An artist falls for a model home’s design details and meets her aesthetic match in the designer who personalized the spaces with layers of color, art, and soul.

Art by homeowner Stephanie Dillon, who paints in acrylic and mixed media, creates a focal point at the fireplace in the great room. The sofa-length wood coffee table, from HOM Furniture, is actually two smaller pieces pushed together. The pair of cabinets flanking the fireplace are from Arhaus. Dormer windows flood the room with natural light.

It was love at first sight for artist Stephanie Dillon when she and her husband, Reilly, toured a model home in Eden Prairie. They fell for the exterior’s mix of whitewashed shiplap and shakes that felt timeless and airy. Inside, an unfolding of light-filled communal spaces—each with its own character—left more standard floorplans in the dust.

From the interior palette’s calming charcoals and paler neutrals to its moody greens and rich terra-cotta, the vibe feels more European than suburban. “My inspiration for the kitchen was a French pastry shop,” notes the model’s designer, Kelli Fontana Vogelgesang, who owns West Bay Homes with her husband, Rick.

Layer upon layer of materials, finely detailed, also hint at European design. In fact, the designer infused inspiration from her trips to Paris throughout the 5,000-square-foot home. She says the style is French contemporary farmhouse.

In the kitchen, three different glazed tiles dress the backsplashes. “The smallest hexagon draws light in and is almost reflective,” says Vogelgesang. “The mix creates an elevated sense of sight.”

Mixed media is also a signature of much of Stephanie’s art—no wonder she and Vogelgesang shared an artistic vision. Stephanie, who turned to painting to express her emotions while battling cancer, is known to paint what she feels. The designer similarly follows her heart. “Every day, I do what I love,” Vogelgesang says. “Parting with a home is like giving up a child.”

Stephanie kept Vogelgesang on board to complete the interior design. “We’re both passionate about design,” Vogelgesang adds. “I was thrilled to use Stephanie’s killer rug collection throughout.”

Exterior materials like shiplap and painted charcoal dress the basement’s fireplace wall as well as the vaulted ceiling in a lounge space off of the kitchen. Charcoal-colored square tiles cover a kitchen backsplash from the counter to the ceiling. The color’s repetition weaves rooms together. “I like everything to be cohesive so that it’s a holistic progression with all of the environment relating,” Vogelgesang says. 

So many materials could feel busy, even cluttered, but Vogelgesang artfully incorporated them, akin to how Stephanie blends the colors on her canvases. Some choices pop, others recede, a few shimmer to define a mood. Like a completed painting, the materials ultimately come together in a composition ever mindful of balance and proportions. The result: a home fit for an artist.

“I love making spaces look timeless and elevated without becoming precious or unaffordable.”

The charcoal shiplap around the fireplace in the lower-level bar area is painted in Sherwin-Williams’s Dorian Gray. The space steps down to the sunken media room beyond. The brass and gray combo is a favorite of designer Kelli Fontana Vogelgesang.

Brass hardware details the front entry’s doors.

Light fixtures are from Mitzi.

Unexpected Entry: The front doors open to “the dining hall that doubles as a grand foyer,” describes Vogelgesang. Nine-inch-wide-plank white oak floors are set in a herringbone pattern. Ceiling beams bisect the hall’s soaring height where light pours in from above.

Two neutral tile colors, light and dark, are laid in alternation to create a focal point backsplash at the bar. Vogelgesang detailed the custom cabinetry with dental molding, and the sink skirt is marble.

A Polished Finish: Open shelving showcases two different sizes of backsplash tiles from The Tile Shop (above). The custom cabinetry is made of alder wood with a clear whitewashed stain. Brass hardware adds shine to the earthier finishes.

Statement Piece: Splurge on light fixtures, advises Vogelgesang. They don’t suffer furniture’s abuse. “No one’s going to be hanging off the fixture,” she says. The pair of whitewashed lanterns from Aidan Gray make a bold statement above the double islands. The stone sink is paired with a gold faucet by Brizo.

Display Case: The dining hutch mirrors the kitchen cabinetry and introduces another tile color and shape, this one dark and dappled tile that runs up to the ceiling. Glass-front uppers reveal Stephanie’s colorful serveware. Bun feet complete the furniture look.

Inspired by Parisian pastry shops, the kitchen features two islands rather than a single oversize surface, allowing for easy navigation around the room. Because only one island includes a sink, dining on the other island can be uninterrupted by kitchen chores.

Right off the kitchen, a sitting area allows another moment to relax. Large windows soak up natural light. The charcoal color (Dovetail by Sherwin-Williams) and a vaulted ceiling balance the airiness. A gooseneck light fixture adds interest overhead. The sectional is from HOM Furniture.

Airy and Light: Large-format heated tiles in the mudroom combine with white oak cabinetry finished in a whitewash stain. “I loved the concrete industrial look for the floors with the French country cabinetry style,” Vogelgesang says.

Boutique Bath: A basement guest bath indulges the homeowner’s love of color. The designer covered one wall in whimsical floral tiles from The Tile Shop and painted the adjoining wall in Perfect Periwinkle by Sherwin-Williams.

A Bold Mix: The designer paired two Sherwin-Williams paints, both refreshing and warm—Canyon Clay on the walls and Gauntlet Gray in a high-gloss enamel finish on the moldings and doors—in the library. The owner’s chartreuse chairs crank up the color decibels.

Sheltered Hideaway: A wide-plank whitewashed cedar wall on one side of the rear deck offers privacy from the neighbors.

Setting the Stage: The prep kitchen off the mudroom embraces color, starting with the Waverly Classics wallpaper by York. Cabinets are painted in Sherwin-Williams’s Green Onyx. A hammered copper sink shows how personality plays a role even in practical places.

Sparkle and Shine: The powder room lights up with a wall clad in antiqued mirrored glass tile from The Tile Shop. The custom vanity, finished in a white oak stain, features a marble shelf elevated with open corbels. The sconces are from Savoy House.

The floors get a hit of pattern by way of ceramic tile from The Tile Shop.

Floor plan illustration by Randall Nelson

The Plan: The traditional rambler takes a turn to the unexpected with a floorplan that is anything but traditional. The front entry opens to a vaulted foyer and dining room that serves as a pass-through hallway to the kitchen to the one side and the great room (not shown) to the other side.

Design + Build: Kelli Fontana Vogelgesang and Rick Vogelgesang, West Bay Homes, 612-770-6433, westbayhomes.net

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