Home & Design | Tile Tales

Ashley Spencer and Drew Anthony Smith had no tie to Minnesota when they discovered their new home in 2022—not family roots, not a new job, not anything that typically prompts a cross-country move. It was the house itself that sold them on packing up their belongings in Austin, Texas, to head to Minneapolis in the dead of winter. “We love that Instagram account Zillow Gone Wild,” says Spencer (above, with the couple’s dog Reilly). “And when this house popped up, we were like, Wow, that’s really cool—and it was actually in a city.”

The 1955 midcentury modern house was a tile palace—full of more than 30 types of tile on the exterior and interior, covering floors, walls, and fireplaces in every single room. Originally designed by architect Carl Graffunder for his sister and her family, who owned a tile shop, it operated as somewhat of a test case for all the unique ways customers could use tile: in a shuffleboard pattern on the floor, in rectangular pastel designs and multilevel stairway detailing; in four shades of tiny yellow squares on the exterior.

“When we were buying it, it helped our case that we didn’t want to change anything. We really planned to keep it in its era.”

—Ashley Spencer

“It was such a cool mix of my style and Drew’s style,” Spencer says. “And the interior was so cool—I love the shuffleboard court, and I’m really into checkerboard, and obviously that’s everywhere.”

Spencer, who works remotely as a director of marketing, and Smith, a freelance photographer (whose work often appears in Mpls.St.Paul), had been toying around with the idea of leaving Austin but still felt it was a ways off. But as they visited Smith’s parents in Nebraska for Christmas, they couldn’t get the house out of their heads—and, after a potential buyer fell through, they extended an offer—sight unseen (in person, at least)—and drove up to tour it within 24 hours.

“This is not something we would normally do,” Spencer laughs. “Usually we’re much more calculated and plan things out.”

But their gut instinct was correct—they fell in love with the Twin Cities. Their neighbors, curious about the semi-famous house’s new owners, were relieved to hear the couple didn’t plan to change a thing about their home (other than a much-needed kitchen counter upgrade). They got in touch with the Twin Cities chapter of Docomomo, a group that works on the conservation of midcentury modern buildings, to learn more about the home’s history, and they participated in a home tour last year. “Minneapolis wasn’t the plan, but once we found the house and started looking into it, we realized we could really see ourselves here,” Spencer says. “There’s a lot that satisfies both of us. The move ended up making perfect sense.”