A striking midcentury modern residence in the White Oaks Savanna community near Stillwater, Minnesota, has been named the August winner of the Home of the Month award by the Minnesota Star Tribune and American Institute of Architects Minnesota. The sustainable home, built by homeowners Alyssa Slanga and Jake Wisely, exemplifies the community's commitment to environmental stewardship and architectural excellence.
The couple, who spent 25 years living in Los Angeles and Nashville during Wisely's music industry career, decided to return to Minnesota for a more rural lifestyle closer to family. "We've always been urban dwellers, but Alyssa and I were ready for more elbow room," Wisely explained. "Since we don't have to worry about a commute anymore, it made sense to try rural living at this stage in our lives."
The 30-site White Oaks Savanna community spans 320 acres of mixed prairie, woodland, and organic farmland, providing residents with unique wildlife viewing opportunities. From their home's windows, Slanga and Wisely regularly observe deer, coyotes, and various bird species. "The coyote is on the path," Slanga noted while pointing to their backyard, where a small gray-and-white coyote was moving among wildflowers. "That's right where that dead mole was. I think she found a little morsel," Wisely added.
After purchasing a 5-acre hillside lot in 2020, the couple connected with David Washburn, one of the development's founders, who helped jumpstart their project. Washburn and his wife had begun designing a house with PKA Architecture for their own lot but decided to postpone construction. They shared their plans with Wisely and Slanga, who were drawn to the walkout home's simplicity, strong indoor-outdoor connection, and midcentury modern inspiration.
"Midcentury modern design principles were grounded in a belief that one's well-being is enhanced by the integration of nature with the built environment," explained design principal Kristine Anderson. "White Oaks Savanna embodies that." Working with Anderson and Tammy Angaran, both of PKA Architecture, the couple made minor modifications to the original plan, adding a few feet to one end of the house and adjusting the kitchen layout.
Wisely took an active role in selecting finishes and addressing his visual preferences down to the smallest details. One of his main concerns was minimizing functional elements like hinges and knobs that could disrupt clean lines. All HVAC vents are flush-mounted into walls, drapery tracks are recessed into the ceiling, and the flat kitchen cabinetry features integrated pulls. The refrigerator requires no handles at all – "You push the door, and it springs open," Wisely explained.
The home's design philosophy focuses on unbroken surfaces and a limited palette of materials that direct attention to the outdoors' natural beauty, the grain of walnut and ash cabinetry, and the colors in the blackened-steel living room wall. Wisely invested considerable time selecting appropriate fabrics, wallpaper, and tiles for the home, personally designing all tile layouts and collaborating with installers for precise placement.
"With these handmade tiles, you can't just open one box, use it up and then go on to the next one," Wisely explained. "They have to all be opened and shuffled because each batch is going to have a slightly different appearance." One of the couple's favorite features is a bedroom wall of blush-hued 3-inch by 12-inch tiles, some solid and others featuring elongated ovals, installed behind the bed to evoke an urban loft's brick wall aesthetic.
The home's exterior references reflect both regional character and design preferences. Vertical corrugated metal acknowledges the area's agricultural roots, while long-format brick and wood siding reflects the couple's appreciation for midcentury design. "There's an intentional lack of trim on the facade, and from a distance, it appears minimalist," Angaran noted. "But as you get closer, the relief and variety of the materials and their textures come to life."
Sustainability considerations were equally important to the couple as aesthetic elements, though they acknowledged some internal conflict about the environmental impact of new construction. "We wrestled with the waste and energy that go into building a new house and decided if we were going to do it, we would make the home as environmentally sound as possible," Wisely said.
The residence incorporates multiple sustainable technologies, including UV-coated windows that reflect heat in summer and retain it in winter, a comprehensive geothermal system, solar panels on the garage, and Tesla Powerwalls for energy storage. The geothermal system handles heating and cooling for both the house and a small outdoor pool and spa, while solar panels power the geothermal pumps, electrical appliances, and Slanga's electric vehicle.
Wisely actively monitors the home's energy consumption through his smartphone, which has enhanced their conservation awareness. "Knowing what is using the most power and when has allowed us to adjust our usage for the greatest efficiency and comfort," he explained. This technological integration demonstrates how modern sustainable design can seamlessly blend environmental responsibility with contemporary living comfort.
The project team included PKA Architecture with Tammy Angaran, Kristine Anderson, Corey Schmitt, Claire Bossert, Cynthia Burns, David Swan, and Jason Briles. Additional project partners were Redstone Builders, Ruth Johnson Interiors, and Travis Van Liere Studio, with photography by Spacecrafting. The completed home represents another successful example of the innovative residential architecture emerging from the White Oaks Savanna community.
