As the Artisan Home Tour celebrates 10 years, we reflect on its history and offer a glimpse of what’s to come in 2023.
FOR 10 YEARS, Twin Cities design dilettantes have been flocking to Housing First Minnesota’s Artisan Home Tour to get a taste of the local luxury homebuilding industry. From gourmet kitchens and marble-clad bathrooms to floor-to-ceiling fireplaces and indoor athletic courts, this curated selection of new builds and remodeled spaces shows tourgoers what’s possible when you work with a custom builder and cross the million-dollar threshold. It’s aspirational — no matter if you’re attending the tour to gather ideas for your own luxury build or simply for the joy of walking through a show-stopping home that is truly a piece of art.
“That was my story,” recalls Amy Hendel of Hendel Homes, a five-time Artisan builder. “When I was a little kid, I would go along with my parents to the Parade of Homes in Chicago. You would dream. I think that’s fun for people, whether or not they can afford it. To be able to walk through a home like that is incredible.”
Now, Hendel is on the other side, working with her husband Rick Hendel and their team to craft artisan-caliber homes that delight and inspire. That’s the hallmark of the Artisan Home Tour. “It’s a high-quality product,” says Hendel. “We do have a level of home that is expected. We don’t want to let people down.”
As the Artisan Home Tour celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, read on to learn more about its history, how it has become a must-see tour in the Twin Cities, and what’s planned for the 2023 tours (yes, you read that right!).
A Tour by the Builders
Housing First Minnesota has been operating home tours for 75 years. While the Parade of Homes is Housing First Minnesota’s signature event, featuring hundreds of new and remodeled homes twice per year, the association’s member-builders craved a separate tour that would truly showcase and spotlight multi-million-dollar projects worthy of artisan status.
“It really came as a request from our members saying, ‘You do a great job with the Parade of Homes. Would you consider doing another tour to showcase these custom high-end homes?’” explains Tom Gavaras, Housing First Minnesota’s vice president of events and workforce initiatives, as well as operations director for the Artisan Home Tour. “It’s a special way to show the Twin Cities the incredible work of some of the artisans in our industry and membership.”
In the first year of the Artisan Home Tour in 2014, 25 homes were presented, a number that has remained pretty consistent through the past decade to maintain the tour’s boutique, exclusive feel. Many of the same builders return year after year to showcase their latest projects, which must meet certain criteria — determined in cooperation with the builder committee based on the cost of homes and materials — to be considered for inclusion on the tour. For 2023, new builds must have a structure-only value of at least $1.5 million and $350 per square foot, and remodeled projects must total no less than $500,000 or $300 per square foot.
“[The association] is always striving to make it a better event for the consumer. We want them to come out to our homes and enjoy the experience. Then it’s up to us to put out a great product that gets them excited about potentially building,” says Swanson Homes owner Curt Swanson, one of the builders who initiated the Artisan Home Tour and has been a participant nearly every year.
“It’s one thing to see a pretty picture and another thing to actually walk through that kitchen or sunroom and see what it really looks like.”
Offering tourgoers the opportunity to meet with builders and see their work firsthand is one of the biggest benefits of the Artisan Home Tour. “In many cases, the home that a builder features the next year is from someone who came through the tour the previous year,” says Gavaras. “Or they may say it’s not the right time to build a multi-million-dollar home, but they come back five years later saying, ‘Now I’m ready — from a lifestyle standpoint, from a financial standpoint, from a family standpoint — to upgrade and build a luxury artisan home.”
Artisan Home Tour Guidebooks Over the Years
Twice the Artisan
For the first time in the tour’s history, a second tour is being added in October starting this year. Now, there are two opportunities each year to explore some of the Twin Cities’ most spectacular homes. “We’re so glad there is such strong enthusiasm for two Artisan Homes Tours,” says Gavaras. “It allows builders to showcase a wide array of homes, and it gives visitors a chance to find even more inspiration.”
The collaboration and feedback from builders prompted the addition of a second tour in 2023. The idea for a fall event was sparked in 2020, when pandemic restrictions pushed the Artisan Home Tour to October. Because of the positive feedback on the timing of the tour, it was decided to bring back an October event, giving tourgoers two opportunities to visit homes by the Twin Cities’ most exclusive builders and remodelers.
“As builders, we all compete against each other, yet we get together and we work hard to make an event that we can all be successful at,” says Swanson. “You get to know the other builders and you appreciate what they do. I think it helps make for a much better housing environment for the Twin Cities.”
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE 2023 FALL ARTISAN HOME TOUR: WEEKENDS OCTOBER 6-22
