Art-A-Whirl this weekend…

This weekend Castle will join the Northeast Minneapolis Art-A-Whirl and host an Open House, featuring local artist, Jacqueline Athmann http://www.jacquelineathmann.com/ Presented by NEMAA, Art-A-Whirl is the largest open studio and gallery tour in the U.S.  More than 500 artists participate in Art-A-Whirl, including potters, painters, sculptors, musicians, photographers, glassblowers, printmakers, textile designers…and more.
Join us!
DATES AND HOURS: FRIDAY, MAY 20TH – 5:00 PM TO 10:00 PM SATURDAY, MAY 21ST – NOON TO 8:00 PM SUNDAY, MAY 22ND – NOON TO 5:00 PM

 

Castle’s owner visits Frank Lloyd Wright studio in Oak Park, IL…

Castle’s owner, Loren Schirber, recently visited the Frank Lloyd Wright studio in Oak Park, Illinois. Loren left the studio knowing Frank was right in that he didn’t need any stinking architecture degree to change the world of architecture, and the style of homes we live in today.  Loren took a walking tour of the Oak Park neighborhood where 8 of Wright’s early projects are located.  Many of the homes were quite revolutionary at the time and not all in the neighborhood were thrilled with the new style.   Click the link to see the slideshow.  Frank Lloyd Wright Slideshow

Castle features two homes on the Minneapolis & St Paul Home Tour!

Castle is a proud sponsor and participant of the Minneapolis & Saint Paul Home Tour, celebrating 24 years! Grab a friend…or two, and join us this weekend. Homes on the free, self-guided 2011 tour will be open on:

Saturday-April 30th, from 10 am to 5 pm & Sunday-May 1st, 1 pm to 5 pm*

Here’s a little sneak peek at Castle’s featured Basement & Kitchen/Dining Room remodels:

(#14) 1713 – 36th Ave NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418  

This 1953 rambler features a newly finished basement, which adds a family room, a guest bedroom, a future office area, a combined bathroom/laundry room and an unfinished storage space with built-in shelves.  The family room and guest bedroom have egress windows to provide natural light.  The new walls, insulation and fireplace in the family room will make this a cozy space to relax.  The new 3/4 bath features glass tile accents and a recessed niche in the walk-in shower, heated tile floor, white custom cabinets and a built-in laundry area.  Thick carpet was installed on the stairway and throughout the family room and guest bedroom.  This project added approximately 700 square feet of finished space for the homeowners to enjoy!

(#44) 1289 Watson Ave, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55116  

#44 – The owner of this 1938 Cape Cod style home loves to entertain friends, but the wall between the kitchen and dining room made for awkward parties, with too much separation or too much crowding in the tiny kitchen. The much needed space to be able to visit while preparing food for friends has become a reality with this bold and bright new kitchen; featuring the new maple and cherry two-toned cabinets, new hardwood and tile floors, colorful recycled-glass countertops, and of course the awesomely large new corner windows to let the room really shine! 

The Minneapolis & St. Paul Home Tour is coordinated by Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) and the City of Saint Paul Planning and Economic Development department, with other corporate and non-profit sponsors. We encourage people to stay in the neighborhoods they love, and to maintain and improve the cities’ housing stock.

*The Home Tour will be held April 30th & May 1st, 2011 regardless of weather conditions.

We look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Castle Bowling & Remodeling Team Update…

Castle Bowling Team

Castle Bowling Team Photo

The Castle Bowling & Remodeling team represents Castle each Thursday evening at Elsie’s in NE Minneapolis.  Whether it is exhaustion from the 40 week league schedule, or the new purple sport fit shirts Castle employee Elizabeth Bland designed, the team has been on a cold streak and can’t seem to find their mark.  Fortunately, they serve many varieties of beer at Elsie’s, which allows the team to easily forget they are near the bottom of the standings.  Loren Schirber, Castle’s owner and member of the bowling team, says “We are there to have a good time, drink a few Premiums, and oh yeah bowl a few games. This year we might not be the best bowlers in the league, but we have a lot of fun and aren’t afraid to wear purple”.  Does it get any more Nordeast than this?