An eccentric, vaguely post-modern home near Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis gets a complete renovation inside and out. Lilya and Vlad collect art, and liked the idea of a utilitarian, maintenance-free space outside. We turned to Noguchi’s outdoor spaces and playgrounds, less about the garden and more about material textures and the energies of forms. We love arrangements and geometries that transcend a style or a way of thinking, and instead seem to cause a way of being. It’s this collaboration of the great vastness that we’re always trying to locate or understand. The remodel of the home was led by our friends at Brownsmith Restoration, as we simultaneously designed a no-fuss exterior that led with straight lines and calming presence. By subtly shifting planes - a few steps up here, a low wall there - we were able to create a space that does not dictate a particular path, but instead suggests an attitude. Some truly stunning boulders act as grounding presences, and we added a new tree to the yard that will age into place as the family settles into their home.