The RedesignWorks Team at work…

To Begin the Process…

For our first project, we thought we'd stick close to home and apply our approach to ourselves by redoing the spaces of one of our members, as you see here. This is a condo in NW Portland in an historic building, which our teammate uses as an office

The Next Step…



Just like the shoemaker's children go barefoot, even interior designers sometimes have cluttered spaces. Note the fabulous lamps, mirror and iron table behind the sofa, surrounded by the not-so-fabulous bolts of fabric. The hand painted screen would look wonderful somewhere else.


The sofa was blocking the entry so it needed to move.


In addition to moving the sofa and the rolls of fabric, we move two dining chairs to flank the iron table and place some accessories under the table.
A coat of Wedgwood blue paint adds a layer of depth to the arrangement and makes the brass lamps and red chair seats pop up. We also replace the mirror with a painting.

Now, as you enter the space, your eye is drawn to the screen behind the inviting and comfortable sofa on the long wall. The benches previously stored under the iron table are now functioning as a coffee table.

Another problem to solve…

Here we have the short wall between the kitchen and the entry vestibule. We like the blue chair but not the cluttered wall hehind it. Besides, we needed a place to put that mantle! Remember the fireplace mantle?

  

This wider view shows why moving the fireplace mantle to the short wall WORKS - - it balances the wall, so that it no longer looks like an afterthought between the kitchen and the vestibule. Moving the mirror to above the fireplace, rather than on the entry wall, expands the space and reflects the chandelier, thus bouncing light around the room. The chair now has a homey and inviting look.

Problem in the kitchen…

Here are two views of the kitchen before we started. Looking into the kitchen, there's that pesky plant, which almost totally blocks the light from the kitchen window. Standing just inside the kitchen, you see a lovely baker's rack, but a lot of clutter.


In addition to repositioning items in the kitchen, we decide to add a bit of paint to the wall behind the baker's rack.
Isn't it amazing what a coat of paint will do? Of course we also re-arrange and add to the accessories, including the blue-and-white porcelains which had been in storage. Giving the rug a quarter turn helps expand the space and exposes more of the crisp black-and-white floor tile.




Looking Toward the Living Room…


Here's a view of the window wall before. The dining table and the chair look great, but the overgrown plant blocks the doorway to the kitchen and the French door covers up the picture on the wall

  

Standing in the kitchen, looking back into the living room, you can see we solved the problem of where to put that pesky plant.

By moving the table to the window, we open up the space. The overgrown plant is now across the room and the path to the kitchen is open and inviting. The painting that WAS behind the door is now over the iron table on the entry wall. Two of the dining room chairs move to flank the iron table on the entry wall - - we can bring them back when needed.

…and the Vestibule…solved

The vintage 1929's vestibule was quaint before, with its period telephone but rather dark and severe. Adding a mirror from another room adds light and expands the space and the bench moved from the sitting room makes the space more inviting. A subtle touch is turning the rug on the diagonal, which invites the visitor to proceed into the space.