Top Custom Home Design Trends for Minnesota’s North Metro in 2025

What We’re Seeing (and Building) Right Now

Hi, it’s Jaren and the team at Guidance Homes. We’ve been building in Forest Lake, Scandia, Hugo, Wyoming, and the surrounding north-metro towns for over 70 years combined, and every December/January we start getting the same excited texts: “What’s everyone doing this year?”

So we pulled together the five trends our 2025 clients keep circling on their wish lists (and the ones we can’t stop sketching ourselves). These aren’t just pretty Pinterest ideas — they’re the things that actually work when you live with Minnesota winters, teenagers, golden retrievers, and holiday parties for 30 people.

Let’s dive in.

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1. Main-Level Everything (The Empty-Nester Dream That Younger Families Are Stealing)

More than half of the plans we’re drawing right now are true one-level or “main-level living” designs — everything you need on the ground floor, with an optional lower-level walkout for guests or grandkids.

What it looks like in real life:

• Owner’s suite, laundry, kitchen, great room, and garage all on one level

• Zero-step entries from both front door and garage (no more shoveling a ramp in February)

• Huge kitchen islands that seat 8 without feeling crowded

We’re putting these in Heims Lake Villas (55+) and surprisingly, a lot of 40-something families who say, “Might as well be ready and plan ahead to age in place.”

2. “Minnesota Modern” Farmhouse — But Make It Cozy

The all-white sterile farmhouse is out. The new north-metro look is:

• Black or bronze windows against warm white or natural cedar siding

• Real wood beams (or super-realistic faux if budget is tight)

• Mixed metals — matte black faucets with brass lighting

• Statement hoods wrapped in the same wood as the beams

It still feels like Minnesota, just a little more sophisticated than shiplap overload.

3. Walkout Lower Levels That Actually Get Used Year-Round

With our wooded and lake-view lots, the walkout basement is having a major comeback — but now it’s finished like the upstairs:

• 9–10 ft ceilings downstairs

• Heated polished concrete or luxury vinyl plank (no more cold basement feet)

• Full wet bars, sport courts, golf simulators, saunas, even indoor pickleball in one current build

4. Wellness Built In (Not Added Later)

People aren’t just talking about it — they’re budgeting for it:

• Primary bath saunas (cedar, infrared, or Harvia barrel outside the window)

• Dog wash stations with pull-out sprayers and blow-dry hooks (we’ve done six this year-to-date)

• Dedicated workout rooms with rubber floors and mirrored walls

• Cold-plunge tubs on the screened porch (yes, really)

5. Outdoor Rooms That Work 9 Months a Year

Minnesotans refuse to let winter win. The new standard:

• Phantom retractable screens on the porch

• Built-in heaters and recessed infrared panels in the ceiling

• Outdoor kitchens with pizza ovens (Big Green Eggs and Alfa ovens are everywhere)

• Fire pits surrounded by built-in concrete benches that double as extra seating

One couple in Scandia said, “We want to use the porch on Christmas Eve with the heaters on — kids roasting marshmallows while it snows.”

Whether you already own a lot in the north metro or you’re just starting to look (we have a few gorgeous ones left in Hunter Hill and Tii Gavo), these trends are all things we’re doing every day.

Want to walk through a few houses in person and see how they feel? Our models are open most weekends, or we’re happy to grab coffee and talk about your wish list — no pressure, no sales pitch, just honest conversation.