INTERIOR DECORATING or INTERIOR DESIGN?
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have you ever wondered what the difference is between interior design and interior decorating? Using our home library as an example, I will illustrate the difference between these two essential concepts: interior design requires conceptualizing and outlining changes that require construction, whereas interior decorating refers to changes in color, furnishings, window treatments and accessories. The photo […]
Subterranean Transmogrification
One expects transformation with a remodel. The results of this particular basement remodel are so dramatic that I’m calling it “transmogrification.” The beautiful space below . . . used to look like this: Since I’m not an engineer or an architect, I called upon Wade Freitag at Craftsman Design and Renovation to help with the construction design for this […]
Crafting for Comfort
Emery & Associates has worked on many Craftsman-style homes, but none that were as representative of the style as this wonderful, 100-year-old beauty in Portland’s historic Irvington neighborhood. Here’s the living room “AFTER” photo. Let me back up a bit to show you how we arrived at this comfy, child-friendly design. Josh Smith called me in […]
I love It When a Plan Comes Together!
The Bauman family recently inherited two magnificent ancestor portraits, which deserve to be prominently displayed in their living room. Fortunately, when we remodeled their living room four years ago, we added new recessed lighting, even though adding lighting wasn’t on their original list of “must haves.” (See my very first post on this site–put title “Tricks […]
Repurposing Prexy
Last year I was asked by my alma mater, Reed College, to help with the re-design of the Prexy Building on the college campus. It was designed in 1914 by the renowned Portland architect, A.E. Doyle, as a home for the college president, hence its name. The building was subsequently used as a boys’ […]
Always Sunny in Portland, Oregon
Yes, I’m kidding. But even on dark and rainy days the mood in this room is sunny and warm, like a day in Provence. When we first started talking about what kind of changes they wanted in their home, Sue and Bob Van Brocklin let me know their color and style preferences, and we […]
Cats Rule!
As anyone who lives with cats knows, we don’t own them–they own us. Pictured above is Callie, who came from Holland with my husband and his daughter nearly eight years ago. Callie, and her sister, Cassie, think that the living room sofa is their personal boudoir. The soft, down-filled sofa cushions are just purr-fect. We […]
Pulling it All Together
Often one of the first things homeowners say to me is that their rooms don’t feel “pulled together.” This post explains how to accomplish that feeling of cohesiveness, and demonstrates how you can do it without pitching everything out and starting over. In each of the rooms below, the homeowner wanted to keep some of […]
Penthouse in the Pearl
When the new owners of this penthouse condo at Tanner Place contacted Emery & Associates, they told me that their taste was very contemporary, but they had fallen in love with this rather traditional space because of the high ceilings and large walls where they would be able to showcase their collection of art. They […]