Yond Cottage, designed by Julia Miller, owner of Minneapolis based interior design studio, Yond Interiors was recently completed and I’ve completely fallen in love with every detail of this cozy cabin. I’ve been following the work of Yond Interiors for quite some time and I’m always impressed with the beautiful and highly crafted details in all of their projects. I reached out to Julia for an interview so I’m thrilled to share our Q&A below.
Tell us about your background from social work to interior design. What did that transition look like for you?
Julia: I made the slow transition to interior design from social work starting in 2019. I can’t say that the transition was totally planned, but the stars aligned and it felt like the perfect time to explore my interest in interior design. The renovation of my own home was the catalyst for the change and gave me a great launchpoint for starting my own business.
When you bought the rental property and began the remodel for Yond Cottage, how did you navigate the financial side?
Julia: My husband and I privately financed the entire build. While we were able to leverage better pricing for finishes with our trade relationships, we paid for each and every item (nothing was provided). Since it’s a rural area with not a huge construction community, we were at the whim of our contractor who did not provide a budget for the project. Trade costs are extremely hard to predict so we just had to go on faith that everything would work out.
I love that you have shared about the importance of bringing nature into the design and using the landscape as your color palette for the project. Can you tell us a bit more about what this looked like in your design process when it came to selecting finishes, materials etc.
Julia: Yes! Designing from the outside in is critical in our process. Creating a home that reflects the landscape is part of what makes our work so special. For the cottage, we took inspiration for the interior finishes, colors and textures from Lake Superior. We have wonderful rock beaches right outside the cottage, so I collected rocks in various colors and used those as the guiding light for the palette.
What was the biggest challenge of doing the remodel?
Julia: Being in a rural area and not having access to the usual level of builder that we typically work with. We ended up providing a lot of the materials from Minneapolis which allowed us to get the finishes we wanted but ended up costing more and taking more time.
What do you hope people get out of their experience at Yond Cottage?
Julia: I hope that it serves as the launchpoint for all adventures – whether it’s outdoor or indoor I hope that the feel like they can truly enjoy themselves with the people they love!
To book a stay at Yond Cottage, visit their website: www.yondcottage.com.
Follow Yond Cottage on IG : @yondcottage
A favorite Interview with Julia Miller on the Interior Collective Podcast