A Portland Heights condo transforms into a soothing and efficient space
PROJECT NAME: Around the Corner Condo
PROJECT LOCATION: SW Portland, Oregon
A couple living in Central Oregon purchased an outdated but charming condo in Portland Heights to call home when they came to town. The space was badly in need of an update and they asked AHID for help.
“We want it to feel soothing and calming, a place of respite in the city.”
The clients purchased this dated condo with good bones in a great location but wanted to give it a full overhaul. Our project scope was to design for a full renovation in the kitchen and bathroom to improve storage efficiency, pathway flow in the bathroom, and give them an aesthetically soothing feel to create a sense of calm.
The kitchen had dated cabinetry (let’s face it, dated everything), a sink that wasn’t centered under the windows, poor lighting, and soffits taking up valuable storage real estate throughout.
Aside from being outdated and poorly lit, the bathroom also had the challenge of awkward flow. The alcove bathtub at the back of the room had obstructed access with the toilet placement immediately in the pathway in front of it.
Our experience is that usually soffits aren’t just decorative but used to house utilities of some kind. And unlike single family homes, making changes to walls and re-routing utilities in condos is often not feasible given that the building is shared living. In discussing design direction, we suggested an exploration with the general contractor of the soffits — should the soffits truly be decorative then removal would be straightforward; and should they house utilities we would design cabinetry to close over them giving the visual continuity of ceiling height cabinets with the soffit enclosed. As suspected, the soffits two of the three walls of the kitchen were housing utilities not just for our client’s unit but also the unit above.
The toilet in the bathroom was also not movable to the other side of the room to improve the pathway flow. Our solution was to move the doorway to the left and the vanity onto the right-hand side of the room so there was a clear pathway from the entrance to the bathtub/shower at the back.
In discussing the aesthetic design of the spaces, the clients shared they leaned more traditional in their tastes, wanted the spaces to feel soothing, and liked the idea of their cabinets painted a color. Given the small footprint of both rooms, AHID opted to color drench the cabinetry, walls, and woodwork to reduce the contrast in the space. In the kitchen we suggested reduced size panel ready appliances and matched the paint color to the backsplash tile to create uniformity. We selected more transitional hardware and plumbing fixtures given that the era of the condo is more modern and thus balancing the client’s preference for traditional with the age of the condo.
The kitchen had the added oddity that the over-sink windows were not centered on the wall, meaning either the sink would need to be centered on the wall (the existing kitchen), or centered under the windows. We thought that centering the sink under the windows felt more visually appealing even if it caused it to be left aligned in the cabinetry. We solved for this by creating pull out garbage and recycling for an intentional experience in the small space.
We designed the bathroom to have the aesthetic feel of a nice hotel bathroom — marble field tile in the tub surround and penny tile on the floor, warm brass fixtures and hardware, and the whole space painted a soothing shade of periwinkle.
As is always the case when designing custom cabinetry, we discussed functional and storage needs with the client. We specified a docking drawer for in-drawer charging in the bathroom vanity, and some extra wide and deep drawers for ample towel and appliance storage.
The end result is a home away from home where our clients have highly functional rooms despite their petite size that feel as good as they work.