Creek Hill Custom Home Tour

Photo: courtesy of Creek Hill Custom Homes

This large gourmet kitchen is complete with enameled cabinetry, crown molding, glass front cupboards, pot-filler, oversized refrigerator, an appliance station, walk-in pantry, and a stunning black-stained island that features a natural soapstone counter.

When Mike Hillesheim first got into the home building business back in the late 1980s, golden oak was king, every room was wallpapered, and mauve and seafoam green were the colors du jour.

A carpenter who hails from a long line of general contractors, Hillesheim started a framing business and moved on to building starter homes and townhomes.

“It’s something I always wanted to do,” says the president of Creek Hill Custom Homes, as we sit in a palace representative of his new niche. Starting at around $500,000 on up to about $2 million, Hillesheim builds about 10 to 15 homes per year, mainly in the Maple Grove area.

“About 75 percent of the homes I build are in Maple Grove,” says Hillesheim, who has garnered one Reggie and several Trillium Awards, and was 2010 Builder of the Year runner-up. “I live in Maple Grove, I work well with the city, and feel Maple Grove has a strong sense of community.”

So, with that in mind, it made perfect sense to us to have Hillesheim (and Kelle Lang Staats, director of marketing and design) give us a tour of one of his beautiful homes so we could see all of the unique features it has to offer.

Are you ready? Well, slip on a pair of those blue paper booties and let’s get touring a luxury home.

First Impressions

The 6,400-square-foot home is located in the Whistling Pines neighborhood—a pocket of 24 homes that is tucked in among wetlands, meadows and trees, and offers a community pool, numerous trails, sports court, and extra-large lots.

The exterior boasts a two-story stone and shake façade with double doors, as well as Hillesheim’s signature architectural details: matching cedar columns and a cedar peak pediment. “I’ve been adding cedar posts outside and cedar-beamed ceilings for about three years now,” Hillesheim says. “It gives a bit of that ‘up-north’ look.”

The Heart of the Home

The kitchen has long been deemed the official heart of the home, and Hillesheim makes sure this one lives up to that sentiment. This large gourmet kitchen is complete with enameled cabinetry, crown molding, glass front cupboards, pot-filler, oversized refrigerator, an appliance station, walk-in pantry, and a stunning black-stained island that features a natural soapstone counter.

“We’re seeing a lot of mixing of the finishes,” says Kelle. “And everyone who comes in here has to touch the countertop because it is just so appealing.”

Adjacent to the kitchen is a large family room with a beamed ceiling, stone fireplace, and a mantle that is crafted from a piece of a log cabin that was built in the early 1800s.

A Porch for Most Every Season

It’s no surprise that we love the summers here in Minnesota. It’s also no surprise that we don’t like the bugs that come along with it. This three-season porch has windows that can convert to full-screen for those warmer nights—sans bugs—and it also offers a gas fireplace for those cooler evenings. 

“There is a lot of emphasis on the porches now,” says Hillesheim. “Almost every home I build has one.”

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