Cape Cod-Inspired Edina Home

Designer: Andrew Flesher, Allied ASID
Firm: Gunkelman Flesher, 612-333-0526

Upon entering this classic Cape Cod–style home in Edina, you’d expect to see charming cottage details. But what makes this project by designer Andrew Flesher so engaging is that the interior is unexpected: The palette is largely neutral, the style classic modern. “The clients liked a clean, almost Zen type of look,” Flesher says. “I had always wanted to do a colonial or a Cape Cod with an interior that was a little more architectural and not too decorated looking, and they were very willing to run with it.”

Because the previous owner had already remodeled the home, Flesher’s team had a strong architectural foundation. Yet, in terms of decorating, they still considered the home to be a blank canvas. For the main level, which includes the living room, they refinished original oak floors with dark walnut stain and painted all the walls and trim the same color, Benjamin Moore Super White (flat finish on the walls, satin finish on the trim). “It’s my favorite white,” Flesher says. “It’s not too cool and it’s not too warm. It’s the perfect noncolor, which sets up as a great backdrop.”

Flesher chose a mix of modern classic and nature-inspired furnishings. A Florence Knoll sofa in linen and Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chairs in pale olive leather provide the seating. They face a cocktail table that dramatically anchors the arrangement—Flesher describes it as a “sliced chunk of wood, very organic in quality.” Above the fireplace hangs a pair of Richard Hutter works in acrylic and ink from Circa Gallery; to the sides stand Kevin Reilly–designed floor lamps from Holly Hunt. “With those floor lamps, we played with scale a little,” Flesher says. “The rest of the lighting is very discreet. It’s there to do work and not to make a statement.”

Because of the cheery nature of the adjoining kitchen and breakfast rooms, however, Flesher decided to use the rooms to make fun statements. Yellow enters the scheme via the wall paint, and touches of coral come into play through the Eames chairs and the leather cushion on the banquette. The Dandelion pendant by Dutch manu-facturer Mooi is like sculpture, Flesher says, adding, “I love the cutout circles because of the shadows they create on the ceiling.”