Homeowners bring in bright designlab and Hammer & Hand to realize design ideas.
The clients of our recent remodel in Portland’s University Park neighborhood are both accomplished professionals in art and design – Michael a landscape architect and Will a visual artist.
As accomplished creatives, Michael and Will brought a strong design sense and well-developed ideas for their home to the project, and they approached Hammer & Hand and bright designlab to realize these plans.
The first task at hand was to remove a wall to open previously cramped spaces into an open design of flow between food preparation and eating areas.
“The clients entertain a lot,” said Alissa Pulcrano, designer and principal at bright designlab. “So they wanted to create an open area that flows from dining room into kitchen. And it’s a show stopper, visible from the moment you enter the home.”
Michael and Will tasked bright designlab with designing the finishes for the kitchen remodel.
“It’s very sleek,” said Daren Claymon, lead carpenter at Hammer & Hand. “The sapele cabinets have beautiful grain that creates lots of strong horizontal lines. And the splash tiles look like tubes of horizontal glass. Clean, simple, modern stuff with an elegance that stands on its own.”
The subtle, cool tones of the tile balance the vibrancy of the cabinetry.
Michael and Will worked with bright designlab to hand-select the maple for the banquette table, and Big Branch Woodworking built the piece for us. The live-edge detail of the table nicely matches the home’s existing live-edge mantelpiece.
Lights were key in the project, both as art objects in their own right (Eames lights in the dining room and kitchen) as well as to showcase the clients’ art collection presented throughout the home.
“Michael and Will were really great to work with, really intelligent and conscientious,” said Daren. “They knew what they wanted and really trusted us.”
Judging from the end result, the design-build collaboration was a fruitful one!
– Zack
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