[Re]Create Home

by Renée Stewart-Hester | Mar 2022

Photos: Create Home

Hit refresh for this season’s punch list.

Spring fills many of us with the desire to shed heavy home décor and brighten up our spaces with goodness and light. While it’s tempting to have an “anything goes” mentality after a season of living buttoned up—in the literal and figurative senses—there are some easy suggestions to follow when it comes to home interior design.

For a creative perspective, we talked with Sandy Mahoney, a home builder and award-winning designer and founder of Create Home, a retail furnishing store, design studio and remodeling showroom in Excelsior.

What interior styles and colors will be on board for spring and summer? “Overall, we are seeing the desire for simplicity in home design and styling,” Mahoney says. “With furniture, art and accessories, that often means fewer pieces, artfully planned as a composition. Styles are often eclectic, with furniture leaning a tad contemporary, yet with a juxtaposition of unexpected pieces, even from a different style, woven in.”

Mahoney recommends utilizing different textures, which is right on trend. “The key is to combine these different pieces and textures while achieving continuity. It’s easy to get messy—keep it simple,” she says.

Create Home Kitchen Design

Per colors, are we going pastels or striking a more vibrant tone? “We are still seeing a lot of white—and loving it,” Mahoney says. She points to one of Benjamin Moore’s 2022 picks, Steam. “It’s a beautiful soft white,” she says. Benjamin Moore’s 2022 Spring color palette leans toward pastels. “I love that they are colors from nature that have a soft chalky feel,” Mahoney says.

But this time of year, many of us yearn for a bit of color with nature serving as inspiration. “We also love green,” Mahoney says. “Greens really emerged a few years ago, and it continues to evolve. We don’t see that trend going away any time soon. Here, in Minnesota, with our gray winters, green is so fresh and has such energy.” While paint or other wallcoverings can bring in green tones, so, too, can plant life. “Live plants transform spaces,” Mahoney says. “The splash of color and organic feel are so comfortable.”

The creation and use of multi-functional spaces are picking up pace, according to Mahoney. “With the challenges we experienced since the pandemic, clients are reinventing bonus spaces, bedrooms and living areas into flex spaces and home offices,” she says.

Create Home Warm Neutral Décor

Attention to areas devoted to wellness is also important to some homeowners. “Requests for wellness spaces are pretty common these days, and we make it personal,” Mahoney says. “After all, we all have different physical and spiritual needs. Yoga, Pilates, massage therapy, exercise, meditation and prayer rooms are becoming a priority in design.”

Clients are also seeking out sustainable materials. “It’s all about reducing negative impacts on the environment and focusing on health and comfort,” Mahoney says. “The objective of sustainability is for us to look at products that reduce the consumption of nonrenewable resources and to minimize waste. At Create Home, we see this often in choices for floor coverings and countertops.”

What emerging home décor and design trends does Mahoney embrace? “I just love the juxtaposition of styles,” she says. “It’s so fun to look at the variety of things clients pin and love … [and] finding a way to weave their favorites into a composition that is uniquely their own. Today’s trends allow so much freedom to combine different styles, and I love the art of pulling it all together.”