The Aurora- Life as Art

Time to get Hygge! The Aurora is a free standing home created by local couple Todd and Susan Miller's and is in the heart of Grand Marais near the harbor. Designed by celebrated Minnesota architect David Salmela and newly constructed in 2018/19. This collection of modern homes has been featured in Mn. Monthly, Midwest Home, Arch Daily, and other publications around the globe. We have even won awards for this architecture as far away as Sweden. The Aurora is the smaller sister to The Sky House and the Horizon, two sibling properties to Aurora in the small but exclusive enclave called "tre søstra" which means "three sisters" in Danish. Many of our guests ache for a connection with nature (with high thread count sheets), reconnection with each other, and permission to come to a full stop for deep rest. No one says this out loud, but we think that's their intrinsic motivation. Aurora is one bedroom, one bath, plus a very nice sleeper sofa for one adult or two children, and floor bed for one. There is a roomy main living space that seems to float above the area buildings and has wonderful view of the harbor. Although designed ideally as an upscale oasis for two, 4 people can stay here nicely. The Aurora provides an inspiring modern space that allows for privacy among those sharing the lodging, and also provides a captivating view from the great room area on the top floor of the Grand Marais harbor, the neighborhood, and the town close by. She has a desk area in the bedroom, a walk out blue stone patio from the bedroom, a planning desk in the hall, an all tile bathroom with walk in shower, a large entry area, a laundry, a beautiful flight of stairs to the upper level, a balcony, panoramic windows, fully modern kitchen with top of the line appliances, lighted drawers and butcher block countertops; dining for 4 with 6 possible, a custom sofa that sleeps one adult, or two children, a custom floor bed for one, and a gas fireplace. Everything is in walking distance from our little micro community in the heart of Grand Marais. Imagine the best exclusive lodge experience without sharing walls or having to pass through a front desk. Every restaurant, bar, coffee shop, gallery and Grand Marais' famous beach are all within a very short stroll from your private residence. The home is designed in modern Nordic fashion based on the original Stabur design- a work building commonly seen in Northern Europe. This design culminates a timeline of Scandinavian and Nordic design that the Miller's began on the property next door that also honored northern work buildings in the roots of their designs. There is off street parking under a sod roofed car port. There is an electric car charging station in the carport as well. Here is a brief tour of the property and the Aurora: Begin by driving right in to the heart of Grand Marais and pause by the harbor. You will be turning left up the hill. Pull in to the parking area just outside of the lodging. Walk up to the entry area past the nordic arch to the first deck where there is room to store bikes in summer, and once inside, plenty of room for the whole group to shake off the snow, hang the coats and set down the skis or snowshoes. Head down David Salmela's trademark stairway one half flight to bedroom one. On the way there is plenty of cabinetry, as well as a bathroom and your bedroom with built in cabinets, desk, and walk out to your own private dry stacked bluestone patio. The floors are heated. Continuing up the inspiring staircase leads you to the primary gathering area on the top floor. This area is breathtaking with its expansive windows, view of the town and harbor, Lake Superior and the private grounds. There is a fully modern and capable kitchen, an architect designed built in sofa and contemporary gas fireplace. Note the unique skylight with modern light treatments and the push button electronic pop up television that you can leave hidden if you wish. There is also a wrap around deck. The entire home has slate floors and modern cabinets. There is a utility room with full size washer and dryer. Everything about The Aurora is designed with environmental sustainability in mind. These homes have an incredibly small footprint both structurally and environmentally. The foundations were designed to take up as little of the yard as possible- by being small at the start and increasing as you go up just like the old Stabur upon which this design is based. The energy efficiency is profound because these are composed of structurally insulated panels which are incredibly efficient. No cost has been spared to make the Aurora the highest quality, most significant architectural addition to Grand Marais' beautiful landscape. We hope you will find it warm, welcoming, and a once in a lifetime experience in one of the world's most magical places. We have written a detailed guide to what we consider the most special "secret" places in the area. You can pick and chose your own adventures with it for reference depending on your tastes and the weather. That guide is available to you inside the home. Lastly, we are implementing an incentive for you to choose trip insurance. We have discounted our rates on our direct website here by an additional 7% (the total savings between our direct site and say... AirBnB is now 14-21% only if you book on this direct site). We are doing this so that you may select trip insurance during your booking process. It will be offered to you while you are completing your booking and they charge 7%. We do not make any money on that. The cancellation policy we have had for 10 years is as follows: You may cancel within 48 hours of your booking for any reason. After that you can cancel with a 10% penalty up until 60 days prior to your arrival. After that you may cancel but your deposit can not be refunded. If you have trip insurance you can be reimbursed according to which policy you chose. And we are subsidizing it for you by having reduced our rental rates well below any other rates where our properties can be found. It's up to you, pocket the savings and run the risk of cancellation, or still get some savings and have the peace of mind of having some of your investment in your vacation protected in case of unforeseen events. Here is a link to the insurance company, otherwise it is all presented to you when you book so that you can make an informed decision at that time: https://cdn.orez.io/sc/content/docs/RentalGuardian%20-%20Overview.pdf?v=0116da11ea74cfb3b939b87f3a2c5dc676da5f83