Kassina Folstad craves time outside. So when she and her family had to remove a huge pine tree from their St. Paul lawn three years ago and were left with an empty, barren space, she knew just what to do: create an outdoor living and dining area that would provide both privacy and room for everyone to hang out.
“All of a sudden we had this massive open area,” she says. “And our house is on the bluff, and without any shade, we felt like everybody could see everything about our house.”
Luckily, Folstad is no stranger to projects like these: As the owner and principal of architectural and interior design company Hello Norden, designing functional yet well-crafted spaces is in her blood. The first step? Building a fence and expanding their pergola to bring back that much-needed shade and privacy. The second? Filling the outdoor room with handcrafted furniture and goods, a wood-burning fireplace, and clever accessories built for lengthening the outdoor season so Folstad’s family and friends can dine and play alfresco from spring well into the fall.
The final step was grabbing her friend, Twin Cities cookbook author Emily Maxson, to plan a cozy-chic dinner party celebrating delicious food, local style, and deep friendships. Take a look inside—and out.
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Pergola
The grapevines draping over Folstad’s pergola, many of which started from two small vines she planted eight years ago (and one vine that came with the property, which she estimates is about 50 years old), have taken off on top of their new home. “In two years, the pergola went from maybe half shade now to 100 percent covered, total shade. It really helps the vines thrive,” she says. The two-level space “takes advantage of the natural slope of the landscape,” Folstad says. “That’s how I organized what would go where.” A retaining wall that she “wanted immediately to look old, like a French or Italian countryside,” breaks up the space. Wool blankets and pillows adorning the lounge area are available in Hello Norden’s shop. Folstad turned an 8-foot stock tank into a cedar-wrapped pool that’s cool in the summer and heated as a hot tub in the winter.
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Table Setting
“My aesthetic is very northern, and in Scandinavia, you go and eat outside at restaurants all year,” says homeowner and designer Kassina Folstad. “I wanted to make a space we could enjoy as long as possible during the year.” Her company, Hello Norden, sells Douglas fir and white oak reclaimed wood furniture, like the lounge chair (opposite) and dining table and benches (on this page), in its new shop (now open in north Minneapolis’s Northwind Lofts building). Distinctive tablewares and furs, also from Hello Norden’s shop, bring an eclectic feel to cookbook author and chef Emily Maxson’s multicourse fall menu.
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Stay Warm
Heaters, a fireplace, and furs from the Hello Norden shop make the space cozy during cooler months. Another helpful addition? Emily’s recipe for pumpkin spice chai lattes, which include real pumpkin and significantly less sugar than most coffee shop versions. (Find the recipe in Emily’s Fresh Kitchen.)
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Foodie Friendships
A perfect partner for Folstad’s outdoor dinner parties? Her friend Emily Maxson (above left, with Folstad, right), author of Emily’s Fresh Kitchen, a cookbook highlighting simple and clean recipes that are adaptable for crowds—and people with dietary restrictions. Emily, a former catering chef, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 28 and found healing and success using the “specific carbohydrate diet”—a diet that eliminates foods like gluten, sugars, milk products, and many processed foods. After blogging about her journey creating tasty recipes that were SCD-friendly and eventually adding other foods back into her diet, she was so inspired she wrote a cookbook (out earlier this year from Publish Her) aimed at people craving relatively easy recipes with clean, unprocessed ingredients.
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Cool Contrast
Hello Norden custom-made all of the Douglas fir and white oak reclaimed wood furniture, from the dining table to the lounge furniture, and versions of all of the pieces (plus other custom options) are available through Hello Norden’s new shop. “I have a very modern aesthetic but very lived-in and rustic elements in both my interiors and exteriors,” Folstad says.
A Menu to Savor the Season
Emily's Fresh Kitchen
Find all the recipes in Emily’s Fresh Kitchen: Cook Your Way to Better Health ($35), Publish Her, emilysfreshkitchen.com
Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage-Infused Coconut Cream Soup: Emily notes that this recipe is easy to make ahead of time for a group—just heat it on the stove before serving—and since it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, it accommodates most dietary restrictions.
Apple, Cheddar, and Smoked Almond Salad: “When apples are in season in the fall, I love adding them to salads,” Emily says. The crunch of the fruit and nuts pairs well with the pureed soup, bringing texture and bite with the Dijon vinaigrette.
Pumpkin Chai Latte: “I wanted to create something I could enjoy and not feel like I was missing out at coffee shops,” Emily says of the drink, which is low in sugar and lacks artificial flavors. Serve it as a cozy welcome drink or in place of a heavier dessert.
