Viking Blinds Joins Little Blind Spot: A New Chapter

A lot has changed at Little Blind Spot in the last year — and at the same time, very little has.

In 2025, the company found its next generation. Mark Johnson, Bill Osteraas, and Steve Davis - longtime collaborators and local entrepreneurs who'd built and sold businesses together - found a new calling in the home and construction industry. They saw in Little Blind Spot something worth building on: a genuine reputation, a talented team, and a model that put the homeowner first. They didn't reinvent it. They invested in it.

Earlier this year, the Viking Blinds team joined the family, bringing two of the Twin Cities' most established window treatment companies under one name. For the families who've trusted either of us across decades and homes: the team is the same, the standards are the same, and now there's more of us to serve more of the metro. Existing warranties, service agreements, and design relationships from both companies carry forward without interruption: same designers, same installers, same phone number to call.

The approach we've used since 1978 hasn't changed. What's changed is the reach. Together, Little Blind Spot and Viking Blinds are now serving more of the Twin Cities than ever - from Stillwater to Lake Minnetonka, and the homes and businesses in between. Here are a few of the projects on our boards so far this year.

Stillwater: Amodern farmhouse built by Zawadski Homes

We're proud to be the window treatment partner on Zawadski Homes' 2026 Artisan Home Tour home - a modern farmhouse on 7+ wooded acres bordering Indian Hills Golf Course, just minutes from downtown Stillwater and the St. Croix River Valley.

Between the great room with expansive windows, to the four-season porch, the chef's kitchen, the primary suite, the wellness suite — each space has its own conversation about how light, privacy, and architecture should come together.

The Artisan Home Tour runs June 5–21. If you're on the tour, come find our work. We'd love to walk you through it.

Edina: A whole-home project, room by room

A family settling into their first Edina home is doing this the way we love: room by room, no rush. They started with roller shades in the bedrooms — privacy first, kids sleeping through summer sunrises, the practical things handled. Now they're back, and the conversation has shifted. The sunroom needs something that softens the afternoon light without losing the view of the backyard. The main living spaces feel a little bare, and drapery is coming into the picture for the first time — the kind of layered, lived-in look that turns a house into a home.

This is how most of our long-term relationships start. One room, done well, and then a few months later a text that says: we're ready for the next one.

Orono: A Lake Minnetonka rebuild, designed for what comes next

An empty-nester couple bought a Lake Minnetonka property, tore the existing home down, and is rebuilding from the ground up — designed around the way they actually want to live now. We're partnering with Korsbon Design and builder Dovetail, who've been working in lockstep since the first sketches. Pre-construction consultations, coordinating with the design and build teams, measuring at framing so everything is ordered and ready when the house is. Drapery in the great room, woven shades in the lower level, motorized cellular shades on the high windows nobody can reach. Move-in day, the house is done.

Minneapolis: Full motorization for a downtown condo

High-rise living is its own design problem. Floor-to-ceiling glass, river or skyline views worth preserving, and afternoon sun that turns a living room into a greenhouse by 3pm. We're working on a downtown condo where the homeowners wanted full motorization tied into their smart home — schedules in the morning, scenes in the evening, nothing hanging off the wall they'd have to think about. Hunter Douglas roller shades with PowerView, integrated into Apple HomeKit. Quiet, considered, completely hands-off once it's installed.

Eden Prairie Schools: The same standards, across the entire district

We've been a long-standing window treatment partner to Eden Prairie Schools, and this past month alone we've Cedar Ridge Elementary and the district's Administrative Office. Better light control means students can actually see the screen. Better insulation means classrooms stay comfortable through Minnesota's worst weeks. Better materials mean the buildings hold up to a decade of daily use.

With us, schools, offices, restaurants, and concert venues get the same attention as marquee homes. The same team and the same standards show up whether we're doing a commercial or residential project in your community.

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What hasn't changed

Nearly five decades in, the work is still the work: a designer who comes to your home, measures carefully, recommends honestly, and stands behind every install. One team, start to finish. Nothing subcontracted. Nothing falls through the cracks.

If you're a homeowner with a project on the horizon, a builder or realtor with a client moving in, or a fellow Twin Cities business wondering whether we can take on commercial work — we'd love to hear from you. There's more of us than there used to be. We're using it well.

Schedule an in-home design consultation →

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