Home of the Month

Submissions for the 2025–2026 Home of the Month are now closed.

Through this partnership between AIA Minnesota and the Star Tribune, each year 12 architect-designed residential projects are selected from among a competitive pool of submissions to be the subject of a monthly article in the Star Tribune. The 2025 program begins in June and ends in May 2026. The articles appear in the Star Tribune’s digital and print publications. With both digital and print, the Star Tribune reaches about 3.5 million readers each month.

The objectives of the program are to educate the public about the value of architect-led residential design; to showcase a range of project types, styles, and budgets; and to support Minnesota’s vibrant residential architecture community through increased exposure to a public audience.

Since 2020, AIA Minnesota has also published a Look Book featuring all Home of the Month submissions (see 2024’s Look Book below). The Look Book is distributed in print to all Home of the Month event attendees, and digitally to all past Home of the Month event and Homes by Architects Tour attendees.

This year’s Home of the Month selection panel includes Dave Dimond, FAIA; Jamey Idhe, IIDA; Laurie Junker (representing the Star Tribune); Phillip Koski, AIA; and Scott Schlotthauer, AIA.

Read about the eligibility, submissions requirements, and selection process in the Call for Entries. Contact Ann Mayhew at mayhew@aia-mn.org or (612) 767-1740 with questions.

Join us at the Home of the Month Event!

Join the Minnesota Star Tribune and AIA Minnesota on Wednesday, April 30, at Glass House, to recognize the Home of the Month program and to offer a preview of the next slate of selected projects to be featured. Your submission entitles you to one (1) complimentary ticket to this event.

The evening starts with a social hour from 5:30–6:30 pm with appetizers, a cash bar, and glassblowing demonstrations from event sponsor Hennepin Made, followed by a panel of three architect-client pairs moderated by architecture critic Laurie Junker, and the announcement of the next 12 Home of the Month projects.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Learn more & get your tickets »
**Note: In 2024, this event sold out in advance. We highly recommend buying your ticket in advance. Tickets at the door will be subject to availability. 

UPDATES RELATED TO THE STAR TRIBUNE’S 2024 REORG:

In 2024, the Star Tribune underwent a reorganization to focus resources on their digital publication, where the majority of their readership growth is occurring.

As part of this reorganization, there is no longer a standalone print Homes & Gardens section. Home of the Month print articles now appear in the Variety section on a Sunday in the month, but not necessarily the first Sunday as in the past and not necessarily on the front page.

Since the reorganization, no Star Tribune articles are guaranteed to be in color in print, including their own investigative reporting, and this rule applies to Home of the Month articles as well. Home of the Month photography will always be in color online.

2024–2025 Home of the Month Projects 

AIA Minnesota and the Star Tribune are pleased to announce the next 12 custom residential design projects to be featured in the Star Tribune Sunday Home & Garden section each month as part of the Home of the Month editorial series.

The projects were selected from among a competitive pool of 38 entries by a panel of architects, designers, and journalists including Anjali Ganapathy, Assoc. AIA, NOMA; Wanjing Ji, ASLA; Rohan Preston (Star Tribune); Donovan Nelson, AIA; Nancy Ngo (Star Tribune); and Joan Soranno, FAIA.

The selected projects are examples of the highest-quality, architect-led design from across the region and showcase a diverse range of project sizes, scopes, budgets, and environments.

1.) ≥ADU, Grayspace Architecture
2.) City Cottage Reimagined, TEA2 Architects
3.) Como Gardenside, Rehkamp Larson Architects
4.) Flower Valley Homestead, Shelter Architecture 
5.) Guitar Hero, Christopher Strom Architects
6.) Merriam Park Cottage Renewal, Albertsson Hansen Architecture & Interior Design
7.) Mirror Lake Midcentury, PKA Architecture
8.) Net Zero & Pond Perfect, SALA Architects
9.) Röd Stuga, SALA Architects
10.) Ski Hill Cabins & Saunas, Grayspace Architecture
11.) The DIY House, Studio Hara
12.) Valdres, Christopher Strom Architects

Home of the Month Digital Look Book

This digital publication showcases the 38 architect-design projects that were submitted for the 2024–2025 Home of the Month program. Projects selected to be featured in the Star Tribune’s Home of the Month series are identified with a red corner ribbon.

Browse stunning photographs and read the stories behind the designs. We recommend viewing at full screen on a laptop or desktop computer. Or, click here to view or download the look book as a PDF with clickable web links to the architecture firms and our advertisers.