Enterspace Design

"Living room rarely used because it was closed off by itself. Kitchen needed updating with a look toward openness and function. The room next to kitchen was truly wasted space. Original fur floors covered with carpet, ceiling beams had been painted. Dining room was shut off from the rest of house. Mike Neaton's solution - to open up everything to get a good view of what really makes the property and the house - the view of the landscape and of the Minnesota River Valley. He opened the kitchen, living room, and dining room in order to get a good open flow and take advantage of the spectacular river views. Besides making the above areas more livable and socially encouraging, the rooms were brought back to the style and types of materials that were used in the 1930's, ash floors, fur beams, linoleum kitchen floor, and Formica counter tops."

"Mike Neaton oversaw the project from cradle to where we are today which was a pleasant experience because I didn't have to get hugely involved to make sure timetables were met and the right products put in from a standpoint of how it turned out aesthetically. Construction-wise it was excellent as far as keeping costs down to what I consider a reasonable level for the amount of work done. Overall, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile project and experience."

"We worked with you for 20-25 years and you have done both the house and the office. Essentially, you took a building where the art deco features had been destroyed and turned it into an art deco building which was quite a project and extremely well done. In the house, one of the things that impressed us the most was how you picked up on details to make everything work. You noticed the window in the front door and when you were doing the French doors you picked up the shape and you made all of the things work together. One of the things we liked a lot was it doesn't look remodeled. So people don't come into our house and say "Oh, I've seen you've done this and that." - it looks like it belonged that way. We've seen many, many remodels where you can see exactly where they started and ended and it doesn't work as well."

"Because we usually have around 16 people for dinner, the kitchen has to work well. And I think the thing where it became clear to all of us how well it worked was when we did the cook out where you have different people coming in and preparing different things. We had 5 people cooking in the kitchen at the same time-no we had more than that-6, there was enough workable space so everyone had a place to work and we could keep the whole meal coordinated. I think the details are what really make the kitchen work because they're where you need them yet out of the way and I think that's a combination of good design and good experience.

Working with Mike on designing and building the remodeled kitchen worked extremely well. Even after 4 years everything is just as practical and good looking as we imagined at the start.

I engaged EnterSpace in the most difficult predicament when my condo burned while I was working abroad for three months. Mr. Neaton represented me in meetings with the insurance company and supervised the restoration of my condo. His steady and responsible commitment allowed me to finish my work in Spain without needing to face the catastrophe. Also, there is not one person who visits my condo who does not praise the color selections. They are different and homey.