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Portland Condo Interior

An interior designer turns a small Portland condo into a personal haven written by Melissa Dalton | photos by Christopher Dibble Kristen Siefkin is no stranger to reinvention. The Portland-based interior designer first became intrigued with her field while working as a public relations professional for McMenamins Hotels, Pubs and Breweries in the late ’90s. “Design had never really been on my radar,” Siefkin said. “I always hear designers say, ‘I grew up rearranging my family’s living room,’ and that was never me. I learned about design from Mike McMenamin, who was obsessed with the details and history and creating layers and creating spaces that people talk about.” After that unofficial introduction, Siefkin studied the topic formally at the Heritage School of Interior Design and swapped her PR career in 2015 to start her own firm, Interior Design Alchemy. In the interim years, she cultivated her passion for design via…

Global Eclectic

Get the global eclectic look of Siefkin’s unique home at these Oregon-based marketplaces Don’t have any international travel plans in the near future? Take a stroll through Cargo instead. With locations in Astoria, Portland, and online, Cargo offers handmade crafts, vintage treasures and décor items from a vast array of countries. We’re partial to the selection of textiles, including vibrant kantha quilts from India and ikat pillows from the Ivory Coast. https://www.cargoinc.com/ If inspired by Siefkin’s use of Tansu chests, plan a visit to Aurora to shop at Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage and seek out similar, unique storage items, such as a Mid-century basket locker or early-1900s oak printer’s cabinet. You never know what you might find. www.auroramills.com Mix in a few modern pieces with the vintage gems after perusing the wares at the Portland-based Good Mod, a Mid-century furniture warehouse that also sells its own custom designs and those…

DIY: Hang a Gallery Wall

Kristen Siefkin’s gallery wall is the focal point of her petite home, and includes all different media, such as paintings, framed textiles and prints. Their subjects remain diverse as well, ranging from the abstract to a precisely rendered woodblock print. Chances are, you have a similar array at your disposal. The beauty of the gallery wall approach is that it needn’t be too “matchy-matchy.” Siefkin gave us her tips for displaying with panache. GET PERSONAL Siefkin’s only rule for purchasing art is to buy what you like. She doesn’t believe the different pieces have to have a similar theme, color, frame style or size to them in order to be hung together. “In my opinion, you can make anything work,” Siefkin said.  DO A TEST RUN Having decided what to hang, trace each piece of art on to craft paper and cut out each shape. Affix the templates to the…

Products for a Modern Traditional Look

Get a modern traditional look with these products written by Melissa Dalton Handcrafted in California, the Stellar tile collection from Sonoma Tilemakers offers a bevy of field sizes, including a 2-inch by 8-inch rectangle tile. Available in 108 colors with names like “Old Soul” and “Retro Khaki,” these tiles easily bridge the gap between modern and traditional. Available at United Tile in Portland. www.sonomatilemakers.com Everything old is new again, especially at Heath Ceramics. The Coupe line was introduced in 1948 as the first dinnerware style for the iconic California-based pottery company and continues to impress today as a “modernist classic.” It looks equally good stacked on open shelves or plating your next dinner party. www.heathceramics.com With the Purist kitchen sink faucet, Kohler blends a classic bridge profile with clean lines and minimal detailing. The high arch is bound to clear the tallest pots sitting in your sink and even rotates…

DIY: Tips for Customizing IKEA Cabinets

DIY: Tips for Customizing IKEA Cabinets written by Melissa Dalton Anyone who has ever attempted to remodel a kitchen knows this universal truth: new cabinets add up fast. That’s why the Portland-based Kokeena offers custom cabinet fronts and casework for modular IKEA systems—customers get a tailored look that’s much easier on the budget. Kokeena’s products are made-to-order, manufactured in Oregon, and come in three different finishes, including painted wood, veneered wood or textured laminate. We asked Kokeena CEO Russell Edwards and architect Jeff Stern for tips on making a Kokeena/IKEA pairing work in your home. #1 DON’T ISOLATE THE KITCHEN “Try to make sure that any kitchen you’re planning is really cohesive with your whole house,” Edwards suggested. For instance, choose a Shaker door with an ogee detail for a historic English or Colonial-style home, or opt for a simple slab front in a Mid-century remodel or modern abode. #2…

A Modest and Chic Portland Home

Modest chic Portland home with texture and bright pops of color written by Melissa Dalton | photos by Built Photo Not all kitchens need the pomp and circumstance of showy stoves and flashy range hoods. Take the one in this custom home in Southeast Portland—it’s all about the subtle details. Sunlight pours through a full-height window which is perfectly aligned to brighten the center aisle on the city’s grayest days. White quartz counters wrap white oak cabinet fronts, revealing a neat shadow gap where the stone and wood meet. Yet behind those cabinet doors are boxes from IKEA’s Sektion line. Such an unfussy approach was deliberate on the homeowners’ part. “They wanted a fairly modest and compact house,” said architect Jeff Stern of In Situ Architecture, who worked with JRA Green Building to complete the home in 2017. “They weren’t looking for anything very formal.” Stern started the design process…

A Modern Traditional Tetherow Home

A modern traditional Tetherow home detailing of modernism, with a few rustic and industrial accents thrown in written by Melissa Dalton | photos by Heaven McArthur for Timberline Construction of Bend When building a brand-new house, the options can seem endless, which sometimes leads to “analysis paralysis” in certain clients. The owners of this recent build in Bend’s Tetherow development avoided indecision by identifying what they didn’t want first. “Especially in Tetherow, a lot of the houses are super modern, but they didn’t want a super contemporary home,” said Bend-based interior designer Lucy Roland of Harper House Design. In 2015, Roland joined Timberline Construction and Tebbs Design Group to guide the owners, a couple in the brewery business, through the design and build process. “[The wife] definitely errs on the side of more traditional,” Roland said. “So, they wanted something that can bridge the gap between modern and traditional.” On the…

Design Finds With A Modern ‘Mid’ Look

Design Finds Get the modern ‘Mid’ look of the West Hills bath Go bold with Clayhaus Ceramics’ Futura Collection. It’s comprised of five different tile designs that can be mixed and matched in a rainbow of glazes, all with a distinctive three-dimensional quality to their surface. clayhaustile.com There’s no need to have disparate packaging around when the cotton balls and Q-tips can be decanted into these chic stoneware vessels, available in a variety of sizes. Offered in either white or black and topped with low-profile acacia lids, they’ll create a much more cohesive display. rejuvenation.com For a minimalist treatment similar to the floating light fixtures in the West Hills bath, try the Baird Aged Brass Sconce from Hudson Valley Lighting, which combines a simple brass base with an oversized orbital shade. Pick it up at Globe Lighting, an outpost for fine lighting in the Pacific Northwest since its first store…

Two Portland Bathroom Luxury Remodels

Two mid-century Portland bathroom remodels pack a lot of luxury with light tile and charm written by Melissa Dalton A Modern Take on a West Hills Mid-century When a couple bought this rambler in Portland’s West Hills, it still held much of its Mid-century charm, which the new owners loved. Soaring ceilings clad in cedar in the living room? Check. Original kitchen cabinets in excellent shape? Yes, please. Unfortunately, their swooning stopped upon seeing the master bathroom. “ The house was built in 1954, and I don’t think the bathrooms had ever been touched,” said Stewart Horner, principal designer at Penny Black Interiors, who worked with the homeowners on a refresh. “It was pretty much as it had been for fifty-plus years, and it wasn’t pleasant.” First, there was the room’s unappealing Jack-and-Jill layout. A popular treatment during the Mid-century era, it meant the bathroom was shared between the parents’…

Green Living Around the State

Step inside these recent sustainable home designs around the state written by Melissa Dalton Oregon has some serious green building cred, but there’s always room for improvement. Governor Kate Brown led the state into an embrace of energy conservation when, last November, she signed an executive order stating that newly constructed residences must demonstrate 40 to 50 percent more energy efficiency than conventional construction. Intrigued, we checked out three recent sustainable builds to better understand what our future neighborhoods might look like. The First Passive House in Corvallis exterior photography by David Paul Bayles | interior photography by Jen G. Pywell Choosing to Build their first home was a no-brainer for Carl and Julie Christianson. He runs G. Christianson Construction, which was started by his parents in Corvallis in 1986. Less obvious is that the couple would make their home a certified Passive House. Although Carl’s company had never built…