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Glamorous 4-Square Remodel: Jessica Helgerson Design

Portland, Oregon’s Jessica Helgerson Interior Design specializes in environmentally sustainable commercial and residential interiors. In this turn-of-the-century four-square in Southeast Portland, Helgerson give the home a complete face-lift. The new interior is quite striking.

The kitchen, back pantry and mud room were gutted to create a large, open kitchen. Adding to the kitchen’s airy feel, the appliances are white or covered with cabinetry. Adding cabinet panels to appliances is an excellent way to keep them timeless and not date your kitchen.

The dark ebony stained floors are a nice contrast to the white cabinets and farmhouse sink. And I do love white kitchens!

Helgerson does a wonderful job transitioning from the kitchen to the dining room by flanking the entry with glass-front cabinets.

Box beams added to the dining room help define the space from the adjacent living room. The sleek round dining table was made custom. The eye-catching blown glass sculpture was by glass artist, Andy Paiko of Portland, OR.

Lovely space. Would you agree?

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Read full story By on February 3, 2010 in dining rooms, interior design, kitchens

Baby Boy: Bird Theme Nursery Design & Decorating Ideas

Inspired by posts on baby boy nursery designs and gender neutral nursery designs, this gorgeous nursery was designed by a Simplified Bee reader for her baby boy. The new mother with nesting instincts wanted to incorporate birds into the room’s decor and did so without over doing it.

Here is a peek into the nursery from the door. The room’s calming neutral palette of beige, brown and white is accented with pops of baby boy blue. A cozy roll arm swivel glidder and ottoman by baby&child Restoration Hardware in toast with white pipping is the perfect form and function. The chair’s “b” letter pillow in chocolate and indigo from Serena & Lily is fun way to personalized the room.


The whimsical tree and bird mural was handpainted by the homeowners in an interior latex paint, called flax by Restoration Hardware (over Kelly Moore’s 230 Graystone). As a guide, they used an overhead projector to project a sketch of the image on the wall. And who says little boy rooms can’t have chandeliers? I love the Bronze Ella Chandelier by Pottery Barn Kids that was selected to hang off center. The rich bronze matches the window treatment hardware, also by Pottery Barn Kids. Cotton sailcloth panels {Pottery Barn Kids again} frame the window and pull in more icy blue accent color. And the fabulous black mid-century modern chair with white leather cushion was once in the home of the baby’s great-grandmother.

More modern elements. DwellStudio’s Dot Brown crib bedding reminiscent of pop-art designs and modern geometric motifs of the mid-20th century is a wonderful contrast to the antique white crib.

This vintage dresser was a great flea market find! The new mom had a new coat of fresh paint applied, added clear glass knobs and positioned a changing pad in white to transform the dresser into a highly functional changing table. The bird renderings and branch leaf lamp with blue shade from Pottery Barn Kids adds touches of color.

Another vintage dresser passed down from a proud grandmother is darling painted white with new glass knobs to match the changing table. The round mirror is a nice addition and reflects the light in the room beautifully.



On the dresser sits chatty garden birds, a patient frog prince and a matching Pottery Barn Kids branch leaf lamp. The new mom also incorporated a crystal wreath that echos the round mirror and dresser’s glass knobs.

This room was also photographed beautifully by one of my favorite local photographers, Jennifer Jacobson. Do you remember this post about her?

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Read full story By on February 1, 2010 in baby and children, baby nursery room, interior design

Friday Find: The Bella Acrylic Chair

This week’s Friday Find is the Bella Acrylic Chair by Spectrum. Influenced by the Art Nouveau period, this beautifully formed chair has an exquisite scrolled back. This versatile chair would be delightful in almost any home setting.

For over 25 years, Spectrum has manufactured high quality, yet reasonably priced, acrylic furniture. Their quality craftsmanship makes them an industry leader. Each piece of furniture is completely crafted by hand, made to order and available through the trade. I love this romantic chair with a tufted velvet cushion.

Do you have a favorite acrylic chair?

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Read full story By on January 29, 2010 in chairs, friday find, interior design

Designer Kitchens: Glass-front Cabinets

You have seen them in several previous Simplified Bee posts: Clean and Simple White Kitchens, French Inspired Kitchen Design, and Perfect Function – Mick de Giulio Kitchen Design. It seems more than ever, interior designers are incorporating glass-front cabinetry into their kitchen designs. And I love the look!

Glass-front cabinets provide an open, airy feeling and are used to display choice tableware. They are great incentives for you to be organized because any clutter will be noticeable. For this reason however, it is important to place glass-front cabinets strategically and perhaps sparingly in your kitchen. Here are some examples of great kitchen designs – including modern, contemporary and traditional – using glass-front cabinets.

Atlanta, Georgia-based designer, Suzanne Kasler beautifully positions glass-front cabinets on either side of the stove and farmhouse sink. Love the Roman shade in Galbraith & Paul’s Zinnia print.

Sage Design uses glass-fronts in a series of standard rectangle shaped cabinets to give this smaller, classic kitchen an open and airy feeling.

In this soft cream kitchen the upper cabinets showcase decorative stained glass. I am a fan of mixing old with new and love how the stained glass old world look balances the contemporary design elements. Image via Decor Pad.

Natural light floods this gorgeous kitchen by designer, Suzanne Kasler. She surrounds a range and hood with divided light or mullioned door glass-front cabinets. The cabinets also nicely echo the look of the adjacent windows. The ice blue tile backsplash and bar stools add a touch of freshness to this beautiful kitchen.

In this Scandinavian kitchen from Vakre Hjem & Interior, the divided light glass-front cabinets are stunning. The X pattern contrasts nicely with the vertical pattern in the country beadboard.

In this kitchen, designer Molly Frey converts an antique hutch from New England into a wet bar. The glass-front cabinet in this case doesn’t have to match the kitchen’s cabinet style and adds to the overall charm by mixing old and new.

Designed by Elizabeth Dinkel, this kitchen’s glass-front cabinets house books and frame an open window into the adjacent living room.

This curved glass display case is beautifully positioned on a corner. Love this use of space! Image via Kitchen Bath Ideas.

Painting the back or interior of a glass-front cabinet allows you to add a shot of color into your kitchen. Select a hue that complements your existing color scheme and is a contrast to your tableware. Image via House Beautiful.

Here is another example {via Decorology} of glass-front cabinets with a splash of color. Notice that all of the items on display are in a neutral white or glass so that they don’t blend into the background. Using storage bins such as the large white labeled tins on the top shelf are a great way to display items you otherwise won’t in a glass-front cabinet.

Featured in the August 2007 issue of House Beautiful, the interior of these divided light cabinets are painted by architect Gil Schafer and color consultant, Eve Ashcraft. Both the white cabinets and china contrast nicely with the apple green backdrop. The glass insert appears to be reeded which would help conceal the cabinets contents.

A fluted glass insert, as seen in the stainless steel cabinets above is another good option if you struggle to keep your dishware organized. Image courtesy of Luxury Housing Trends.

Frosted-glass cabinet doors also hide tableware, spices and other cooking supplies. In this colorful kitchen featured in Coastal Living, the homeowners etched letter into the frosted-glass to make finding items easy as ABC.

Do you have glass-front cabinets in your kitchen? Do you love the look?


* First image courtesy of Charles and Hudson.

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Read full story By on January 25, 2010 in interior design, kitchens