Stylemaker: Christina Holm-Sandok
Favorite place to shop in the Twin Cities At Home & Co, Prime and Polish, Hunt & Gather, The Foundry Home Goods, West Elm
For everyone looking for the perfect gray: What color are your living room walls? Funny enough—and I promise I didn’t choose it for its name—it’s “Fashion Gray” by Behr.
Your most prized home-décor possession: I can think of two: A piece of art that we bought on our honeymoon in Santorini and a framed photograph of my great-grandparents on a tandem bike—it’s the sweetest!
This home looks as though it’s been ripped from the pages of the magazine for good reason: Owner Christina Holm-Sandok is a former style editor for a shuttered luxury magazine and now runs Style-Architects and Brand-Architects, Minneapolis public-relations and branding firms. “My style has evolved a bit over the years, but I’ve always been a bit preppy and had a love for traditional décor,” she says. “I’ve also always really wanted my environment to be a place to relax and get cozy.” To that end, Holm-Sandok says, she and her husband, Craig, really do drink hot chocolate and red wine on that white sofa. “We love design, but not at the sacrifice of comfort,” she says. “I want our home to be pleasing to the eye but also very lived-in, and we want our guests to be comfortable.” Christina finds inspiration in blogs and magazines—the world she once inhabited—but also in travel, boutique hotels, and friends’ homes. “Our house is a work in progress, and we’re always updating rooms,” she says. “We obviously find enjoyment in the process and apparently want it to never end.” Every room feels tightly edited and cohesive, thanks to her love of neutral palettes. “I love white, and I build from there,” she says. “We love collecting fun objects and art while traveling or scouring local shops to layer in interesting details. Craig has a great eye, too, and often notices small details I don’t catch. But he is a sweetheart and lets me take the lead on the creative direction. Then he often executes that vision—by painting and moving the furniture.” And that white couch? “The white couch may look a bit more interesting in a couple years,” she says, referring to her burgeoning baby bump. “But we are excited to see what ‘design elements’ the baby adds to our home. Even if that means crayon marks.”
By Katie Dohman
Photos by Sara Rubinstein
