spray foam and rigid insulation – creating one of the tightest envelops in home architecture.
“Chris and his team were awesome to work with, and we actually stayed on budget,” said the homeowner. “Eric Berg’s craftsmanship was also amazing – he was really our first choice for this project, and to see how much he cared and how immaculate he would leave the house was really impressive.”
“The homeowners were planning ahead with every detail, building a home for family now, but also using low-maintenance finishes and thinking 15 to 20 years down the road, considering how they want to live once the next phase of their lives begins,” explained Hawley. “The homeowners appreciate smaller spaces that are well done, so it was really smart to invest their money in the places where they were investing their time. It’s a great house for their life now and later, it’s easy to maintain, and it’s a perfect place for entertaining.”
DESIGN DETAILS
Architecture: Craftwell Architecture + Construction
Contractor: Craftwell Architecture + Construction
Finish Carpentry/Trim: Eric Berg Construction
Cabinetry/Design: Leicht Cabinets - Tricia Bayer - Belle Kitchen, Minneapolis
Appliances: Gaggenau from Belle Kitchen
Kitchen Sink & Inserts: The Galley from Belle Kitchen
Windows: Innotech
Basement Concrete Floor: Masterpiece Concrete
Main Level Flooring & hand-crafted stairs: White Oak by WD Flooring - Installed by Jason Studt, Materia Hardwood Floors
Electrician: Enterprise Electric
Plumbing: Superior Plumbing
Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co. - Minneapolis
Smart System TV/Audio & Shades: Arctic Audio
Prince Art: Sourced by MartinPatrick3 - Minneapolis
Original Retro Framed Photography: Slim Aarons
Bar Banquette: Randy's Booth Co. - Crystal, MN
Pink Banquette Chairs: Scan Design - Fargo
Blue Leather Sofa: Scan Design - Fargo
B&B Italia Bubble Chair & Coffee Tables: ROAM - Minneapolis
Nature Scene Photography: David K. Beavis Fine Art Photography
Colorful Painting: Rando
Mixed-Media Trio/Lounge: Paintings by Leslie LaFleur
Island Stools: Denver Modern
Square Recessed Lighting: Halo
Stair Railings/Slat Wall Install: Straightline Design
Tile Material & Install: Porcelanosa, install by CR Custom Homes
Pool Design/Install: Troy Derheim - My Aquatic Services
Landscaping: Bryan Leininger, PLA - AGL Landscape Architects, PC
Roofing Install: Skinner Roofing
Siding Materials: Siparila & Skatelite by Richlite, Install by Dew-it Construction
Wood-Burning Ceramic Stove: Round Stack Scambiatore - Wittus
For more information, contact:
Craftwell Architecture + Construction
2534 S. University Drive #3 | Fargo, ND
701.478.4600 | info@wecraftwell.com
CHAarch.com