Home Tour FAQ

What is the home tour?

The Minneapolis and Saint Paul Home Tour is an annual event that promotes city living. The tour brings thousands of home enthusiasts together for a weekend of sharing home remodeling ideas. The home tour’s most important partners, of course, are the homeowners who volunteer to open their homes.

How is it different from other tours?

The Minneapolis & Saint Paul Home Tour is FREE to visitors. The focus is on homeowners sharing their experiences and ideas; even where contractors are present, so are the homeowners. Projects range from small to large and cover a wide range of housing eras, where other tours show just luxury or historic homes. It is not limited to specific neighborhoods (other than that they are all within the city limits of Minneapolis or Saint Paul), though there are some geographic clusters of homes. And it’s just one 11-hour weekend…not to be missed!

When is the home tour?

Homes will be open to visitors from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, 2012, and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, 2012. The home tour will take place regardless of weather conditions.

What kinds of homes are featured on the tour?

The tour features a variety of homes in neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Homes on the tour are chosen to reflect the quality and variety of city housing. By popular demand, the focus is on remodeling and expanding of existing, occupied homes…from a single room such as a kitchen or bath, to a multi-story addition or entire home renovation. New homes selected are generally examples of energy-efficient or green construction.

The tour is especially looking for:

Life stage adaptations or construction. Example: Making an existing home handicap-accessible, or enlarging to accommodate growing families.

Live/work spaces — home office configurations and artist spaces. Second-story addition and basement or attic finishing have had much interest on recent tours, whether for live/work or just more livable space.

Homes within easy walking or driving distance of each other. If your neighborhood has not had a concentration of Tour homes recently, it might be time to encourage others in your area to be open and to let your neighborhood group leaders know that you are applying. When a neighborhood group comes forward with three or more homes, they receive special recognition in the Home Tour Guide.

Cool factor, the draw of the unusual. Past examples: Mansion, solar-powered home, architect-designed in an unusual setting or using non-traditional materials.

Remodeling/Redecorating/Restoring on a budget: Repurposing found objects, artistic and creative solutions done well.

How does the home tour work?

The home tour is a free, self-guided event. The home tour Guide (a tabloid-newspaper publication), which includes a description of each home and maps showing home locations, is made available through various public locations in the month before the tour, and at the homes themselves on tour days. Visitors can tour as many or as few of the homes as they wish. Multiple visits are encouraged so visitors can get a feel for the diversity of the housing stock and neighborhoods. Each home on the tour is identified with a home tour street sign and signs from major intersections. In most cases, homeowners greet visitors. Visitors can also speak informally with experts about home buying, remodeling and other topics. Visitors go on the tour to get remodeling ideas, learn about neighborhoods and schools and to appreciate the quality of city homes.

Why do homeowners have their homes on the tour?

Homeowners have found the tour to be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. Many have met neighbors or other home enthusiasts as a result of having their homes on the tour. By promoting their neighborhoods and highlighting the quality of city living, owners help strengthen their neighborhoods and attract residents who help build and maintain healthy, vibrant communities. Homeowners who have lived through the dust and frustration of remodeling appreciate the positive comments offered by visitors. If you are interested in nominating your home, see the “nominate” button in the navigation bar at the top of this website.

Does the whole house have to be done and on tour?

This is a tour of Real Homes, Real People, Real Ideas. It’s just as “real” to have concentrated on just one room at a time, as it is to have done the whole house. Call coordinator Margo Ashmore at 612-867-4874 if you have any question whether your home would be a good candidate for the Tour.

Who puts on the Tour?

Pro Media, Inc. coordinates the tour on behalf of the sponsors which include the Planning and Economic Development departments of both cities, local financial institutions, developers, contractors and other businesses. For 10 years, the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) managed the tour.

A note from former NRP Director Bob Miller:

The Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) was created in 1990 to revitalize the neighborhoods of Minneapolis and make them better places to live, work, learn and play. One of its major areas of focus was on improving the housing stock of the City. NRP became a major sponsor of the Home Tour in 1992 and provided funding and staff support to the City while the City served as the coordinator of the Tour. As neighborhood organizations used their NRP monies for various programs to help renovate homes and complete other community improvement projects, the Minneapolis & Saint Paul Home Tour served as a showcase for these projects and the neighborhoods.

After the 2001 Home Tour, the elected leaders of Minneapolis decided to end the City’s coordination of the Home Tour. NRP staff and the NRP Policy Board felt that the Tour was a vital part of marketing the City to potential homeowners and decided to take over the coordination role and continue the Tour. Under NRP’s direction from 2002-2011 the tour evolved from being supported mostly by governments and non-profit agencies, to a Minneapolis and Saint Paul public/private partnership focused on showcasing homeowners and neighborhoods. As NRP ended its operations as a multi-jurisdictional partnership and neighborhood revitalization program, it looked for an organization that could continue the Home Tour in the spirit and traditions of the past 24 years. It selected Pro Media Inc. to perform the coordination function because of the experience, commitment, knowledge and enthusiasm of its owners and staff.