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design

Wu Haus Office + Den Makeover

Very excited to finally share the Wu Haus office + den makeover with you! We started this project waaaayyyy back in October, but then I left town for 6 weeks, then it was the holidays and then it just took me a while to pull everything together to finish the project. What started as switching to pocket doors turned into a full-on makeover with all new furniture and lighting. The main challenge with this project was turning a very small, very particularly laid out room that we use for multiple purposes. If you scroll to the bottom of this post, you can see all the ‘before’ photos.

As you may remember, my husband ended up losing his closet in this room when we remodeled the kitchen. (In case you don’t remember: what everyone working on the project thought was the walls hiding our old oil heat chimney that jut out into the kitchen was actually Chris’ closet. Oops.) So needless to say, one of our main objectives for the new office + den was to find a way for my husband to have some sort of closet (without actually having a closet). We also use this room as an office and a den where we like to hang out in the evenings and watch a show or movie.

In terms of design, I was really inspired by warm desert tones, but I also wanted to bring in an unexpected shade of cool, icy grey/blue. Though I chose the colors before we went on our trip to Morocco, I think I must have known how much I was going to love it there because this room definitely feels inspired by our trip. I decided on the color for the Venetian plaster accent wall before I left on our trip. I grabbed some paint chips for color inspiration, but my contractor ended up tweaking the color based on how it was showing up on the wall once in the room. I’m so obsessed with Venetian plaster, it’s hard for me to imagine doing a project and not including it in my plans.

One of my favorite details is the crocheted Hamimi lantern that I found in Marrakech. I love the light it gives off and the beautiful shadows it creates. I also love the Milena Silvano pillow that acts as a focal piece on our gorgeous custom Young American day bed. The nubby wool pillows are from Pampa and my sweet mama made all the smaller pillow covers. I worked with my dear friend Jake, who designed and built the day bed, to create something that was functional, beautiful and very comfortable. The base is made of ash wood with powder-coated metal legs. It serves as a bed for anyone staying the night and is also perfect for cozying up to read a book or watch a movie. The ottoman functions as both a place to rest your feet and a coffee table. We had our contractor install a floating shelf in place of a side table next to the day bed.

Instead of spending a ton of money on custom cabinetry, we decided to go with a couple pieces from IKEA for the wardrobe and dresser. We were able to suspend two rods (one high and one low) in the wardrobe, so my husband has double the hanging room. We sanded, primed and painted both pieces that were originally white laminate. The wardrobe is STUVA / FÖLJA and the dresser is the 4-drawer MALM. We painted them Olympus White from Sherwin Williams and used gold hardware from Superfront to give it a fresh, modern look.

The new desk area feels separate without feeling out of place. Our beautiful new About A Chair 23 from HAY pretty much matches the Venetian plaster accent wall identically, which is a great tie into the rest of the room. The Copenhagen 90 Desk from HAY is minimalist perfection with plenty of space to work and to house the oversize Edendale Task Lamp from Rejuvenation. I’ve always dreamed of having a Laura Berger print and I love how the colors of this one work so well with the colors in the room. Our contractor made the shelving to match the floating shelf in the corner of the room next to the day bed. Our CB2 filing cabinets help keep all our papers and random office stuff organized.

March 18, 2019 6 comments

The Friday List

The Friday List No. 6

I’ve yet to find a swimwear line that I absolutely LOVE. With a cult following, Hunza G’s crinkle swimsuits are one-size-fits-all and supposed to be super flattering for all body types. Is it too good to be true?! I’m about to find out. Ordered a one piece and a bikini. I’ll keep you posted.

SOLANGE. Need I say more?

I’m not much of a podcast listener, but I recently binged The Dropout and loved it.

The playfulness and simplicity of SIN‘s table lamps.

Still ogling over this museum-worthy couture collection by Pierpaolo Piccioli for Moncler.

Yalitza Aparicio went from a preschool teacher to the first indigenous woman to be nominated for best actress at the Oscars. It’s so empowering to see women blaze trails and break down barriers. Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8, 2019 0 comment

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Wu Haus Kitchen Remodel

The Wu Haus Kitchen is finally done!!! And I’m beyond excited to be sharing the results with you today on the blog. After 9 weeks of renovations that had us cooking all our meals off a $14 hot plate in the dining room, we’re finally moved back into our brand new kitchen and absolutely loving it. I’m thrilled with how it turned out, and it was more than worth any of the chaos that came with remodeling.

First and foremost, I have to give MAJOR props and endless gratitude to our amazing contractor, Forrest, who worked his ass off on this project. My husband definitely put some time and elbow grease in, which was great, but for the most part, Forrest did everything on his own, from demo to the Venetian plaster walls to wiring the lighting to installing the new sink and plumbing to making the open shelving. It’s really quite amazing to work with someone who knows how to do literally everything.

I’d also like to thank my good friend and designer Jacob Schaeperkoetter-Cochran of Young American for helping me bring my vision to life. Jacob has a brilliant eye for design and offered so much guidance and advice on making this kitchen the most beautiful it could be. It was so fun working with him on our kitchen and watching as his plans became reality over the past several weeks.

Starting this project, I had a very clear vision of what I wanted. I played around with different layout ideas, but without changing the structure of the room too much, this layout made the most sense. We removed one wall that enclosed a “butler’s pantry” and took out the corner by the old refrigerator that we thought was the old oil-heat chimney. On our first day of demo, we soon found out that the “chimney” was actually my husband’s closet in our second bedroom. Oops. Not quite sure how we overlooked that. Anyways, we decided to roll with the original design of the kitchen and worry about the closet situation later. Still haven’t figured out where my husband’s new closet will go…I’ll keep you posted on that!

All of the amazing pendant lighting came from Rejuvenation. The pendants I chose are a collaboration with Portland-based ceramics studio, Pigeon Toe. During this whole process, I got to go tour Pigeon Toe’s studio and see how the ceramic pendants are made. I love supporting two Portland-based brands, and Pigeon Toe is woman-owned and operated. At one point, I felt like we went overboard with the lighting, as we also did recessed cans and under cabinet lighting, but now that I’m in the space working, I’m SO glad we went with all these lighting options. The pendants really allow for mood lighting, while the cans and under cabinet lighting is great for working. Since our kitchen is north facing and there’s only one window, having good lighting really makes a massive difference.

We decided to do the floors pretty last minute, like 4 weeks into the project, but I think it was one of the best decisions we made. Looking at it now, I think the finished floor really lends to the whole vibe and aesthetic of the kitchen. If we had kept the orange-hued wood floors that are in the rest of our haus, I think it would have really detracted from the finished look. It took Forrest a bit to get it just right, as Skimstone is essentially like a plaster application where you hand brush it on. Skimstone is a great option if you want something that looks like concrete.

I knew from the get go that I wanted marble countertops, and despite pretty much everyone advising me against it in the beginning, I’m so glad I stuck to my guns. If you aren’t familiar, marble etches form acids like lemon, vinegar and tomatoes and can stain easily. Personally, I love the way marble ages. The stains tell a story over time, and I think lend to a beautiful aged look. It’s definitely not for everyone. If you are type A or a particularly messy cook, I would suggest going with something more forgiving like quartz or granite.

We spent a good amount of our budget on the countertops, the refrigerator and other design details. Where we chose to save money was on the cabinets. Custom cabinetry can get really, really expensive, so we decided to use IKEA Sektion frames and use semihandmade custom fronts/doors. I’m SO happy with how they look, and that we decided to go this route. Semihandmade has lots of options and I found them incredibly easy to work with.

Walls: Venetian plaster application. Accent walls color matched to Pout from Miller Paint.
Countertops: Carrara marble slabs from Oregon Tile & Marble.
Floors: Skimstone Arctic White with the smallest amount of Oystershell added in
Lighting: All pendants from Rejuvenation. Recessed lighting from Home Depot.
Cabinets: IKEA Sektion frames with Semihandmade Cabinet Fronts in Supermatte Clay
Hardware: Park Studio X Sarah Sherman Samuel Half Moon, Ottawa and Mackinaw in Brushed Brass
Shelving: Plywood with maple facing
Sink: ROHL Shaws Classic Fireclay Single Basin Undermount Sink
Faucet: Delta Trinsic Pull Down Single Handle Kitchen Faucet
Refrigerator: smeg Fab 32

The BEFORE photos…Haha I guess I should have put these at the beginning of the post, but come on, I’ve been just dying to show you the AFTERs, so I had to get right to it. Honestly, our old kitchen doesn’t look so bad, but since I spend most of my day in this space and it’s essentially my office, I really wanted to up level the space and make it into something I feel incredibly inspired by.

April 9, 2018 19 comments

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Designer Profile: Jacob Schaeperkoetter-Cochran of Young American

I sat down with my dear friend, designer, woodworker, ceramicist and all-around talented guy, Jacob Schaeperkoetter-Cochran of Young American, to discuss who and what inspires his work, how he got his start as a furniture designer and who he would like to invite to his dream dinner party. Jake, as he is known to many of his friends, has designed and built several pieces of furniture for our haus, most recently a white oak dining table seen here, here and here. He does beautiful custom work, and I’ve been dreaming about a Young American coffee table for sometime in 2016. Be sure to follow along to see his latest work on the Young American Instagram feed. He is also teaching a wooden spoon carving workshop at Wildcraft Studio‘s Portland location on May 7th.

WH: What and who inspires your design?
JSC: I think the “what” in that question is much easier to talk about than who inspires me. A while ago I worked at a local furniture restoration and design house, refinishing, repairing and sometimes replicating parts for pieces by Finn Juhl, Borge Mogensen, Eames, Hans Wegner and so on. I put my hands on so many amazing and original pieces. Just being in such close proximity to those designers’ works influenced me a lot. The things that stood out to me as really great design I started to see popping up in my own work without even trying. That felt like true inspiration. It’s one thing to make a counterfeit or knock off, actively trying to implement design qualities that knowingly have been used, but it’s something completely different when those same qualities arrive without any attempt to do so. It’s more effortless and pure and much easier to re-work into something unique yet inspired. I also read blogs and magazines. They showcase the work of a lot of contemporary designers that I admire. The new stuff by HARTÔ. Anne Boysen’s TOWARD sofa. Everything that’s put up on Sight Unseen (particularly Erika Emerén‘s work). The blog, Good Thing. 90’s ceramics books. Lilith Rockett‘s porcelain and more. There are a lot of people who I admire, and I enjoy looking at what they make. But back to the “what!” What inspires me is the funny stuff that can’t easily be categorized. Like in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, when Angel Eyes comes to collect. As Lee Van Cleef sits across from the man he’s about to rob and kill, eating from a wooden spoon, there is this strange mix of humor and seriousness that is really wavering and intriguing. I don’t know exactly how to react, but I’m drawn to it and want to watch it over and over again. I guess it’s moments like that I find the most inspirational. More than attempt to recreate a style from the past or follow a current trend, I’m much more interested in the “what;” what I’ve made, what place it has and what it does.

WH: How did you get into furniture design?
JSC: I kind of just started doing it without even knowing. Furniture was never a big interest for me, and I certainly never thought I would ever be as passionate about it as I am today. Building and creating things has always been a passion for as long as I can remember, but it was never so specific. I started college in London at Central Saint Martins with a focus on architecture. It was interesting and held my interest for a while until my designs started to be extremely less functional than they were conceptual. I transferred to the Pacific Northwest College of Art the following year. At PNCA, there was one class called Experimenting with Materials where you chose a topic and experimented with it the entire semester. I chose paper. I started to make my own tools for the process and got really into it, like more than making the paper itself. My dry racks were these spindly, spider-like zigzags that ran parallel to one another and were held together with joinery, wire mesh and dowels. That rack was replaced by another more intricate one and and eventually paper drying racks turned into shelving and shelving eventually turned into tables and chairs.

WH: What would be your dream piece to design and build?
JSC: My current dream piece is this sofa I’ve been thinking a lot about. It might sound a little boring, but it’s not just the sofa that’s so dreamy, it’s the collaboration involved.

WH: If you could have dinner with 3 people (dead or alive), who would they be?
JSC: I recently saw this book of recipes by Salvador Dali. It was amazing, and those dinners looked out of this world. So, Salvador Dali would be one. A good story is alway nice at the dinner table, so the old man from The Old Man In The Sea would probably have to be another one. Also, Bukowski would probably make for interesting company.

WH: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
JSC: In ten years, I see myself working with people I respect and admire. Doing things similar to what I’m doing now, but on a bigger scale. There are so many people out there doing amazing things in design, photography and craft; in ten years, I hope to be closely surrounded by those people while being excited about what’s to come.

[All photos taken by the talented Mikola Accuardi.]

March 22, 2016 0 comment