Portland Oregon Interior Design Blog

More Interior Designer Tricks of the Trade

2012-01-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

Above are sketches from a project I,m designing in Lake Oswego.
At Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs Google sketch up is one of the most used tools to help client's visualize what I am proposing for their interior design project. I can walk my clients through the room and they can see where everything is including site lines...exactly where furnishings will line up on the windows etc. I have found this tool to be one of the best in my design tool box for clients to experience their room settings before they invest in them!

Just like HGTV

2012-01-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

Yes I create "story boards" for my clients...it helps them visualize the whole concept. This story board is for a home Im designing in Lake Oswego that over looks the mountain range.

If you are designing a space you may want to think about creating a story board.

To create an inspiration board, go to an art supply store and ask for foam core. It comes in black and white; I like black. Buy some spray glue, too. From the clippings of looks that you have gathered, cut out images that best illustrate the look and, more important, the feel or mood of the room you wish to create. Make a collage with the images you have pulled together. Once you have a pleasing arrangement, glue the images onto the foam core. With this inspiration board you can have a dialogue with the whole family about what the direction of your rooms will be. Now is the time to find out what the likes and dislikes are before money is spent on furniture that cannot be taken back.

Designer Secret: When shopping for just the right pieces ask “Does this lamp, chair or art piece fit within my three to five words?” If not, then you are off track. You have not found the right piece yet. I believe that people are drawn to the same colors that they like to wear. You want to look good IN your house! So take a look at your wardrobe. Are there dominant colors that you could draw from?

Lets visit one of my favorite blogs!

2012-01-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

I just visited one of my favorite blogs The House of Turquoise .
I have not talked about Erin's site for a while so I thought I would share with you this wonderful resource for all things turquoise! Even if you don't think you like this color...I bet Erin can change your mind with the wonderful interiors she features on your site. Enjoy

MODERNISM WEEK in Palm Springs Feb. 16-26

2012-01-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

What is Modernism Week? FEBRUARY 16 - 26, 2012

Modernism Week, the only such event in the country, is an exciting 11-day celebration of mid-century modern design, architecture and culture. This design aesthetic, originated in the 1950s and 60s, was typified by clean, simple lines and celebrated elegant informality which came to define desert modernism.
In the winter of 2006, following the success of both the MODERNISM SHOW which had started in 2001 and the annual symposium organized by the ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN COUNCIL of the PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM, a few local design and architecture aficionados created MODERNISM WEEK to showcase Palm Springs' world-renowned mid-century modern architecture.

Among the members of the initial steering committee were representatives from the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, the Palm Springs Modern Committee, the Palm Springs Historical Society, and the Architecture and Design Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Palm Springs Modern Committee

The Palm Springs Modern Committee is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining the heritage of modern architecture and design in Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley. Our goal is to be a meeting place for Palm Springs Modernists, both residents and nonresidents, with the ability to quickly mobilize support for urgent preservation issues.

Palm Springs Art Museum

Located downtown in an architecturally-significant E. Stewart Williams-designed building, the Palm Springs Art Museum features exciting exhibitions of contemporary, Native American, Western and Pre-Columbian art in spacious galleries. It features two sculpture gardens, stimulating lectures and educational programs for all ages, and offers diverse performances at its Annenberg Theater.

Palm Springs Modernism Show

The Palm Springs Convention Center will host 75 noted national and international decorative and fine arts dealers presenting all design movements of the 20th Century. The event is scheduled for February 18-20, 2011. A wide range of vintage 20th Century furniture and decorative arts will be presented and sold by 90 exhibitors, many from the West Coast, but some who come from as far away as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Denver, and Miami.

Palm Springs Preservation Foundation

The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to educate and promote public awareness of the importance of preserving the historical resources and architecture of the city of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley area.”

Trend Spotting-Metallics

2012-01-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to have been called by Oregon Home magazine for an article on trends. I was asked what I see as one of the trends in interior design for 2012.
Below is the article "Trend Spotting" written beautifully by Vivian McInerny in the Febuary/March issue of Oregon Home on news stands now.

METALLIC

Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs uses burnished metals.

Shiny metals bring to mind disco-era glitz and glitter. But burnished bronze, antique silver and aged gold have a sense of history. And old is the new new.

“Metallics started as an accessory trend,” says Portland interior designer Kimberlee Jaynes, “and now are making a broader visual statement in wall coverings, fabrics and art work.”

Jaynes created an entire condo in metallic for a client and the result is as rich as precious metal. One wall is covered with Maya Romanoff wallpaper that looks like a hybrid of concrete and metal. Other walls were sprayed with Benjamin Moore Studio paint in a three-step process resulting in a deep luster. The metallic look continues in the master bathroom with a pewter-color fabric shower curtain that feels like a couture gown. In the hallway, grass cloth with a metallic undercoat subtly reflects light like textured bronze.

“It’s easy to introduce this trend,” says Jaynes. “Reupholster your dining room chairs with burnished metallic fabrics, add metallic throw pillows to your sofa, include a metallic light fixture over the dining room table and inject the wow factor to your powder room with burnished metallic wall coverings.”

Devine Colors paint of Oregon offers Devine Dust, $9 packets of gold or silver minerals to stir into paint for a bit of metallic shine. They recommend two packets per gallon for subtle shine and up to four for more sparkle.

Trepidation about mixing metals should be put to rest. Burnished bronze, gold, silver and copper harmonize beautifully together.

I need color therapy!

2012-01-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

I have a friend that suffers each winter from light deprivation...she gets down when winter comes. Today is a gray day...a cold day...a blah day! I took Skip for a 3 mile run on Sauvie Island game refuge. It was beautiful even in it's winter attire. But it did not give me the lift I really am craving....Instead of light therapy I NEED COLOR THERAPY! So here is my visual infusion for you today! Feast your eyes on what color can do for your gray day.

Images from google images design trends 2012

Come with your design questions! Ask a Designer January 14th 2-3:00pm Tufenkians

2012-01-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

The forcast is sunny with the color YELLOW! It starts on the runway and ends in your HOME!

2012-01-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

Catch Yellow Fever!
Not the disease silly! The fashion essential for summer. Checking out the haute couture and RTW (that's ready-to-wear for the non-fashion people out there) runways this year, it is blatantly obvious that yellow will be HUGE!

Anyone who is anyone will be wearing yellow this spring and summer so you might wanna have a look-see. One of the greatest things about yellow is that its such a happy and bright color. Just looking at yellow fashions automatically cheers me up. Besides, what could be depressing about the color yellow?

Whats especially popular this year is light yellow and greenish-yellow. The darker and super "Walmart" yellows are done with! (I know, fashion can be so fickle) Lime yellow is also in, if you don't know what that is, you probably wouldn't want to wear it anyway so don't worry about that. Another fantastic thing about yellow is that it is universally flattering! (Which most people don't believe because they pick the wrong yellow!)

Here's a quickie guide to wearing yellow for your skintone:

Pale: Dark yellow, mustard yellow, and very pale yellows. Avoid neon-bright and primary color yellow which will only make you look more pale.

Medium and Olive: Go for opposite ends of the spectrum. You should reach for lemon yellows, bold yellows, and can even go for super bright yellow which will make your skin glow.

Dark: Reach for those golds. Golds will bring out the delicious gold tones. You also have immense luck because you can pretty much wear whatever yellow you'd like, and look fabulous. The only yellow I'd avoid is neon, it may look too jarring since it'll be a sharp contrast to your skintone.

This fashion forecast by Yena Jeon
Now look at the interior design line up! Eveything from toasters to tea pots-- are coming up Yellow!

Rollo May said it best " It takes courage to create!"

2012-01-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

I was invited to "create" a home for a client in Germany ...as I look back, it took a lot of courage to create long distance. But my philosophy has been, if a door opens walk through it.

Working with the client's existing French antiques and purchasing and designing some custom pieces completed the home. I had everything shipped over and then flew in for the installation.

My client was very comfortable in his new space.

Mr. Zeitgeist

2012-01-10T10:23:00.000-08:00

ON a rainy Thursday last month, Tyler Brûlé huddled over a cappuccino at Le Pain Quotidien in Greenwich Village, offering a peek at the future: a Heritage G2 tabletop radio designed for Monocle 24, a new radio station he is starting.
The Collection: A New Fashion App for the iPad

There is something Teutonic and midcentury about the G2, which is made in Scotland from brushed aluminum and American walnut. Despite an iPhone dock and organic LED screen, it looks like a machine built for breaking bulletins on the Berlin crisis of 1961.

“It’s an object with provenance,” said Mr. Brûlé, 43, who looked immaculate in a custom blue flannel blazer, rolled Edwin jeans and Pierre Hardy desert boots that seemed box-fresh, despite dodging puddles all day. “There’s clearly a design language there which hearkens back to the work of the German industrial designer Dieter Rams.”

The idea that a century-old electronic device, which few people under 40 seem to own, holds the key to his media empire’s next phase might strike some as far-fetched, if not downright delusional. But then again, Mr. Brûlé has made a career of defying conventional wisdom.

For the last 15 years, Mr. Brûlé, an Estonian-Canadian who keeps his perma-stubble artfully cropped like Tom Ford’s, has gone outside the publishing establishment and started two culture magazines regarded as bibles in certain design-savvy circles: Wallpaper and Monocle.

And he did so while upending notions of what a media company does.

While everyone hailed the iPad as the savior of print, Mr. Brûlé put out a limited-edition newspaper for the slopes of Gstaad and the beaches of Cannes. While retailers rushed online, Mr. Brûlé opened a chain of Monocle boutiques, a micro-extension of the magazine’s shopper-as-curator ethos. And while music migrates to the cloud, Mr. Brûlé started a radio station, with “an international playlist” that samples sounds “from Seoul to Stockholm.”

The common thread behind these disparate ventures is Mr. Brûlé himself, who embodies the border-agnostic sophisticate whom the Monocle brand is built around. His globe-trotting persona (cocktails-with-Danish-diplomats intellectualism, sleeper-seat jaunts to Taipei) has inspired legions of followers, who hang on his oracular pronouncements on what’s next.

“There is definitely a cult of Tyler,” said Jenna Lyons, the president and creative director of J. Crew. “I traveled with him to Japan, and every place we’d walk in, they’d say, ‘Oh, Mr. Brûlé, so nice to meet you!’ And it was all kinds of stores: tech stores, clothing stores, furniture stores.”

When was the last time a magazine editor inspired such adulation?

IN the world according to Monocle, Mr. Brûlé is the walking cynosure of the good life. In addition to his global media company, for which he won Advertising Age’s “editor of the year” award in October, he writes a column, Fast Lane, in The Financial Times, in which he chronicles his adventures as a globe-trotting connoisseur, bent on unearthing the rarefied and idiosyncratic. (He was also a columnist for T: The New York Times style magazine.) In a recent Fast Lane column, he regaled readers about a dinner at a ryokan, a traditional country inn, near Karuizawa, Japan. One of the “small luxuries of ryokan life is the total lack of choice when it comes to dining,” Mr. Brûlé wrote. “While I’m not always up for an elaborate 17-course kaiseki dinner, I’m nevertheless thrilled that someone’s done the thinking for me.”

His discriminating palate has earned him the admiration of fellow tastemakers. “Tyler is able to suck you into his world because he lives the life,” said André Balazs, the hotelier. “I’ve rarely met anyone who is more of an embodiment of the lifestyle that they espouse.”

That lifestyle also invites ridicule. Christopher Fowler, a British writer, recently mocked the elitist tone in his blog. “Is style guru Tyler Brûlé the world’s most annoying man?” Mr. Fowler asked, in a post entitled, “Things You Could Wish Upon Tyler Brûlé.” It is impossible, he added, “to get through one of his newspaper columns without being made to feel physically ill at the level of name-dropping he manages.”

But Mr. Brûlé has managed to inspire cultish devotion partly from the perception that he gets the tiniest details right. Employees at the Midori House — the Japanese-inflected name he conferred on the modernist brick building in the Marylebone neighborhood of London that is the headquarters of Monocle — understand that Mr. Brûlé likes things done a certain way.

Staff members do not drape coats haphazardly from the backs of chairs, but hang them in orderly fashion in a nearby closet. They do not eat at their desks, sprinkling keyboards with crumbs, but dine in groups in the office’s sleek canteen. They do not fling business cards across tables during meetings, but present them standing, with an air of Asian deference. The rules are unspoken, but understood.

“It makes us sound a little cultish,” said Aisha Speirs, the magazine’s New York editor, only half-joking.
Mr. Brûlé acquired his internationalist tastes early, even though he was born in landlocked Winnipeg, Canada, the only child of Paul Brûlé, a defensive back and fullback in the Canadian Football League. His mother, Virge Brûlé, an artist, emigrated from Estonia.
Enlarge This Image

The Heritage radio by Revo that was designed for Monocle 24, a radio station that Tyler Brûlé is starting.
The Collection: A New Fashion App for the iPad

The Monocle Shop in London, just a few parts of his empire.
Around the dinner table, they talked about life behind the Iron Curtain. That global sensibility seeped into the décor, too. “I was surrounded by Danish furniture, because that’s what Estonians felt safe buying when they came to Canada after the war,” he said.

Mr. Brûlé aspired to be a network anchorman like his idol, Peter Jennings, and in his early 20s, he was a reporter in London for the BBC and other networks. He landed in war-torn Afghanistan in 1994, reporting for a German newsmagazine, where he nearly died after being shot twice in a sniper attack.

Back in London to recuperate, he ruminated on a saner way to live. His epiphany: Wallpaper, a design and culture magazine he started in 1996. Instead of a voyeuristic peek into the homes of the gentry, Wallpaper created fantasy interiors with borrowed furniture and Gucci-suited models.

The aesthetic, like Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, was a triumph of retro-futurism, of Borge Mogensen chairs and shaggy Kasthall rugs. It quickly attracted a cult following among Generation X entrepreneurs riding the 1990s boom.

“I call them global nomads,” Mr. Brûlé, then 29, explained in a 1998 New York Times article, “Generation Wallpaper.” “Whether they’re a West Coast snowboarder, a copy writer for a hot advertising firm in Stockholm or a grunge kid working in an indie record shop that suddenly got a film deal, there’s a degree of affluence all of a sudden.”

“They need advice on how to live a sophisticated lifestyle,” he added.

The magazine earned him a lifetime achievement award from the British Society of Magazine Editors at 33, making him the youngest recipient ever. Time Inc. snatched up Wallpaper in less than a year, keeping Mr. Brûlé on as editorial director. He finally left in 2002.

Bound by a noncompete clause, he focused largely on Wink Media (now Winkreative), a branding and advertising agency that he still runs from Midori House. This time, it was the corporate world that sought out the Tyler Brûlé touch. Among the early big-name clients: he was hired to rebrand Swissair as Swiss International Air Lines with a sleek new look that extended to the cabins’ lighting and crew uniforms.

Still, journalism was where his heart lay. So in 2007, as the industry spiraled into an identity crisis over its digital future, he pushed forward with Monocle, a publication that was a celebration of print in all its sensual pleasures.

His inspiration came from (where else?) the airport terminal. While waiting for his flight, he would see people grab a copy of the Economist, along with something less cerebral, like GQ. “I thought, ‘Well why can’t we do that?’ Mix it up and add a few things,” he said.

If Wallpaper targeted snowboarders who had made their first killing, Monocle targets the same reader after a decade of running a multinational corporation. A worldliness is assumed. Each issue is the size of a Sotheby’s catalog, printed on upward of nine different paper stocks, crammed with extremely niche articles about carbon-neutral airlines in Costa Rica and sleek Afghan restaurants in Dubai.

Celebrity profiles? Only if you count Abubaker Karmos, Libya’s chargé d’affaires in Canada, as a star.

For loyal subjects, Monocle was an exclusive club as much as a beach read. That may explain its unorthodox business model. To increase circulation, most magazines sell heavily discounted subscriptions. Monocle, on the other hand, charges more: it costs $10 at newsstands but $130 for a yearly subscription of 10 issues.

The idea of targeting elites willing to pay that much for a premium product allowed the magazine to become profitable two years ago, despite a global distribution of about 150,000.
That also attracted luxury advertisers like Rolex and BMW that not only buy full-page color ads in Monocle, but also in Monocle Mediterraneo and Monocle Alpino, the company’s new seasonable newspapers found in tony resorts.

Some of Tyler Brûlé’s favorite things. EYEGLASSES Oliver Goldsmith.
The Collection: A New Fashion App for the iPad

More than a throwaway periodical, Monocle is a status symbol, a prop poking out of a Jack Spade carry-on, announcing to the saps in the back of the plane that you’re a member of the international aesthete class. Trendy stores like J. Crew Liquor Store and Freemans Sporting Club display it as a chic accessory.

Indeed, new inductees sometimes order the whole back catalog to show off on bookshelves, Mr. Brûlé said, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica for cool kids. (Never mind that few people ever seem to read an issue cover to cover.)

This is one reason Mr. Brûlé has no plans for a Monocle magazine app yet: on an iPad, no one can see you reading Monocle.

“So many media companies these days forget the power of the brand, of people actually displaying, and wearing, the media brand,” he said. “In public circumstances where you have to choose a seat, you can look at a person’s shoes, you can look at their luggage, and oftentimes, it’s interesting to see what they’re reading as well. ‘Do I want to be near that person or not?’ ”

ON his most recent visit to New York, Mr. Brûlé found himself near a couple of dozen people who made the cut. They were staff members and friends sipping Champagne at Aria Wine Bar in the West Village at an intimate party celebrating Monocle’s year-end issue.

The party looked like a tableau vivant of Monocle’s tiny but influential band of followers. Japanese consular officials nibbled Gorgonzola-stuffed dates alongside hoteliers, clothing designers and dapper workers from the Wallpaper days who, a decade later, still profess undying loyalty to Mr. Brûlé’s vision.

Mr. Brûlé looked as put-together as always, breezily chatting with a Danish diplomat about how Brazilians give the best parties. But, even though Mr. Brûlé counts jet lag as something of a moral failing, he seemed a bit worn out. This was not surprising, given that he travels more than 250 days a year, and maintains an apartment in London, a winter flat in St. Moritz and a summer house on a tiny island he owns in the Stockholm Archipelago with his longtime partner, Mats Klingberg.

It didn’t matter. This was a place he could relax. He was surrounded by friends. The room, with its warm lighting and unfinished birch tables, oozed hygge, a Danish concept of convivial coziness that Mr. Brûlé holds dear. Even the clothes were right.

At every corner of the party, young men stood in virtual uniform. They wore blazers, rolled jeans and their stubble just so. Just like Tyler.

Patricia Wall/The New York Times

Refreshing a condo

2012-01-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to have my work shown on the cover of today's Home & Garden section of the Oregonian newspaper. Below is the article by Bridget A. Otto.

What: Refreshing a condo

Who: Designer Kimberlee Jaynes, Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs

The challenge: Jaynes was contacted to help warm and personalize a modern, urbran loft space. The client first asked her to make over the entry hall and guest bath. When that was done, the client gave Jaynes a good news/bad new response: She loved the new look, but not longer liked the rest of her home.
"Modern, chic urban living is not always inviting." Jaynes says. "The challenge with condo living is warming up the modern spaces, and respecting the architecture."
One common concern, Jaynes says, is a belief that texture and modern design do not mix. And even if clients get the nerve up to bring in texture, they ask what kind of texture.
To Jaynes, designing an inviting living space isn't about a single thing such as texture, it's about the mix-a guide line that works in urban lofts and suburban ranches.
"She has all the right elements," Jaynes says of her client's belongings. But it was all too safe and solemn.

The ENTRY BEFORE: The long, narrow entry had an animal-print rug that didn't run the full length of the hall.
"That doesn't lead you into the space," Jaynes said.
Identically framed art ran down one concrete wall, and the other wall was painted cream. A bench capped off the space at the end opposite the door.

THE ENTRY AFTER: Jaynes looked all over town-to no avail-for two runners to cover the full length of the hallway.
She decided to "make" a runner by combining Flor carpet squares in various colors and designs. She knew her client loved bright colors and animal prints, and followed that lead when putting together the "runner." The artwork on the concrete wall was left intact, but the cream-colored opposite wall got jazzed up with shimmering grass-cloth wallpaper. More refection was added with a metal table, lamp and colorful metallic mirror. The shiny, reflective surfaces now bounce light around the otherwise static space. The placement of the table and mirror were purposeful. "I'm always looking for practicality." Jaynes says; for instance, thinking about where someone would set mail, keys or a purse. The mirror near the door serves for that last-minute look-check before going out.

THE DINING ROOM BEFORE: The dining table was not large enough for the space and nothing in the area made any kind of statement. The wall, flanked by windows, cried out for attention, Jaynes said.

THE DINING ROOM AFTER: Jaynes decided to add a fireplace to the plain wall and found a flueless variety at Bravado Home. With the fire place in, she had the wall clad to match the kitchen's cabinetry and the fireplace mantel clad in the same granite as the kitchen counter. The fireplace surround was covered in iridescent tiles from Ann Sack, which once again work to reflect light.
To create a dining atmosphere, she added a modern light. The arc of the arm also added some roundness and fluidity to the space, and gave light without adding a second ceiling fixture.
Jaynes thought the original dining table was too diminutive for the open floor plan. She replaced it with a larger round table built by Portland furniture maker Kai Fuhrmann and topped with a hand-painted metallic gold and caramel-colored glass. "This knocks your socks off," Jaynes says. "'It's a piece for life."

THE LIVING ROOM BEFORE: Animal prints and black-and-white patterns dominated the space, anchored with back leather sofas, which the client wanted to keep.
"Cool stuff," Jaynes says, "but nothing was standing out."
The trick, she says, is to break it up, add interest, color and texture without "looking like a comic strip."

THE LIVING ROOM AFTER: Out went the black rugs, pillow, coffee table and animal-print chair, which found new life in the TV room.
In came a bright, floral rug from Tufenkian that makes a statement while not being overpowering, thanks to the room's size and the expanse of windows. Jaynes had pillows made of Kravet fabric of similar colors to the rug and reinstated the black in the base of the new, more-substantial coffee table. The curvature of the base echoes the petals of the carpet's large flower.
"You go for the big bang. She just shrieked with joy."

Remodeling: opening the realm of possibilities

2012-01-04T15:48:00.000-08:00

I'm priveliged to have the opportunity to write this blog for Oregon Home magazine.

By Kimberlee Jaynes

I married my husband eight years ago. At the time he lived on a floating home. “Please try living on my houseboat,” he said, “and after a year if you don’t like it, we could sell both of our homes and build.” Well, I adore living on the water, but this home needed major updating. It was all very dark and drank up light like a thirsty sailor on shore leave. Barn wood and mirror banked one wall, the ceiling was tongue-and-groove natural wood. A free-standing wood stove and terra cotta tile hearth took up most of one corner of the living room. There was carpeting everywhere and black and white checkerboard tiles on the kitchen floor.

Fast forward to today. We now have light hardwood floors throughout the house; the barn wood and mirror wall is but a distant memory. The natural beams were spared but the tongue and groove wood ceiling is now white. We put in a new fireplace with natural rock surround and a thick fir mantel to match the beams over head. But the tired kitchen cabinets still needed a face-lift. The cabinets cried out “change me.” I had one cabinetmaker tell me that to replace what I had, it would cost $30,000. Eek! We could never recoup that investment upon re-sell.

When you look into any remodel, take into consideration the value of your home and gear your budget towards that end. It does not make sense to over build any one room. It looks odd when people have one room that is all tricked out with the latest and greatest and the rest of the home feels like the poor country cousin. Also make sure you are going to recoup your investment. Talk to a realtor for advice.

I decided to have the cabinet boxes painted inside and out in high-gloss Apple Peel paint, which is a wonderful powdery white from Miller. I had a cabinetmaker build new drawers and door fronts and replace all the hardware with new full-extension glides. The fronts are bead board to give a nod to the nautical. When we are done, I’ll have a “new” kitchen for one-fourth the cost of a complete renovation.

Now onto the adjoining dining room. As a designer, I have to deliver the news, the good the bad the ugly. I often encounter people saying, “They aren’t worn out yet” and “I paid a lot of money for those.” But if I’m going to “perform miracles,” I can’t just add water. I have to clear the slate of dead wood and open the realm of possibilities.

I’m telling you all this because I had to have this talk with myself. I have perfectly good regency bent bamboo Palleck chairs in the dining area that are very comfortable, were not cheap and are like new. They went with Dwight’s rectangular antique table beautifully. However, looking into what we wanted to move toward (style-wise), we had purchased a round white Saarinen table and Nelson orb light. The old chairs bring the whole dining area down visually.

But it was very difficult for me to justify parting with them. The new Saarinen swivel tulip chairs that were designed to go with the table expand the dining area and energize the space. The French clock grounds the space and is visually graphic. The Nelson orb light over the table now feels at home. It’s fun to see it gently sway when a boat goes by. These additions were worth the upheaval, paint fumes and the inconvenience. I now have a kitchen and dining area I’m happy with. And that’s worth a lot!

GETTING RID OF CLUTTER COULD BRING YOU $ IN TAX DEDUCTIONS!

2012-01-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Organizers NW helped me get me organized a few years ago and I have been a big believer in their services ever since! Here is some great information from one of their newsletters on clearing out the clutter and getting some tax deductions to boot!

Getting rid of some of that old stuff cluttering up the house could be just the answer to simplifying your life.

You get more space, plus potentially hundreds of dollars in tax savings!

For a Value Guide to assist you in determining the tax-deductible value of any items you are donating to charity check here: Donations guide for tax deductions

Did you know?

You can donate your worn out tennis shoes.
Clean out your closet, take a peek under the bed and ask your friends and family - chances are, you'll find a few pairs of kicks lying around that have seen better days.
www.nikereuseashoe.com

You can donate Airline miles.
Through the generosity of several major airlines, the American Red Cross can receive donations of frequent flyer miles.

Donate Airline miles to The American Red Cross
www.redcross.org
"Less mess. Less stress. Better life."
Missy Gerber - President
Organizers Northwest

Ottomans add extra seating without adding visual weight to the room

2011-12-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

This Lake Oswego home needed extra seating when entertaining. With the addition of the ottomans on each side of the antiqued mirrored coffee table there is now plenty of room for everyone. The two built-in seats next to the fireplace are also cozy spots to perch. Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs designed the over sized scalloped edge, bullion trimmed ottoman by the fireplace. The Schumacher large scaled patterned fabric gives this room a modern twist.

Connecting with the landscape through furnishings

2011-12-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

Tettonica furniture seeks to create a connection between living space and landscape. Designer Loeve asks "Can we experience the space outside the house while we are inside? The designs are made by scaling different structures of landscapes to fit the interior.The depth created inside the table stays visible through the glass tabletop, amplifying the spacious feeling. The stool is hollow from both sides and is covered on top with a removable felt cushion.

Holiday money to spend...shop with a conscience

2011-12-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

Wabisabi green has modern home decor with eco chic collections. I love these beachy stylish organic cotton place mats,napkins and pillow.

Adult and Children's Christmas Table Decor

2011-12-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

Decor ideas from HGTV

I hope you enjoy the time you have with your family and friends this Christmas, time is the most precious gift you can give.

Happiest of Holiday wishes to you and yours!

Kimberlee

Simple Christmas table decor...by Nature

2011-12-22T09:52:00.000-08:00

If you are still stumped about what to do for your holdiay table decor visit HGTV and take a look at all there wonderful ideas!

Chartreuse punch

2011-12-21T06:41:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

2 cups herbal liqueur, preferably green Chartreuse, chilled
2 cups gin, chilled
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, strained and chilled
Simple Syrup, chilled
1 bottle (1 liter) seltzer, chilled
Ice cubes
Lime slices, for garnish
Directions

Stir together Chartreuse, gin, lime juice, and simple syrup in a punch bowl. Pour in seltzer just before serving. Ladle into ice-filled glasses, and garnish each with a lime slice.

Cook's Note

Punch can be refrigerated overnight. Add seltzer just before serving.
Visit Martha Stewart for more holiday punch ideas!

Shop with a conscience...Wabisabi green

2011-12-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

Wabisabi green has modern home decor with eco chic collections. I love these beachy stylish organic cotton place mats,napkins and pillow.

Art makes me happy!!!!

2011-12-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

Now, as much as I would love to live in a French Farm house...I don't...I live on a floating home. Some call them house boats...however you can't drive them! I love the setting being on the water facing Sauvie Island. Our home was built in the 1980's the architecture is modern with vaulted ceilings simple millwork. As an interior designer I need to respect the bones I have and build around them. The photos are of my hallway. I went to "Boys Fort" last night for their private party and found the two circle paintings by David Lynch. Dwight and I thought they were perfect for our home. Along with the photo art of the Fischer Price toy family and the light sculpture from Springbox gallery I think they fit right in. Even on gray days I smile when I walk through my hallway!
By the way if you have not visited the pop up store" Boys Fort" in the Galleria next to Brookes Brothers your time is running out...they close the end of the month. Fabulous finds for everyone!

Benjamin Moore introduces Full Spectrum color!

2011-12-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

Donald Kaufman is famous for it ....designer's love it...what is it? Full Spectrum color and it's coming to a Benjamin Moore store near you.
It is very exciting for me as an interior designer who is continually asked to help client's with paint colors in there homes, because full spectrum color ...is like no other color!

Benjamin Moore explains why this new product is so revolutionary for them to release:

Every Color Is Its Own Story
Why is Color Stories™ so extraordinary?

Two hundred forty, one-of-a-kind full-spectrum colors have been meticulously handcrafted into an astonishing collection – a palette so vibrant and exquisite that each color is best appreciated once the paint is applied. Each creates depth, overtones, nuance and luminosity not found in ordinary paints. From natural morning light to artificial or indirect illumination, these colors take on different characteristics and appearances throughout the day. Evoking emotions and feelings, each unique blend offers a story and a personality behind each hue.

Measure for Measure-The Formula
Color Stories™ is a full spectrum color collection. What that means: Unlike conventional colors which are formulated with three pig- ments, full spectrum colors are achieved through the mixing of multiple pigments—anywhere between five and seven — in very precise, exacting amounts. Each full spectrum color yields a complex visual dynamic that delivers an unexpected experience. These colors have greater clarity and purity, and are richer and more vibrant.

The Science Behind the Art
Each Color Stories™ color is handcrafted from an individual, exclusive recipe. These “prescriptions” were invented with
Benjamin Moore’s patented Gennex colorants. The water-based colorant system is distinctly different from all others, as it contains no volatile organic compounds (zero VOC). This color engine drives the Color Stories hues and makes them impossible to duplicate. And the medium that transports each luxurious color is AURA®, the ultimate performance paint that remains low VOC (under 50 grams per liter) no matter the color.
The Sublime Results Setting your own color identity with whatever shade or combination of tones you choose provides a true freedom of expression that all will envy. Color Stories™ offers unparalleled hues, each with light-affecting qualities that bring dimension and luminosity to any space. These handcrafted colors were chosen for their versatility and dependability no matter the architectural style or lighting environments.

Click on these links to see the whole color palette:
Shades of Gray
Naturally Neutral
Earthen Hues
violet Twlight
Fluid Blues
Elemental Greens
Golden Fields
Fiery Sunset

Go a little crazy! Have fun decorating for your dinner parties!

2011-12-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

Photos:http://www.sittinginatreeevents.com
It's sooo much fun to go over the top during the holidays...it's only once a year ....normally I say simplicty is the best policy but during the holidays you can go a little crazy!

Perry's on Fremont does Christmas

2011-12-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

Dwight and I dine at one of our favorite restaurants at least once a week...Perry's On Fremont. Pictured above are some of my favorites! The fisher woman stew, the coconut cake with 7 minute frosting and for the folks that like a mixed drink, they have delicious lemon drops. Not only is the food amazingly good and diverse as an interior designer I like the eye candy.
Everywhere you look you can gaze upon something of visual interest! Christmas brings Anna Perry's artistic nature flowing from her fingertips with ease, from the woman's powder room to the the trees outside, the holiday decor charms and delights!

My dog Skip got tired from just looking at all the design work Anna has done to turn Perry's into a Holiday experience not to be missed.

Finding inspiration in Newport

2011-12-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful time visiting Newport Beach for a few days. The weather was amazing! In the "create on demand" world that I live in as an interior designer, it is nice to take a break from solving design dilemmas and just relax and soak in what this small beach town had to offer.
I found the fishing murals enchanting...they harken to a time when Newport Beach was filled with men walking the streets in rubber boots, docks were teaming with boats heavy laden with fish ready for the many processing plants bustling with commerce. The town now has slowed down and is a bit touristy...it even has the pop culture phenomenon " Ripley's Believe it or Not."

The natural beauty of the beach gave me lots of design ideas...the undulating pattern of the sand moved by the constant lapping of the waves reminds me of how interesting one color can be when several textures are introduced.

The many shades of greens in the wet sea weed makes me want to use emerald in the next project I design!

All the reflective surfaces help me realize how important a design element "shiny" can be.

Ok next blog back to Christmas!

Christmas in France

2011-12-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

The above photo was taken by Vicki Archer the author of " My French Life" and " French Essence" I subscribe to her blog and get a little piece of France each day.

I'm going to the beach for a few days ...don't know how much blogging I will get done....à bientôt! au revoir! adieu!

The power of a paint color!

2011-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite before and after examples on the portfolio page or my website! The 1980s oak was immediately updated with the addition of a paint color that brightened and lightened the whole mood of this house. The wood work no longer takes center stage but now is a supporting player to the bold performances in constrasts. Using black and red as my accent colors, gives the room high drama...this is exactly what my clients wanted ...a place of comfortable luxury. Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs specified the twin sofas used in the living room. This room is long and not as wide as I would have liked...but these custom curved sofas fit perfectly into the space. The gentle curves softens the angular shape of the room and takes the focus off the once dominating wood work. The starburst pattern dining table with inlaid wood, the crystal chandelier and black buffets, all add up to an atmosphere of fine dining.

The sanctuary...the master bedroom at Acorn Hill estate

2011-12-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

Continued Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs,Inc photos of the master bedroom at Acorn Hill. The master bedroom looks out on extensive grounds peppered with blue and white hydrandias.
I chose the bed linens and built the room around them. The blue walls, pinstriped silk curtains and damask patterned bedding all add a soothing feel to this retreat. The homeowner already had the olive green velvet chair, we thought it worked well with the stem of the hand embroidered hydrangeas on the crown over the sleigh bed. The muted wool Tufenkian carpet adds to the
" always been here" look. The homeowners teenage daughter made the art piece to the left of the bed...extrodinary! Without this modern touch...it would look too old world for this young family.

Acorn Hill estate continued...oh yes I can do traditional interior design!

2011-12-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

This blog is a continuation of yesterdays charming Acorn Hill estate in Lake Oswego that Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs ,Inc. had the privilege of working on. The great room was in need of the final layers. The addition of the aged Currey triple light fixture over the breakfast table coupled with the blue Ikat heavy cotton fabric drapes gives this area a strong, warm and inviting place for the children to do home work and for the family to eat casual meals. I added the flax colored linen down filled sofa with blue medallion cotton pillows, large family friendly storage coffee table and the two French ceramic dogs flanking the fireplace. I moved some art around and placed the greenery on the fireplace ...wa la a house is now a home. You don't normally think of balloon shades being used in the kitchen, but this is exactly what was needed to dress the fine features of this charming old world kitchen. Adding lamp shades to the existing chandelier and the French porcelain chickens above the stove along with the topiaries and some other accessories completes the look.
Tune in tomorrow to see the grande dame...the master bedroom!
I have been working on this project for a couple of years...you may recognize it from the H&G section of the Oregonian as they did a piece on it last January.

How can you use what you have and keep it fresh?

2011-12-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

This client moved to Lake Oswego from San Francisco and engaged Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs, Inc for some help with decor in the living room, great room, kitchen, teenage daughter's room and master bedroom. She brought most of what her previous designer had done for her in SF for the living room. I helped with placement of furnishings and made her past fit into her present, by having the draperies shortened, choosing the new mirrored coffee table and designing the over sized ottoman perched by the fireplace. Along with placing the African masks in the dining room and accessorizing this helped my client use what she already had, while adding a little to freshen the look for her new residence. Contrary to common belief that designer's will "want to start all over" I enjoy incorporating treasures from my client's lives into their current space. (Stay tuned to see the rest of the house in upcoming posts.)

Interior designers are paid to dream...

2011-11-30T07:39:00.000-08:00

The renderings above show the vision I had for the Regent apartments in NW Portland. I say had because once the bottom line was tallied up the dream was shelved. I had visions of a tired grand dame coming to life with layers of finery. Moldings, velvet draperies, mohair uphostery and art deco panels flanking the courtyard garden doors...it would have been beautiful!
Onto the next creation...

Diane Keaton enters the house wares market

2011-11-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

Elle Decor is spreading the news: Diane Keaton has entered the home decor market see article below.

She is one of Hollywood’s most beloved and enduring stars. But like the men’s fedoras she favors, Diane Keaton’s onscreen persona is just one of the many hats this native Angeleno wears. Photographer, architectural preservationist, author of a book on Spanish colonial houses, and late-blooming mother (she started her family 15 years ago at age 50), Keaton simultaneously pursues all of her passions with intelligence and quirky good humor.

This decorating buff recently launched her own housewares line, K by Keaton, at Bed Bath & Beyond, mixing menswear fabrics with Americana-inspired pottery and a generous dose of fun (canapé plates are emblazoned with words like yum and eat). “I tried to make it breezy, light, and playful,” Keaton says. “Why is everything so sacred?”

I did it! I decorated a tree!

2011-11-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

My mother will be proud of me...I decorated a Christmas tree!

Like many interior designers I started out as what we call in the trade a "display artist" or what lay people call a " window dresser." Having decorated for Christmas on a very large scale ( I even designed and flew in to install Christmas at De Vargas Mall in Santa Fe NM for many years) I had had my fill of Christmas trees.

But this year I broke down and bought a flocked tree and I really enjoyed decorating it! My first tree since the 70's!

The pleasurable part was that the tree came on a stand...no fights with my husband about is it straight! Ha!

I also liked the fact that with a flocked tree you don't need as many ornaments...so the few that I do have from decorating wreaths each year ( this was my only decor in the past) easily filled the tree. I had tiny nests with glass eggs, old world birds with feather tails, big mercury glass ornaments and pearl white orbs. My tree topper consists of three glittery branches tied together with a big white bow. My table decor is very simple...found objects from around my house...a large white platter filled with ceramic artichokes, mushrooms an egg and antique Waterford crystal seahorse candle sticks. I hope you find new inspiration for festive decor in your home this year!

Holiday decorating inspiration

2011-11-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Photos above showing more inspiration from Bedford Brown.

I'm going out today to see what I can find to make some holiday happenings at my home...keeping fingers crossed!

It's time to decorate!

2011-11-26T09:37:00.001-08:00

Holiday decorating at Bedford Brown
BB always does such a beautiful job! Henry Brown does a tree like no other! I'm trying to get some inspiration for my own home....

We live on a house boat and each year we have a party when the Christmas ships float by...as an interior designer
(Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs Inc.) I feel a responsibility to "decorate" for this party. But the back story is I decorated three floors of a major department store (Nordstrom) for six years and I'm all Christmased out! My mother always says "Retail ruined you for the holidays..."

In '09 the Oregonian asked if they could come out and photograph my holiday decor...oh boy was that pressure! I was also asked if they could shoot one of my client's homes decorated for Christmas...so I immediately called a client and started decorating her house too! The base of my tree ended up on the cover of the H&G section with photos of my client Judy Gilmore's home. I strung boxwood garlands on her stair case and lent Judy my grandfather's elk horn for the dining room table. I surrounded it with pine bows, a bowl of green apples and lots of candles. (Photos below) I wrapped the based of big evergreen Italian cypress in burlap and little white lights to flank the French stone fireplace...decorated everything from within an inch of its life!

I'll try to muster up the designer challenge for this year and create something festive for my guests...stay posted... I'll let you know what I come up with...oh no the pressure is on...again!

Little Boxes get away from the big box stores!

2011-11-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Revolver one of my favorite modern vintage stores (also know as the vintage furniture guru) gave me the scoop on "Little Boxes" I love the concept and plan on visiting these stores!

About:

"Little Boxes is a different way to shop on Black Friday. If you want to line up outside a big box store at 3am, make sure you wear your mittens! The Little Boxes open at 10am. If you're looking for crowds and fist fights over toys, there's bound to be a big box out there where you can get in on that. The Little Boxes don't really do fist fights. The big boxes will feature the big brands and the big marketing and those robot massage chairs lined up in the hallway. The folks at the Little Boxes have filled their shelves with the lesser known brands: that line from the Netherlands, that clever thing for your kitchen, those awesome boots. Products they've researched, dug around for, and believe in. And while the Little Boxes don't have robots giving massages, they'd probably give you a hug if you asked.

Over 70 brick and mortar retail shops in Portland will be participating. All the shops will be open extended hours, and when you present a receipt from one of the participating shops at another participating shop, you will receive 10% off your purchase! In addition, you can pick up raffle tickets at each participating shop, and enter to win a variety of fabulous prizes! The best part is that you can collect as many raffle tickets as you want (one per participating store) to increase the chances of your winning a prize! Get all the details at www.littleboxespdx.com.

We're the Little Boxes, and we're proud to invite you into our stores. We work hard to create an experience you won't find in bigger boxes. We look forward to seeing you Friday morning."

Participating stores:
Mabel & Zora
Folly
Modern Domestic LLC
Frock
Tilde
Icon Tattoo Studio
Tumbleweed
Grasshopper
abrahams&duffy
Tender Loving Empire
Bonnet
Modo Boutique
Mink Boutique
pedX shoes
Manifesto Shoes
Black Wagon
Union Rose
Crafty Wonderland
Etcetera
grayling. jewelry studio & showroom
Spielwerk Toys
Betsy & Iya
Radish Underground
Flutter
Eden
Porch Light
EcoVibe Apparel
house of lolo
Garnish Apparel
Close Knit
IDOM Designs
Popina Swimwear Boutique (Portland Downtown-Pearl District)
SaySay Boutique
Shop Adorn
Palace of Industry
Popina Swimwear Portland
Parallel
Physical Element
Leanna NYC
Della Bella Acne & Skin Care Center
Red Sail
Lille Boutique
Branch and Birdie
Rock N' Rose
Little Things
Beezoo Exchange
Fuchsia
Butterscotch
Digs Inside & Out
Charmed. A Girly Store
Pin Me Apparel
Lark Press
Ellington Handbags
Revolver Vintage Interiors
moulé
polliwog
Aylee & Co.
Sound Roots School of Music
Redux
Flora
Salty Teacup
SaySay Boutique
IDOM
Noun: a person's place for things
Close Knit
galore department store
Gypsy Chic
Zahara Boutique
ink & peat
Child's Play Toys
Cordani Shoes
Deco Distilling
Trillium Artisans
Stars Antiques Malls
The Opulent Project
Halo Shoes
ZimZim
Woonwinkel
CoCo gets Dressed and CoCo & Toulouse go shopping
By the Bunch
Perch Furniture
Memento pdx
Sahlia Jewelry Studio
Presents of Mind
Emerald Petals
Sock Dreams
Queen Bee
Clever Cycles
local35
machus
J. Rollins Art of Framing
Golden

I am thankful for my clients!

2011-11-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for all of the wonderful clients I have had through the years! They have taught me to listen intently, to be flexible, to enjoy the process,to revel in the outcome. I have been so very fortunate to continue to be busy with design projects in what has been a tough time for so many designers. I continue to be grateful everyday for the wonderful people that come into my life through my work.

Thanksgiving Table decor ideas

2011-11-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

It's almost here ...time to start thinking about your Thanksgiving day table decor. The team at Martha Stewart Living inspires me to burnish a pumpkin, collect some wheat, line a basket with spruce and fill it with fruits ...I hope you get some inspiration to make your table memorable this year!

The Color Trend Scoop for 2012

2011-11-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

Have I got some color stories for you!

With technology being what it is today trends move more quickly than any other time in history. Trends now go global at lighting speed! I attended the Benjamin Moore color forecast yesterday for 2012-2013

Here is the scoop:
Spirited
Brighter colors, optimistic colors. You will see turquiose ,lime and orange.
A sense of whimsy, a little retro as in 1950's, a younger deomographic would be attracted to this pallette.

Soulful
Words that discribe this trend are :Ethnic, heritage and world view. American Indian inflences eathtones with accents of deep turquiose. Very lttile color is used in this pallete.

Dreamy
Escapism comprising soft colors, fleshy nude colors. Pastels, yes I said that word! Peach is coming back and so is mauve this pallette looks as if the the colors are from a cosmetics counter.

Photo above from Barbara Barry

Below are forecasts that will help you get an idea of Key Color-Family Trends. These individual color trends are:
Red:
Walls and furnishings may see range of feminine reds and 'spot on oranges" all the way to softer vintage pink tones (soft, blush). Some highlighted Ben Colors: Candy Cane Red; Orange.

Yellow:
The 2012 yellows will be golden and sunny, sometimes even in a lacquered shine vs. the previously seen matte finishes. Luminous blonde tones, honey and gold will also emerge. Look for Ben colors like Baby Chick, Hollywood Bold or Metallic Gold at one end of the spectrum and more neutral tones like Subtle, Buttercream Pearl and Turmeric or Bronze Metallic. Metallic being a huge trend for sometime to come.

Green:
Lovely green will move to crisper shades, some teal-tinged but also safari and camouflage tones. Ben's forecasters are pointing toward colors like Fresh Scent Green, Pear Green or Winchester Sage to Dark Olive and Harbour Town.

Blue:
The blue story will be one influenced by water and air in 2012 we're told to look for charcoal and blackened navy hues. Blues that have a green undertone.A few colors to note from the forecasters: Palm Coast Teal, Gold Glory, Serenata and then the deeper tones like Deep Ocean, Mysterious and Gentlemen's Gray.

Visit Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs to see color used in inovative ways.

The details are what makes the difference!

2011-11-15T19:36:00.000-08:00

Photos from Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs Inc
.

Attention to detail is a trait I learned while working as a photo stylist for commercial photographers. Photographs are frozen articles of time...if something isn't straight or just the "right" color or out of proportion it becomes glaringly apparent! I was paid to make sure every detail was taken care of, so the photographer could concentrate on the lighting and how the shot might be best framed. Being detail driven has served me well in my life as an interior designer. The hardware that hangs your towels, the knobs on your dresser, the overhead light fixture, the color of your ceiling all of these components create the sum of the total design and can make it delectable! The details really do make the difference.

Inspiration where does it come from?

2011-11-13T09:46:00.001-08:00

Have you ever gotten a disc stuck in your computer? That's what happened to me and I have tried for days to get it out hence no blogging because it was freezing my computer up...found a cure...shut your computer down then while turning on hold mouse button down...wa-lah out the pesky disc came!

Anyway back to shopping in Seattle!
I adored the Anthropologie store and took lots of photos of their organic whimsical displays. I also wandered into the Betsy Johnson store and found the sales people to be a feast for your eyes!
More photos from the Freemont district...Beaver Open sign and "I Like You" love the troll towels! I really love visiting other cities, I always leave inspired.

Shopping in Seattle part of the fun of being married to Dwight Jaynes

2011-11-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Part of the fun of being married to Dwight Jaynes the sports media personality also now as the "Godfather" of sports is that he gets to travel to many cities chasing a story about sports teams. My business Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs keeps me busy in search of shops off the beaten path looking for treasures for my client's. We went to Seattle last weekend and we started in the Freemont district and found lots-O-fun! I like vintage stores with old maps, bedspread covered chairs, funky painted screens and pie shops! Yep that's me next to the French Fry man! You won't want to miss tomorrows post ....more on Seattle shopping.

Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs featured in Oregon Home magazine

2011-11-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to be asked by Oregon Home magazine if I would share a photo from my portfolio about loft living. Below is the article that is in the current issue of Oregon Home.

Written by Vivian McInerny Oregon Home
Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Everyone loves a wide-open space until it comes time to furnishing one. Without walls to clearly define one room from another, a loft presents a unique design challenge. How do you make the place feel homey while maintaining that appealing visual flow? Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs shares ideas on how she tackled the issue for a client with a Portland loft.

PUZZLE: The client first placed her furniture along the walls, blocking the windows with the back of the sofa.

SOLUTION: Create “zones” with the placement of foundational pieces such as the sofa and area rug. The back of the chocolate brown mohair sofa now helps delineate the sitting space from the dining.

PUZZLE: All white walls can make a person feel lost in space.

SOLUTION: Jaynes took her color inspiration from a candy advertisement in a magazine — chocolate candy in a hot pink-lined box. When the painters first covered the near wall (not pictured) in vibrant pink, the client phoned Jaynes in a panic. “I’ll never forget that shriek. And she is not a shrieker.” Jaynes asked for her trust. “Chocolate brown [in the sofa] is going to drink up a lot of the energy that’s going on here with the pink.” Khaki walls also tempered the bright color. The client loves the final results.

PUZZLE: A little zigzag in the wall between the windows might leave amateurs stumped as to how to use it.

SOLUTION: With the sofa serving as a divide, Jaynes put the dining table by the corner windows and placed a buffet against the zigzag wall. That also helps delineate an area for the client’s guitars. Tall candleholders on the buffet make a stronger statement where little ones might feel fussy. To unify the space, colorful art placed on the narrow wall helps anchor the sofa by repeating the vibrant colors of the rug.

PUZZLE: How do you keep a small space from feeling overwhelmed with stuff?

SOLUTION: “I like large-scale things in small spaces. It doesn’t feel crowded. The opposite happens.” She also believes introducing different texture makes a room interesting. With the leather chair, wood floors, wool rugs, mohair sofa and lipstick-red round concrete end table, she “wanted a little reflection” so brought in the glass coffee table. Pink bohemian pillows bring the color from the rug and wall up to the sofa. “Using color helps create the rhythm that carries your eye throughout the room.” A semi-traditional lamp in gold leaf is an unexpected touch.

BOYS FORT not to be missed!!!

2011-11-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

BOYS FORT is R. Rolfe and Jake France's brain child. "It's MANTHROPOLOGY like the womans store Anthropology.... for men."

Rolfe's design sense is always right on and the mix is a must-see for all of humanity ....men or women! Boys Fort opens November 9th at 600 SW 10th Avenue in the Galleria in downtown Portland. It's the perfect destination for out of the ordinary gifts for everyone this holiday season.
A few words from Rolfe and Jake about their one of a kind store: "Since the dawn of the industrial age, men have lived their lives with utility, simplicity and ability. This can never be lost! With the help from local artists and craftspeople, we intend to bring the heroes of our past into the man of tomorrow. BOYS' FORT, will combine the simplicity of days gone by with a modern urban edge. The BOYS' FORT product line will range from custom-built furniture, reclaimed lighting fixtures and custom bicycle accessories. It will also feature men's wallets and jewelry, personal fragrances and other trophies of modern-day living. Found, one-of-kind vintage treasures will complete the eclectic male vernacular. The BOYS' FORT Gallery will feature several amazingly gifted local artists. From photography to sculpture there will be something for everyone. Think...pup-tents to platform beds...tree houses to loft living...erector set to industrial hip."

Urban Girls Manifesto-CRAVE

2011-11-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs, Inc.

I'm happy to be in this years CRAVE book an Urban girls Manifesto everything you might crave! CRAVE wrote a peice about me on their website:

Kimberlee Jaynes has carved a niche for herself catering to people with discerning taste who desire gorgeous homes. An interior designer with many awards under her belt, Kimberlee has also been featured in many publications. She's been an interior designer for the past 17 years and is an expert on helping clients discover their personal style for their homes. Kimberlee works with you to realize the vision of your home, and she specializes in color consulting, custom fine furniture and many more interior design services.

CRAVE Portland is the most unique and stylish guidebook for Portland living. It is a celebration of entreprenesses that showcases some of the most creative, interesting, and gutsy proprietors throughout our city.

On sale at French Quarter Linens in the Pearl $19.95

You need this book because:

You love quality goods
You expect exceptional service
You want to be pampered
You appreciate attention to detail
You enjoy supporting local, female proprietors
You have absolutely no time to waste
You long to get out and explore the city

Art fair nice way to spend the day!

2011-10-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

I was invited to an art fair yesterday "Celebration of Art" at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. My dear friend Sharon Stern showed her glorious quilts. Sharon has a business called CreatAQuilt. She can craft her quilts from photographs like the one pictured below that she took in Asia. Sharon is a master at combining interesting fabrics, textures and colors into these beautiful works of art! She can make personalized quilts and baby quilts and of course will take commissions. sharonastern@gmail.com
Being artist runs in the family! Sharon's daughter Anna Kodesch is a talented fine artist. I have know Anna for years and been intrigued with her paintings! Her impressionistic style draws you in and makes time disappear as you get lost in what Anna has created. One of my favorites is the simple study of a silver spoon. annakodesch@gmail.com
I met a hat maker at the fair and found the perfect fit in this brown felt hat with animal print band! Diana Unterspan makes these charming felt hats that can be worn in the rain!dku@comcast.net www.dayenufiberart.net
It was a fun way to spend my Sunday...among talented artists and designers.

Personality Plus! What does your home say about you?

2011-10-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs was initially hired to design the entry and guest bathroom only, in this beautiful Elizabeth condo located in the Pearl district of NW Portland. It all transpired while my client went on a trip to Italy.
Upon her return she said " Good news and bad news, the good news is I love what you've done ! The bad news is I don't like the rest of my condo!" The design challenge: Bring the whole space up to speed and introduce much needed visual interest to each room.

The entry now has a bold playful runner beckoning you to come further and explore. Metallic gold backed grass cloth in the once dark entry, lights up this space and adds texture and visual warmth. The red lacquer mirror is just what was needed over the console table topped with the silver ceramic rectangular lamp and mesh shade.

I used a warm brown with subtle flurries of silver hand painted wall paper from Maya Romanoff in the guest bathroom. The one of a kind graceful curved shelf /sculpture is just what this previously barren bath needed. I had a metal fabricator execute my design. The shelves are remnants of rich brown/gray paper stone (a solid surface product) and the metal tubing is powder coated in a silvery taupe, it won't rust in the most humid conditions.

In the living room I added a flue-less fireplace complete with a granite mantel that ties in with the adjoining kitchen counter tops. The maple wood panels compliment the kitchen cabinetry. Ann Sacks tile in a luminescent Carmel surrounding the firebox continues the reflective elements I have spun throughout this condo. As permanent as the fireplace looks it is simply hung with a French cleat! The client can take it with her if she moves. The living room rug is called "Daisy Mae" from Tufenkians. It adds the punch of color that I needed to bring this room to life.

The lipstick red hide-a-bed carries the "I'm not afraid of color" theme from the living room into the TV room.

The bedroom and en-suite bath are awash in serenity and artistry. I used metallic paper in earth and silver, shot with small irregular pin dots of teal blue in the bedroom. (The cement pilaster is no longer the focal point ) The French Quarter linens and pear shaped glass chandelier with mirrored bed and side tables and opulent draperies all say" I'm ready to relax in luxury." Another Tufenkian area rug under the bed repeats the atmospheric blue I used in the ceiling color. The artwork from Butters Gallery adds the modern touch to this classic timeless bedroom.

My client was a delight to work with and I applaud her willingness to stretch her design boundaries and am grateful for her trust in me.

click on the photo to enlarge.

How far will you go? How these floors got their groove on!

2011-10-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how an area rug can energize a room! I found the animal print and yellow rug on a site called Eco Chic. The "Daisy May" rug pictured was purchased at Tufenkian's for the Elizabeth condominium that I designed for a recent client. all you have to have is nerve! These are bright and beautiful...ask yourself do I want to play it safe? Or can I live with something that makes me smile every time I walk into the room?

Photo from Kimberlee Jaynes portfolio

The 1st Rule of Decoration

2011-10-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

"To not dare is to have already lost. We should seek out ambitious, even unrealistic projects…because things only happen when we dream."
Sister Parish

"It is only my eye that has helped me. I am still hopeless with that thing called a scale ruler. I love color, but that comes very naturally to me. From the beginning, I never followed trends. If I was aware of them, I didn't care, for I believed as I do now, that rooms should be timeless and very personal. I don't set out to achieve a particular style. And I certainly don't have a 'look' -- just a mishmash of everything that somehow, by instinct, usually turns out to be a warm imaginative, 'living room'."
Sister Parish

Paul Rudolph a passionate visionary architect inspires me

2011-10-12T10:46:00.001-07:00

A half century ago, Paul Rudolph was considered postwar America’s best and brightest hope for the future. His early projects—a steady stream of houses, churches, and high schools in and around Sarasota, Florida—established his reputation for a nuanced and bold take on the International Style. At a time when cheap, watered-down modernism was the norm, Rudolph’s baroque interpretation of the style was hailed for its freshness and vision and its embrace of old and new.

Rudolph created soaring, dramatic spaces made from such sensuous-looking materials as ribbed concrete. He loved to puncture and soften modernism’s right angles with curves, arches, angles, and flourishes, while breathing new life into such old-fashioned concepts as grand entryways, brise-soleils, and sloping eaves. The architect had both the pragmatism of a city planner and the heedless impracticality of an artist—impulses that were sometimes at odds. His appointment in 1958 as the dean of the Yale School of Architecture, at the relatively young age of 40, only confirmed his messianic stature.

“In the 1960s he was everywhere,” says Timothy M. Rohan, an associate professor of art history at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who is currently preparing a monograph on Rudolph. “You couldn't’t open an architectural journal without seeing him pictured or referenced or quoted on every other page.”

During Rudolph’s tenure, Yale’s architecture program became a design magnet, attracting (and teaching) a who’s who of soon-to- be titans, including Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Robert A.M. Stern, and Charles Gwathmey. Rudolph designed a massive, sculptural home for the department, the Art & Architecture Building—a prototypical work of the fledgling Brutalist movement—which caused a sensation when it opened in 1963.

“It was the Bilbao of its moment,” says Stern. “It brought together diverse strands of modernism to create a new synthesis that was spatially inventive and tectonically powerful. One could see that it had its faults, but to me its strengths vastly overpowered them.” In New Haven and other cities Rudolph created a series of public-housing developments and municipal buildings—even, famously, a parking garage—that represented a new passion for and optimism about civic architecture. He left Yale to launch a private practice in 1965. But as the decade wore on, his fame and influence, coupled with his penchant for large-scale public projects, transformed him from upstart to establishment, a black mark in that tumultuous period.

Other issues contributed to Rudolph’s loss of status: the rise of postmodernism, which he hated; the end of enthusiasm for the ambitious government buildings he loved; the fact that he was gay in a predominantly straight industry. An ultraminimal Manhattan townhouse he designed received positive publicity when it later became the high-profile home of fashion designer Halston. But it wasn’t until the 1980s that Rudolph found a new fan base in Asia, designing office towers in Hong Kong and Jakarta.

These didn’t help his reputation at home, where his fall from grace was linked to his polarizing Yale building. Its standing sank among the student body; a mysterious fire that gutted it in 1969 galvanized the sentiment. A grudging renovation two years later ignored Rudolph’s design, blocking windows and skylights. “He would never talk about the building publicly,” recalls Stern. Meanwhile, his idiosyncratic houses in Florida and New England, built on choice lots but modest in scale, were frequently torn down to make way for hulking McMansions. Many of his public buildings are now threatened with demolition.

His death in 1997 had a final, bitter irony: He reportedly contracted mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos, which he used liberally. But the tide was beginning to turn. When Stern became dean of Yale’s architecture program, he restored the Art & Architecture Building to Rudolph’s original vision, and it was recently renamed Paul Rudolph Hall. In November 2010, landmark status was granted to Rudolph’s Beekman Place townhouse.

Stern points to the imagination and passion that Rudolph brought to design. “The computer has distanced architects from materials,” he says. Rudolph, on the other hand, “worked out every detail on paper, walking onto the site, working out the design as he remained in close contact with the construction. Students sense a certain lack in the methodologies of today. They miss—and I miss—that passion of Rudolph’s very much.”

Article from Elle Decor

Fashion Dictates Interior Design Color Trends 2012

2011-10-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

As always the fashion runway gives us in the interior design field, the color trends headed out way. " Color Blocking " has been around since I was a fashion stylist at Nordstrom in the 1980's but some how it gets recycled every so often as a new trend. Here it is again in the Fall issue of Vogue magazine. People want to live with color more than just during the summer months. So how do you input color into your interior design without looking like a comic strip? Just like the models pictured above...black, sand,white and gray are perfect grounding colors for all those primary colors. Start with a neutral pallete and add one or two vibriant colors.
The photo below is from Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs Inc. portfollio. The use of neutrals gives your eye a place to rest and creates a platform for the colors to perform.

Steve Jobs a brilliant designer

2011-10-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

In honor of a brilliant designer I share his quote:

"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works." - Steve Jobs

The bane of a designers existence-- unsightly electrical outlets!

2011-10-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

I adore these flush mounted electrical outlets! The are chameleon in nature blending with any surface metal, stone, wood and sheet rock. No more unsightly electrical plugs taking up visual space. You can get this product through Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs Inc.

Serving Up Style with Urban Chic!

2011-09-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs is privileged to be a part of Urban id a design collabrative that was invited to design a "dining room" for the third annual Molly's Fund fundraiser for lupus. Serving Up Style is held in the Fall Home and Garden show at the Expo this weekend.

We started with the idea of "Urban Chic" dining in the middle of the street just outside our actual doors... on 319 NW 9th Everette. We enlisted the very creative people (Bob Lee & Jim Harrison pictured ) from ConstructaVision to recreate our street. The finished product is complete with brick garage entry and metal door, building light overhanging the door and an actual curb, they did an amazing job!!! A big thank you to the owner Gary Lee!

The elegant table setting, gorgeous hand-loomed street gray wool rug from Tufenkian Carpets Portland and black shaded crystal chandelier is the perfect foil for the gritty urban street scene.

The butterfly is Molly's Fund logo so of course we incorporated a butterfly here and there.
The orange pedi cab serves as our bar and is so Portland, you see them on the streets all over the Pearl district. Come out this weekend and support early detection of Lupus by supporting Molly's Fund. Click here to receive $2.00 off admission

We all had fun and the design process and installation was truly a team effort!

Those important finishing touches that make a house a home

2011-09-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

This young family of four had lived in there beautiful West Linn home for several years. They had remodeled the kitchen...but the finishing touches were not in place and it was stark and void of personality.
As I interviewed my client she said she was tired of all the beige and brown and wanted some color. She also had a design
delima what to do with the huge blank wall?

The directions from my client were "We want contemporary design that does not look country". So I started with colorful contemporary art work and over sized antique Turkish brass candle sticks on the mantel. I added two leather storage ottomans that can hide all the clutter and be used as a much needed coffee table. The red lacquer tray on the ottomans is a visual lift on all that brown. The large wall next to the fireplace is now a focal point with statement pieces of blown glass colorful platters and wood shelving to hold personal mementos. New accent pillows in kiwi green on the two chairs and the atmospheric blue pillows on the sofa tie the whole color scheme together and keep your eye moving throughout the space.
BEFORE

A word from the Home owner: Kim has transformed our house from several, seldom-used, impersonal rooms into a series of beautiful spaces. Each space now meets our family's specific needs and reflects who we are in a way we were incapable of accomplishing on our own. We love our new home!

The design process was easy, educational, and enjoyable. Kim was graciously receptive and responsive to feedback and always ensured our taste and style were reflected while maintaining the integrity of the design. She was always tactful when letting us know what needed to be changed or introducing new ideas. She is experienced, skilled, and gifted at helping people through the transformative design process and our house is proof of this! Thank you Kim.

Ceilings the last frontier!

2011-09-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

One of the often neglected but very important spaces is the ceiling. Ceilings are visually commanding, they are vast areas that get over-looked.
Now granted the photos I'm showing are over the top but you get the idea! I have used high gloss paint on low ceilings with magical results! If you don't want to use high gloss paint think a bout a subtle color. Just another design element that can make your rooms exciting!

Photos courtsey of Elle Decor and Metropolitan Home

Story boards are an important tool for creating a cohesive look.

2011-09-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

To create an inspiration board, go to an art supply store and ask for foam core. It comes in black and white; I like black. Buy some spray glue, too. From the clippings of looks that you have gathered, cut out images that best illustrate the look and, more important, the feel or mood of the room you wish to create. Make a collage with the images you have pulled together. Once you have a pleasing arrangement, glue the images onto the foam core. With this inspiration board you can have a dialogue with the whole family about what the direction of your rooms will be. Now is the time to find out what the likes and dislikes are before money is spent on furniture that cannot be taken back.

Designer Secret: A helpful tool to use in this step is to take the time to create an inspiration board. As an interior designer I have skipped this step with clients in the past, thinking I knew exactly what they wanted, and found out later that I was wrong. The inspiration board will give you a clear view, through images, of exactly what you are striving for. Make it a family affair; give family members an opportunity to offer their input.

First Step in the Design Process-What is Your Budget?

2011-09-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

Photo from Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs portfolio
How much money will I need to spend?
Budget
You will want to determine a budget for Your design project. You should spend only what you can afford to pay in a reasonable amount of time. Be mindful that a remodel and /or furnishings are solid investments. You are investing in your well being.
The quality of your life is heavily affected by the space in which you live. If you are not comfortable in your home, stress builds and eventually your good health is compromised.
If you are thinking of selling your home at some point, it may help to have a great color scheme with a well-designed décor. When you invest in the best quality foundational pieces that you can afford, such as artwork and area rugs, you will not be compelled to upgrade later and those are items that you can take with you if you do decide to sell.
It's helpful to know that a fully furnished living room from Crate & Barrel can cost $25k. If you want furniture that is of higher quality then the numbers go up from there.

Hiring a designer can help you guide those dollars towards wise purchases.

The words I hear most often from my clients who are in the middle of the design process are, “I had no idea how many decisions I would have to make…there are so many details, I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into!”

End of summer one last fling I hear the forest and river calling...

2011-09-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my swinging deck chair...I live on a floating home. Most of the time I feel like I'm on vacation. I love the wildlife the small community feeling of 18 floating homes that create a Norman Rockwell existence. However I have an office in my home and try as I might to not work and just spend a week enjoying the water and sun, I have to leave in order to really find rest. So I'm leaving Monday for a resort built in the 1920's by Camp Sherman and the Metolious River which I LOVE so dearly. Below are pictures of my cabin number 6 at Lake Creek Lodge the river and deer...oh I can't wait to be unplugged for 4 glorious days! One of my favorite restaurants is in Camp Sherman the Kokanee Cafe inn. I'm bringing books and my dog Skip, he loves it there too!

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Escaping to another world...if you can dream it you can create it!

2011-09-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

We visited a world that I did not know existed...a reproduction of a western town in the 1800's complete with railroad cars, buildings and water wheels! Gary Lee is the train enthusiast that painstakingly built everything you see including the track that the train runs on! This Lilliputian world is both mindbogglingly and magical. Gary's building skills goes way back to his days with the Meier & Frank display department. He now owns ConstructaVision a design and build firm that makes just about anything you can think up. I have used his company to build everything from sliding shohji doors in Pearl district penthouses to beautiful wood fireplace walls with remote control TV's that are hidden and rise out of the mantel!
I hope you can escape this world and for just a moment go back in time and place to this perfectly manicured life in a western town.

Lighting tips

2011-08-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

Photo from Kimberlee Jaynes porfolio

Photo from Kimberlee Jaynes porfolio
Lighting
Lighting gives your home drama and accentuates the positives! You can have a fabulous floor plan and interesting paint colors, but poor lighting could mean none of your good work will be noticed.

If you are replacing a ceiling or building a new home low voltage lighting is the ultimate lighting source. The pure white light from these can lights are worth the added expense. Regular can lighting is very glaring and no matter how beautiful your home may be glaring lights will ruin the overall affect.

Table lamps are the equivalent of jewelry; they are the accessories to your room. Two tall identical floor lamps flanking a sofa act as sculptural elements more than mere lighting. Using a few high-style table lamps, along with floor lamps and sconce lighting, adds layers of light, and the differing light levels are what create interest.

If you have a tray ceiling (indentation, or coffered ceiling) an electrician can install cove lighting that will add another dimension to your room. Don’t forget to add a subtle color to your tray ceiling for added drama.
Designer Secret: To give yourself lots of flattering lighting options install dimmer switches on all of your lights, even in the bathroom!

First Annual Client Appreciation Party

2011-08-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Please view video to get a real feel for the fun we had!

On Thursday evening Kimberlee Jaynes hosted her first annual client appreciation party.
I gave the party at my design studio Urban i.d. I have been saying for years that I have the BEST clients that an interior designer can have--they are nice people--the very best people! I am truly privileged to be part of their lives. Thank you for attending Tom, Ruth, Brenda, Lennie,Chan,Brandon, JD,D'Alene, David, Carol,
Becky, Dave, Liz, Karen, Mary and I hope those that could not make it can make it next year!

I had lots of help to make the party a fun time...a wine tasting from Dan's store in the pearl CorkScru. His wines are amazing! The delicious food was from Davis Street Tavern, thank you Katie! Aegir Olsen provided the melodic key board music, he was a real trooper he had smashed a finger that day...but didn't cancel! (I didn't know until after the event). Carolyn ,Norm and Kris Butters from Butters Gallery attended along with their artist Debra Vantuinen. Debra's work was featured this month in my studio and helped to create the beautiful atmosphere! Hart Keene provided the very entertaining close up magic that was so unbelievable! A big thank you to my intern Michelle, I could not have done it without your help!

Thank you all for attending and making the event so memorable!

Mid-Century Modern League Mad Men Picnic!

2011-08-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

MID-CENTURY MODERN LEAGUE
MADMEN PICNIC
Recall the delights of your dad’s company picnic? Join the MCM League for our first annual vintage “company-style” picnic, a fundraiser of the ‘Mad Men’ era. Enjoy vintage games, a cake-walk, dj’d music, swing dance lessons, dancing, croquet, horseshoes, open bowling, a vintage movie on the lawn at dusk, and the Elks will be offering BBQ and cocktails.
Open to the public, we encourage vintage attire and invite you to drive your period vehicle.
Onsite Tours:
“Airstream Shangri La”
5 vintage trailers
1957 Elk’s Lodge
support significant mcm architecture
www.mcmleague.org
SUNDAY AUGUST 21ST 2PM – LATE Milwaukie Elks Lodge
$ 5
members $8 non-members
$45 - All Day Pass + Annual MCML membership
Bowling and BBQ/Cocktails are extra (Fees paid to the Elks). All other proceeds go to the MCM League, a 501c3 Non-profit. www.mcmleague.org

Lighting is the important accessory item to the little black dress of your house.

2011-08-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Matter is my new favorite interior design store! Its located in New York and has some of the most exciting lighting fixtures!

Summer Bliss

2011-08-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places on earth is the Metolious River in the Dechutes National forest. I just spent the weekend with my husband Dwight and my dog Skip walking the river banks and sitting next to the cold rushing water reading for hours on end...sheer bliss! I have been coming to Camp Sherman (that's the name of the store that has been there since the 20's) for many years starting in the 1960's. My father was an avid fly fisherman and we were constant visitors to this magical place. There are islands with wooden bridges and water wheels that as a child made my imagination run wild! I would spend many summer hours on these bridges and swear there were little people that inhabited these enchanting islands. It's was so valuable for me to recharge and come back to the design business with fresh eyes and a clear mind.

Shoe String Chic

2011-07-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite bloggers is Vicki Archer. I tune in everyday to her blog French Essence and learn about all things French from interior design to fashion. Today Vicki shares a book - "Shoe String Chic, by Paris based Australian Kerrie Hess, is all about finding style for less. Her Parisian themed illustrations are a delight, and her fashion and style tips excellent....Kerrie's astute and witty commentary reflects her keen observations on French women.
Shoe String Chic has recently been released in the US and Australia and you can find it on Amazon...it's adorable, it's cute...I think we all want one."

2011-07-22T06:41:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite design sites is Contract Furniture Trends I get the latest news on cutting edge designers telling me what they are up to...
Forest by Arik Levy for Bernhardt Design
Recently exhibited at NeoCon 2011, Forest is a barstool designed by the multi-disciplinary artist Arik Levy, who works in mediums as varied as photography, sculpture, film, and furniture. Born in Israel and transplanted to Europe, Levy is recognized for his furniture design for global companies, although he claims that “the world is about people, not tables and chairs.”

One of my favorite things about the delectable duo of the Ray and Jean Armchairs by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia is its decided gender ambiguity. Not that Citterio—or B&B for that matter—had this in mind when they named these perfectly plush yet manifestly modern and wonderfully roomy pair of chairs. Yet again, perhaps they did.

Sophisticated, understated restful...a retreat from the outside world.

2011-07-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed working with this client because she let me do my job. I brought her all of the ingredients and even though she could not picture the finished product she trusted me to make it all work.

The cement pilaster was an obtrusive design obstacle in the bedroom before I started the redesign. In the after photo you hardly notice the intrusion. I used a wall paper with a metallic-cement like quality. The walls are painted in a metallic creamy paper bag color and the ceiling is painted in gray blue. This is a bedroom you don't want to leave....

Before

Downsizing and moving to the Pearl District

2011-07-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of working with a couple that decided to down size from their big home in Washington to a beautiful condo in the Metropolitan. They decided to get rid of everything and start fresh. As you can see from the before and after photos the condo is not huge but every room had exactly what they needed. The extra room is an office/guest bedroom with a stylish pull out bed. The handloomed wool area rugs from Tufenkian carpets lay the foundation and he artwork from Butters Gallery transforms this condo into a colorful home with personality. Below is a letter from DAlene and JD about their experience with the process.

Dear Kim,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for the beautiful home you created for us. It was such a pleasure working with you and so much fun!! When we hired you we had a short time-frame to work within and you kept us focused and on track to completion. Your eye for style and listening skills are remarkable. The biggest compliment we could give you is that our new home reflects us and our personalities. When we have friends over they always say how different the décor is from our previous home but how it is so us. That is exactly what we wanted!

As you know, we had definite ideas of what we liked, but were at a loss as to where to begin furnishing our new home. We were moving from a 3,100 sq. ft. house to a 1,300 sq. ft. condo and sold almost every piece of furniture we owned. We began with a clean slate, with no idea where to start regarding style, scale, proportion or layout. We interviewed several designers but were immediately drawn to you, not only for your fantastic expertise, but especially the passion and enthusiasm you have for your work. You really took the time to get to know us and developed a plan to fit our style and tastes.

Once you understood what we were looking for…wow...we took off! You knew exactly where to go, what to look for and what we needed. The relationships and quality contacts you’ve built over your years in business also turned out to be an incredible asset.

Thanks again Kim for all your help and guidance in creating a very special home for us. Not a day goes by that we don’t feel incredibly thankful and blessed for our very comfortable and stylish new home. We couldn’t have done it without you.

DAlene and JD White

The perfect pillow can perform a miracle!

2011-07-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Want to get a new look without dipping into your 401k? Add a layer of patterned pillows to the living room, bedroom any room and get an instant face lift. You can find everything from tribal patterns to graphic lettered English trolley car line patterned pillows to animal heads! I hope these pillows from Lillie and Ivy in Cannon Beach wet your appetite!

Debra Van Tuinen's Encaustic work makes her debut at Urban id

2011-07-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Urban i.d.,partnering with Butters Gallery features NW artist Debra Van Tuinen’s artwork in a unique Pearl District interior design studio!

Located in the Pearl at 319 NW 9th Ave. Stop by a meet artist Debra Van Tuinen and enjoy a glass of wine on First Thursdays July 7th and August 4th.

What is Encaustic?

Encaustic is a wax based paint (composed of beeswax, resin and pigment), that is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to a porous surface and then reheated in order to fuse the paint. The word ‘encaustic’ has no connection to the word caustic; it comes from the Greek word enkaiein, meaning to burn in, referring to the process of fusing the paint.

Encaustic is perhaps the most beautiful of all artists’ paints, and it is as versatile as any 21st century medium. It can be polished to a high gloss, carved, scraped, layered, collaged, dipped, cast, modeled, sculpted, textured, and combined with oil. It cools immediately, so that there is no drying time, yet it can always be reworked.

Encaustic is also the most durable artists’ paint. This is due to the fact that beeswax is impervious to moisture. Because of this, it will not deteriorate, it will not yellow, and it will not darken. Encaustic paintings do not have to be varnished or protected by glass.
Encaustic paint does not require the use of solvents. As a result, a number of health hazards are reduced or eliminated.

Is encaustic archival?

Collectors want to know… Is encaustic archival? Is it durable? Will it last? The answer, if the painting is made correctly and handled gently as you’d handle any other piece of art, is a big, resounding YES! Encaustic is archival, and in most cases, will outlast paintings made with oil.

The Fayum portraits are a beautiful testament to the medium’s durability. They date from the late first century B.C. to about 300 A.D. and “are the only large body of art from that tradition to have survived.”

Examples of encaustic paintings have survived from the Greek and Roman empires and are still as vibrant and colorful today as they were when they were painted.

Encaustic paintings survive, in part, because the wooden surfaces they’re painted on are preserved/impregnated with beeswax, rendering them resistant to moisture and mold. Also, encaustic paint doesn’t just sit on the surface it’s painted on. It’s bonded on with heat, literally melted into whatever lies beneath, making it less likely to flake off with age.

Taliesen West Visiting Frank's Summer Home

2011-06-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

When I was in Scottsdale I visited the summer home of Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesen West. He began building this desert masterpiece in 1937 as his personal winter home, studio, and architectural campus. Located on the beautiful Sonoran desert in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains in northeast Scottsdale. He was a real entrepreneur! It was his third wife's idea to engage the students in building their dream home. It was an amazing and inspiring place for me visit! Frank was the first to invent runway lighting, surround sound ,theatre seating and so much more! He really was the Einstein of architecture.

Urban i.d's "Dining with Designers" fun time had by all!

2011-06-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

On first Thursday's the design collaborative that I belong to - Urban i.d. -holds a enter to win event called "Dining with Designers". The winner gets a catered dinner for six. I hosted the first winner Peggy and five of her friends...and we had a lot of fun! We started with instruction on hold to fold a napkin into a flower. We talked about mixing antiques with modern furniture so I shared a story board of the Street of Dreams penthouse in the Encore that I designed, to show how you really can mix old and very new. We dined on an Italian menu of raviolis covered in chopped olives and garlic-chili olive oil sauce accompanied by Caesar salad with foccacia bread. For dessert we savored a flour-less chocolate cake with raspberry coulis from Perry's on Freemont YUMMM! Music by Andrea Boccelli helped set the mood. Questions about paint colors and how to choose them seem to be the most baffling ingredient in home decor for the evening. We ended with a drawing for a facial at Extraordinary Faces.
A big THANK YOU to my intern Ashlee who helped me set up and clean up after the event!
A note from the winner Peggy:
Dear Kimberlee,
Thanks so much for the charming dinner party last Saturday. We all came unsure of what to expect and were instantly drawn into the ambiance of your shop and your gracious hospitality. The food was marvelous, and the next day, while some of us were floating down the Nehalem River in kayaks, we were still talking about the delicious wines that you served. Among this group there is such a range of backgrounds and living environments that we were able to pose a range of design dilemmas that not only fueled the frivolity of the evening, but actually distilled some solutions that were very useful. I'm starting to look for that inspiration piece you talked about, and may come to talk to you more about finding furniture that fits the odd requirements I have in my living room. Thanks to Ashlee, too, for making this wonderful, fun party for us.
Most Sincerely,
Peggy Collins

Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Hotel The Biltmore in Scottsdale AZ.

2011-06-05T21:55:00.001-07:00

We could not take anymore rain and booked a flight to Phoenix! We stayed in Scottsdale and were delighted to visit so many wonderful hotels, one of them being the Biltmore. Enjoy the photos below and learn about the history of this work of art by one of Franks students. We also visited "Taliesin West' Frank's summer home and architectural school. I will be sharing photos of this very- a- head of its time campus/home.

Arizona Biltmore History

The only existing hotel in the world with a Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced design, The Arizona Biltmore has been an Arizona landmark since its opening on Feb. 23, 1929 when it was crowned "The Jewel of the Desert." The resort was designed by Albert Chase McArthur, a Harvard graduate, who had studied under Frank Lloyd Wright from 1907 - 1909 in Chicago.

Perhaps the most obvious and dramatic design link to Wright is the use of indigenous materials that led to the creation of the "Biltmore Block." The pre-cast concrete blocks were molded on-site and used in the total construction of the resort. Designed by McArthur and sculpted by Emry Kopta, a prominent southwestern sculptor, the "Biltmore Block" features a geometric pattern that is said to represent a freshly cut palm tree.

Did you know that the famed song composer Irving Berlin penned many tunes, including "White Christmas" while sitting poolside at the Arizona Biltmore?

The pool was first built by the Wrigley's in 1930 and was host to diving competitions as well as fashion shows. Marilyn Monroe called this her favorite pool.

In 1930, when the estimated $1 million construction cost doubled, Chicago chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr., one of the original investors in the project, became the sole owner. Over the next 44 years, the Wrigley family owned and operated the Arizona Biltmore and it became world renowned as the preferred luxury oasis for celebrities, heads of state, captains of industry and other famous travelers.

In 1975, under Talley Industries' ownership, the first major expansion took place with the opening of the 90-room Paradise Wing. This expansion continued over the next seven years with the addition of the 120-room Valley Wing and a 39,000-square-foot Conference Center in 1979. In 1982, the 109-room Terrace Court opened. Another renovation was completed in 1987 which included the remodeling of 120 guestrooms throughout the main building in addition to the East and Garden Wings. A year later, the historic cottages were also refurbished.

In May of 1973, the Wrigley family sold the Biltmore to Talley Industries, which closed the resort for renovations that summer. During the installation of a new sprinkler system, a welding torch ignited the gold leaf ceiling in the main lobby resulting in a six-alarm fire. Taliesin Associated Architects (of Taliesin West) was commissioned to design and supervise the construction of the damaged floors, and a renovation of the resort. As in 1929, concrete blocks were molded on-site; patterns from the early 1920s were woven into carpets ordered from Ireland, and designs for furniture, fabrics and murals were selected with the integrity of the architecture in mind. The project was completed in a record 82 days and the result was a finer, more complete hotel than had previously existed.

The most comprehensive renovation to date began when the previous owner, Grossman Company Properties, a Phoenix based development firm, purchased the resort in 1992 and began a three-phase, $50 million project which was completed in January 1996. Refurbished by Barry Design Associates of Los Angeles, guest rooms and suites pay homage to Frank Lloyd Wright in their mission-style furnishings, desert palette (tones of beige, sand, and ivory) and lamps which recall a 1930s flair. The Villas, a luxury residential complex was added along with restaurants, a state-of-the-art kitchen and the Paradise Pool complex featuring a 92-foot-long water slide and 23 cabanas. New meeting space included the Pavilion, a 15,000 square-foot facility. An 18-hole championship putting course was also added.

In January 1998, a 20,000 square-foot Arizona Biltmore Spa, fitness center and full-service beauty salon opened. The newest addition, the new Arizona Wing, featured 120 new guest rooms, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and two new meeting rooms. The Arizona Wing was completely renovated in March of 2009 to become Ocatilla at Arizona Biltmore, a "hotel within the hotel". The Arizona Biltmore boasts 740 guest rooms and is one of the largest hotels in Arizona.

With the opening of the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom in July, 2003, the Arizona Biltmore became one of Arizona’s largest meeting and event venues. The new ballroom, the state’s second largest hotel ballroom with 25,000 square feet, was the highlight of a $25 million renovation and expansion of the meeting facilities that increased dedicated indoor function space to more than 100,000 square feet. The project also included converting the tented Pavilion into the 15,000-square-foot McArthur Ballroom. Both new facilities were constructed in the original Wright style.

Thanks to conscientious owners who have been committed to preserving its architectural integrity, the resort is, in many ways, more "Wrightian" than when it was built. And, throughout the years, the Arizona Biltmore has set the standard for elegance and style. It continues to attract celebrities and dignitaries from around the world and is frequently honored with awards and accolades, including the Urban Land Institute "Heritage Award of Excellence" which the resort received for its architectural integrity, landscaping, and above all, quality of service.

Seeking Sunshine This bedroom has it even on a cloudy day!

2011-05-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

I just completed this bedroom for my client and it makes me smile. The Northwest weather has been particularly cloudy and rainy now for months and months. This French Quarter bedding is bright without being too bold. The Lee furniture high backed chair covered in a hot pink with lots of texture sits nicely against the smokey gray blue wall color. Softening the whole room are the tone on tone patterned custom drapery panels. Ah... even on a cloudy day my client can wake up with a smile.

Barbara Barry visits Portland and leaves us all feeling inspired!

2011-05-26T14:53:00.001-07:00

Portland interior designers were under Barbara Barry's spell while she enchanted us with her stories about how she designs- what she designs... and boy does she design... every thing from furniture, linens, luggage and tea, there is very little that Barbara cannot do! I was surprised to hear that Barbara has no formal education in design. She started her circuitous career studying wine and cheese making in France. She came back to the US and opened a wine & cheese store in Mendocino CA. Her customers were enthralled with Barbara's store interiors and asked her to create her magic in their homes...thus a new career was born. She moved to LA and was introduced by someone in the movie industry to a deep pocketed client. Her work was published and she was on her way to the charmed life that she lives today.
Barbara said she gets her inspiration from nature, the inside of a sea shell, a fig tree, an orange blossom. She left us all very inspired indeed!

Turquoise never looked so good!

2011-05-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

It's always fun to see what is happening with Erin over at The House of Turquiose The rooms are always inspiring I encourage you to check out her blog for lots of great ideas with the many shades of the color turquiose.

Outdoor living are you ready?

2011-05-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun creating this outdoor living space for some client's in Lake Oswego. Now is the time to get started for summertime enjoyment!

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2011-05-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach last weekend and had a glorious time...eating sea food running on the beach with Skip and visiting one of my favorite haunts...Sesame & Lillies. I love the scientific sea life renderings

The Joint was Jumpin!

2011-05-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last night was first Thurs. and Cinco Demayo...party time! Urban ID kicked it off right...with skinny Margaritas (lower calorie summer is coming!)
We featured artist Alanda Lorenzo her work is a combination of folkloric- whimsy and modernism.
A good time was had by all!

How bright will you go?

2011-05-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

Diamond Baratta has all the fun! Yes this home is in Florida and with all that sun can handle the bright colors...even so how many people have the nerve to live with all this color?

Ah yes Spring is here...

2011-04-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Photos from French Essence

A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost
OH, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Glamourous spa bathrooms

2011-04-26T09:15:00.001-07:00

Everyone wants to be pampered...our lives are busier than ever...the need to relax is a life and death situation! The cure... a spa bath room.

I have a jucuzy tub, herbal tea bar, bubble bath and soaking salts at my finger tips. At least 4 nights week I'm using all of them!
Images from Home Bunch

Model S Tesla-- Luxury Electric Car Comes to Portland!

2011-04-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

Springbox is proud to host the Portland unveiling of the Model S Tesla.
Please join us.
See Model S in Portland Model S / Reserve

Open House Events:

April 23 / 10am to 6pm
April 24 / 10am to 6pm

Springbox
2234 NW 24th Avenue
Portland, OR 97210
Directions

Model S will be on display in Tesla Seattle
Dates to be announced soon

SpringBox One of My FAVORITE GALLERIES!

2011-04-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

My dear friend and fellow designer Rolfe and I visited one of our favorite art galleries on Friday...SpringBox in NW Portland. Their gallery space is amazing! Its in a warehouse so they have the unique opportunity to showcase very large sculptures and show case some of Oregon's best! Many of which made the Street of Dreams show house a big success! Click Street of Dreams to see SpringBox Gallery artists work in the penthouse.

Represented are thirty plus artists from emerging to established, working in all types of steel, copper, clay, glass, photography, mixed media, and wood.

The artwork featured has an eclectic range from the abstract to representational with an emphasis on sculpture.

Gallery Hours:
Thursday - Saturday, 10 am-5 pm or by appointment.
503.228.1600

Office Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday 10 am-5 pm

Springbox is now available for private parties and off-site meetings.

My new home at Urban ID Design Studio!

2011-04-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

Skips ears are down because he knows better than to be up on this love-seat! I snapped a quick photo before I shooed him off!

Skip and I had a delightful weekend in the Pearl at my new home in the design studio Urban ID. Proprietress Laura Evans invited me to join her group a little over a month ago. Laura's concept is a design collaborative with seven independant designers sharing this lovely work/showroom space! I'm thrilled to be part of the group and throughly enjoyed working this last weekend in such a beautiful design studio!

Some of the benefits : Lots of product lines that I can purchase from for my clients, shared knowledge from other designers, and the comraderie of the wonderful women!

I have been on my own for 18 years and I can't tell you how much I enjoy kibitzing with everyone!

I am in studio two days a week (my schedule varies each week) and every seventh weekend Sat. and Sun. If you are coming to the Pearl please email or call me to see if I am working I would love to see you!

Kimberlee Jaynes