Noy Design Build

05/21/2026

A new galley kitchen (my personal favorite) begins! 1920's bungalow is just wide enough to work pretty well for a galley kitchen, however it's a bit tight. I'm super excited to get the walls open this week, and confirm that we'll be able to set the lower cabinets on the left about 3" deeper into the wall, without too much extra effort, by flat framing and eliminating the drywall behind that row of cabinets, making a 21" deep counter for a little more room to move.

I'm also really impressed with the temporary kitchen in the dining room\living room that we worked with the homeowner to set up with the old cabinets. A sink would be great, but the temp set up is still better than a lot of old kitchens that I see! Kitchen remodels are definitely the most uncomfortable kind of remodels, as you lose the most important room in your house. I aim to get the project from demo to useable counters and appliances in 2 months, with it taking about another month to finish tile, painting, and the final punch list.

05/07/2026

03/08/2026

I love this cozy attic! This family wanted a comfortable living room on the third floor, and we designed this space around having room for a TV and couches around it.

Even though the clients didn't want to move their bedroom up there, I always think of the future owners, who would likely make this the primary bedroom. While the exposed chimney is a cool focal point in the room now, it would be in the way for however you place a bed. And the plumbing vent near the chimney is also in the way, so we built a box post around it with a reading light. Both of these could be removed, but as the chimney is being used for the boiler and water heater, that would be expensive. Moving the plumbing vent stack into the floor would have been about $1,500 but it could increase the chance of it clogging with leaves and crap.

The space will be heated and cooled with a mini-split AC\heater. When installing it, we'll add another head to the primary bedroom so they can enjoy cooler summer nights. While there is no heat source up there at the moment (it will be installed in the next few weeks), because we insulated the space with closed cell spray foam, even into the rim joists and behind the knee walls, it has stayed around 65 degrees all winter, with the door at the bottom of the steps kept open. The owners noted the rest of the house was more comfortable.

03/04/2026

It's been the year of attic remodels: this is attic #4 of 5. The vision was to build a reading room\office, that would function well as a primary bedroom for future owners. We added a closet, maxed out the windows, especially the one on the south side, and replicated all the trim style and character of the old house in the space. A mini-split air conditioner\heat pump kept it nice and cozy all winter. I used to install back-up electric baseboard heaters in attics, but no longer find it necessary as the newer equipment are rated to perform when it's -15 outside.

03/01/2026

My job as a designer is often made easier by starting a remodel with the goal of making the project look like it was built a 100 years ago, by replicating the details and trim that's original to the house. Here we had a small kitchen, and wanted to remove the swinging door between the kitchen and dining room and open it up. We chose to mimic the arch detail that was in the rest of the first floor. I would have loved to make it a 6-12" wider, but we had radiator pipes to the left, and the main drain stack to the right. I even had to use special hangers to avoid losing another 3" with 2 (times 1.5" wide) jack studs under the header. In most old houses the wall between the kitchen and dining room is not load bearing, making it possible to completely remove it. We could have rerouted the pipes on each side, but that would add $1-2k to move the radiator pipes, and $2-3k to move the plumbing. With a opening that was 44" wide, allowing two people to pass, was deemed a great improvement, and not worth it to expand it a bit.

02/26/2026

One of my favorite, funky kitchens from a few years ago. Not a lot of room to work with, but galley kitchens make the most of the space. I normally try to talk clients out of using IKEA, but for mid-century modern on a budget, it was a good fit. White oak floors with white rooms with white trim, and a dining room with flat black walls and trim.

02/25/2026

A couple of days ago I posted photos of a 1910's attic primary suite with a full bathroom that's now serving as the family playroom, and here's the video tour. I tried do a quick tour in the first minute, then spent the following 3 minutes explaining some of the nerdier details around code and design if you care to indulge me and finish the video!

02/18/2026

I wrapped up my part of this job years ago, and left it for the homeowner to do his own tiling, flooring, trim, and painting, and I was excited to get back in today and see the final results. I get that remodeling isn't cheap, and I love being flexible and helping find a way for homeowners to make their dreams a reality, putting in some sweat equity when one wants to.

His plan was to turn it into a primary bedroom for him and his wife, but they found that it makes a much better play room for the kids. See the photos for descriptions and background on some of the design decisions and challenges, and like this post so you'll see a video tour of the space when I post in the coming days.

02/02/2026

Happy Ground Hog Day! No one wants Punxsutawney Phil to see his shadow and get a few more weeks of winter, so make sure you add a light above your tub\shower when remodeling. Most builders will rely on the vanity lights for lighting the whole bathroom, but we'll always install an additional light for a sunny bathing experience. I know many don't like bright spaces as much as I do, so we always put dimmers on the lights for the perfect lighting experience.

Enjoy the other photos of a recent basement remodel. Shower walls are porcelain, installed by Moderno. I love the exposed brick (supporting the first floor fireplace) in the living room area.

01/23/2026

FOOD DRIVE MONDAY AFTERNOON (I'LL PICK UP FROM YOUR HOUSE IN SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS)

Last weekend, I made a goal to get the 7 families I'm close to (many here legally) and stuck at home a week's worth of food. Thanks to 40 former clients, I was able to extend that to 10 families, delivering almost 2 weeks of food to each household. Thanks to everyone for helping fill up my van.

If you'd like to contribute at least one full bag of groceries, please DM me or ideally, fill out this form so I can plan out my route and communicate. https://forms.gle/EsKht7ynTk6RXSaG7 If you'd like to make a financial donation, I'm collecting and you can DM me, otherwise places like La Vina Church in Burnsville are running impressive operations that deserve your support https://iglesiavina.org/ (In fact, whatever my friends don't need will be brought there for distribution) If you are connected to another organization that could use food, especially in South Minneapolis, please let me know. I hope to collect enough that I'll need to unload a couple of times and can supply other groups and not just my close families (note: due to changing security concerns, home deliveries will be done with a different vehicle).

If you're going to pick up new food: eggs, meat, produce, dry beans, tortillas, rice, the basic whole ingredients of Mexican food, as well as pasta, sauce, cereal, etc. We'll also accept the odd cans in your pantry that are slightly expired. Coloring books and art supplies for the kids at home are also nice. At the moment, I don't need hygiene items, water, milk, or soda.

Also, let me know if you're able to ride along. I could use one helper. I can be most efficient when I drive and text the next stop, while someone grabs the food. If you have a lot of free time and would like to volunteer to drive\pick up Latino neighbors to work in the next few weeks, let me know and I'll connect you.