Our home, in St. Paul, was 100 years old in 2006.

We started working with Northstar Services in 1999 when they wrapped our porch, extending it from the front of the house around the side. It’s a very cool outdoor porch with a jog in it that enabled us to keep a wonderful old tree. The level of craftsmanship was outstanding as the project consisted of perfectly matching the original design and detail.

Our largest Northstar project was done in 2004. They remodeled and enlarged our kitchen, which now includes an eat-in area and family room; added a mudroom, a butler’s pantry, and an office off the kitchen. Above the kitchen, on the second floor, there’s a whole new master bedroom and master bath suite, a remodeled existing bath, and a laundry room.

We had a good idea of what we wanted to do with this home after living in it for eleven years. The kitchen was not set up for cooking the way my husband likes to cook, and when you cook as much as we do, you need something that’s customized to your needs. The kitchen had been remodeled in 1991 or 92, but the design did not work for our food prep style. Now we have everything we need, and we love it. I’m from Sri Lanka, and our cuisine demands a wide variety of spices. Our customized spice drawer with hotel pans gives us cook top access with sleek practical design. North Star was good at helping us find solutions for all these special needs.

We received three or four bids when we did this most recent project, including North Star Services. Friends who were very pleased with their work first referred them to us. All high-end firms tend to be close in price. We knew that North Star was honest and reliable. That kind of trust basically wins out when you’re looking apples to apples.

The initial rough design for the downstairs was in our heads, but Rob Warneke, the North Star designer, did the design for the laundry room upstairs and the master suite. North Star had some very good ideas — in fact, great ideas all throughout the process. We knew that we needed to work with a designer that was open to working with our ideas as well. I think the greatest challenge we posed before Rob, was showing us exterior renderings of the home from all angles – insuring that the entire remodel would look like it was the original design. We did not want to add anything to our home if it looked like an addition. I don’t think Northstar knows how to design an addition that looks like an addition, but we knew we could not proceed with confidence until we saw good plans. Rob met our design needs and then some. It’s hard to imagine that the house did not always look the way it does today.

This project broke ground in October 2003, and we moved in June 2004. Yes, we vacated the house during construction, but the good news is that when the project started North Star was able to contain the addition for the longest time. They completed majority of the work outside, before coming inside. They did a lot of exterior tweaking, — roof elevations dramatically changed as well as other design changes to the facade that matched and complimented the original architecture.
We didn’t have to move out until Thanksgiving weekend.

The new upstairs addition is true to the architectural integrity of the home. Majority of the trim used in the addition is original. The main floor is still somewhat consistent with the architectural style that might be best described as Swedish Craftsman. The major difference on the main floor is the urban loft feel. The rooms are open with high ceilings. I describe the kitchen design as urban craftsmen.

Absolutely, we’ve been pleased with North Star’s work. They’re great. We highly recommend them. One of the key factors in North Star’s work is that they come every day. Once they start working, that’s it. They don’t just show up and disappear. They stand for honesty, integrity, good craftsmanship, plus they integrate design and build. Sometimes people think they have to have an architect to get really good quality design, but North Star designers have had a lot of training and experience. They go to a lot of shows, and are more then familiar with design trend and innovation. They can meet the demands of credentialed architects without being as demanding of the client, as some architects can tend to be. Northstar offers clients the flexibility of working with their design team, a private architect, and what was most important to us – the homeowner’s sense of what the design should include. I think they’re really impressive.