For more than twenty-eight years, I’ve helped people find their perfect home—the right neighborhood, the right light, the right feel. I’ve guided them through design transformations and the excitement of new beginnings. But along the way, I noticed something deeper: so many people had the home they’d dreamed of, yet they weren’t really living in it.
We’ve entered a time when life is full of convenience, commitments, and constant motion. Takeout dinners replace the family table. Gardening feels like a luxury. Rest becomes something we have to earn. Somewhere in all that busyness, we’ve lost touch with the most nurturing parts of daily life—the ones that feed us, body and soul.
Fresh Roots Living was born to change that.
Living Your Space
The heart of Fresh Roots Living is about bringing living back home. It’s about finding peace in the kitchen as you cook with your family. It’s about planting something—herbs on a windowsill, a row of tomatoes, a few flowers in a pot—and feeling the reward of growth. It’s about design that supports daily life, not just decorates it.
We believe that true homemaking isn’t a lost art. It’s the antidote to overwhelm.
Fresh Roots Living celebrates the art of creating beauty without burden, connection without complication, and homes that nourish the soul without demanding perfection. This is where we dive deeper into creating homes that truly reflect who you are—without the overwhelm that often comes with “picture perfect” home design.
Why It Matters
When we reconnect with home through cooking, gardening, creating, and caring, everything shifts. We feel better. We sleep better. We live better. Home becomes not just where we are, but how we are.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s presence. A slower pace. A more intentional way of being that allows beauty to unfold naturally through a home-cooked meal, a freshly made bed, or a garden thriving just outside your door.
Welcome to Fresh Roots Living: a community dedicated to finding peace, purpose, and possibility in the everyday—a call to plant roots that nourish, to live in the spaces we’ve worked so hard to create, and to design not just homes, but lives that feel whole.
Read the full origin story here
Life is short. What are you waiting for? Cari Ann’s new book Love It or Leave It: Your Guide to Thriving in Your Next Chapter is a guide to choosing your next chapter with clarity and confidence—without pressure, guilt, or endless overthinking. Now available wherever you buy books online:
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See our recent feature in Minneapolis Lakes Magazine.
Cari Ann Carter is a multi-faceted entrepreneur whose passion for sustainable living and design has flourished across several successful ventures. As the creative force behind DIY Designer Homestead, she has cultivated an expanding Instagram following through her authentic home design content, organic gardening expertise, and signature floral arrangements. Her professional foundation rests on the Cari Ann Carter Group, a respected real estate company with 26 years of experience offering comprehensive design, build, and renovation services, as well as property staging and curated home events.
Cari Ann is now expanding her vision with the launch of Fresh Roots Living. See our recent feature in Minneapolis Lakes Magazine.
Connect with Cari Ann on our Linktree.
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