Tucked away on a quiet side street in a peaceful neighborhood in north Portland is a small business on an oversized lot. It boasts one really big garden. A design studio. And a nursery. There’s also a client base that travels up the west coast to buy plants and order custom woodwork. This enterprise is called Bamboo Craftsman, and the company has grown its reputation largely through word-of-mouth, charming designs, and the owner’s business savvy. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

When Ian Fleming said, “beauty is a question of millimeters,” he wasn’t talking about bathroom remodels. But when it comes to the small bathrooms typical of most homes, beauty and function is sometimes a question of millimeters. So when you renovate, you want to be mindful of the details. If you get them right, you can transform a cramped bathroom into an appealing, high-functioning, and spacious part of your home without adding a single foot to the existing room dimensions. This is just a... more

Everyone has had to deal with a transition at some point in his or her home. I’m not talking about a transition to a new job or from young age to older. I’m talking about flooring transitions that adjoin different types of floor coverings. You know, the big strip of wood that constantly trips people as they walk from the kitchen to the dining room. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

During September of this year I made my first visit to the Republic of Ireland. Like many Americans, I had only fuzzy impressions of what the capital city of Dublin might look like. The city is of modest size for a European capital (1.8 million) and has never been showcased in films the way that London, Paris, or Rome have. I was pleasantly surprised to find the city a treasure chest of historic architecture found in its houses, its educational institutions, its public buildings, and its many churches.... more

If you’re a parent or a parent-to-be, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll want to enjoy a glass of pinot with friends in a living room cleared of LEGOs and My Little Ponies. Balancing the needs of children and adults is challenging throughout parenthood, and making changes to your house to accommodate a growing family is no exception. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

Selecting a kitchen sink while trying to achieve the appropriate look for a period kitchen can be a huge challenge. There is just so much misinformation and misleading marketing out there. It is often very difficult for homeowners to know what is correct for their specific period. Many of the ads, images, and plumbing stores insist that clay-fired farm sinks (also referred to as apron front sinks) are “historic.” Though they are indeed historic, this is an English style of kitchen sink rather... more

Wow! That’s what all of us long to hear and feel about our decor, be our home small or grand or somewhere in between. And the good news is that goal is easily accomplished. All it takes is putting aside our fear of color (especially in the Pacific Northwest, where taupe passes for a jewel tone) and the knowledge that little things loom large. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

Two friends who wanted to save some really great wood from winding up in the landfill started Viridian Wood Products. It was that simple. When my business partner, Pierce Henley, moved into his current home in Scappoose he found a pile of discarded hardwood in his new yard. On the surface it didn’t look like much, but just beneath the rough exterior he found amazing beauty, and he began to use it for all sorts of projects around the house. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →