Blown. Away.

The new ID/Inside Design and martinpatrick3 are, quite simply, stunning. This is just the urban lifestyle laboratory Minneapolis has needed to finally make the Warehouse District a shopping destination. You won’t just want to buy the furniture and menswear, you’ll want to soak it in – to become this effortlessly cool human who wears Fred Perry shirts and Naked & Famous jeans, carries a bright blue Marc Jacobs messenger bag and flips through photography books on a Ligne Roset chair. At least the store invites  lingering. There’s even a manly bar.

Owner Greg Walsh of Walsh Design Group has always been respected for his interior design work, but these stores reveal his true talent, which goes beyond pairing the right chair and lamp to cultivating a mood at once luxurious and laid back; modern and timeless. And then, having all the brands and objects needed for those who aspire to aesthetic. “It feels like Soho,” I heard shoppers gushing on Saturday. Who needs Soho? Walsh has raised the bar for Twin Cities retail – let’s hope others join him.

Visit ID/Inside Design and martinpatrick3 at 212 Third Ave. N., Mpls. (across the street from the Monte Carlo).