After earning a master of fine arts in vocal performance in 1979, Teresa Elsbernd, a Shorewood resident, planned to teach singing at the college level. Due to a shortage of jobs, however, she decided to pursue music as a hobby and entered the world of sales instead. Until one day, when she did the unexpected—kicked off her high heels and launched her own business as a general contractor.
Twenty-four years later, she’s still reveling in its creative rewards as president of Home Reflections Inc., specializing in building and remodeling custom homes that, according to her tagline, “reflect the way you live.”
“I know my background sounds like 180 degrees from what I’m currently doing, but I think you always pull from your experiences,” Elsbernd says. She credits her years in sales for honing her ability to build relationships and describe abstract concepts, such as a vision for a home remodel. And she credits singing solos in front of crowds with giving her the confidence and creativity she brings to every project.
Elsbernd made her debut in the male-dominated industry when she built a home on a 6-acre lot in Medina in the early 1990s. She had specific ideas about what she wanted—like a billiard room off the kitchen for an antique pool table—but no real experience in how to accomplish it. She hired a consultant, who guided her in coordinating all the home construction details, essentially teaching her the business along the way. “My parents built a house when I was in the third grade, and my dad, a do-it-yourselfer, did a lot of the work himself. I grew up being told I was capable of doing anything as long as I put my mind to it. It was a big undertaking, but I had so much fun,” she says.
After that first project, she left the corporate world and launched her business helping other people create their dream homes. “I took a huge leap of faith with both feet,” Elsbernd says. “The sales process was interesting, but there wasn’t a creative payoff. There is a huge creative reward from helping people live in their homes better.”
Since then, Elsbernd—now in a house she remodeled in Shorewood where she lives with her 14-year-old daughter and her husband, Jerry, a voice instructor whom she met while a member of the Dale Warland Singers—has overseen 200 home remodel and construction projects.
“We call Teresa for everything,” says Minnetonka’s Gerry Leone, a repeat client who has hired Elsbernd for projects both large and small, from a total teardown to a mudroom redesign. “I went to Parade of Homes, handed her a pile of stuff, and said, ‘Make a house of this.’ The first iteration she came back with was almost perfect. She sees the big picture, but she also loves the little fussy stuff,” Leone says.
“I feel my niche is getting inside people’s heads and really finding out who they are and how they live in their home,” Elsbernd says. “Once I can see the vision, I’m ready to rock and roll.”
Elsbernd considers herself a general contractor first, but happily puts on her designer hat when needed. She did so in a big way with one of her most recent projects—a complete gut and redo of a lake condo in downtown Excelsior.
The clients, Phyllis and Larry Johnson, both retired, sold their house in Alexandria, Minn., to pursue a simpler lifestyle and live closer to their son and grandkids. They lived in the condo “rugged style” for a couple of months with only a bed, card table, two lawn chairs and a TV while interviewing general contractors. “They sold all their stuff and started over,” Elsbernd says. “I literally picked out everything for them,” from tile, plumbing fixtures and cabinets to bedding, lamps and artwork. “That was fun,” she adds.
According to Phyllis Johnson, the inside of the condo, built in the 1960s, was a mess when they bought it. “There was nothing good about it other than the location. Teresa made up a storyboard of what the place could look like,” Johnson says. “She took care of everything for us.”
New light-color wood flooring and enameled white woodwork throughout brightened up the place. The kitchen was enlarged by removing a closet, making room for an eating nook, and updated with warm white glazed cabinets, a farmhouse sink, granite countertops and all-new appliances. The bathroom was overhauled with heated floors, a new European-style walk-in shower with river rock pebble floor, and a battleship-gray open-shelf vanity with quartz top. A transom window was added to the small guest bedroom to bring in natural light, and his-and-her closets now flank a new built-in desk in the main bedroom. Elsbernd even designed a custom-made entry bench, an entertainment unit and a makeup table for Phyllis.
Describing the place now as “a comfortable, airy lake home,” Elsbernd knew her clients were happy in the end when she went to shake Larry’s hand, and instead he said, “Oh, I’m hugging!”
The number of female business owners in both home and commercial construction is steadily on the rise, according to Barb Lau, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Women Contractors. “What’s changed is that, at one time, women were only going into the business if they had family members in the industry. Now they are choosing it because it’s a great career for them,” Lau says. “There’s multi-tasking and big-picture thinking involved that come naturally to women.”
Elsbernd says trust is the single most important factor in her success. “Your clients have to feel that you understand what they want, even if they don’t quite realize it yet themselves.”
