The story: My client is a transplant from the U.K., via Amsterdam and decided to move to Portland to make a new home for himself (you’ve probably guessed that he works for a large athletic shoe company). He found a great condo in NW Portland that sits above a bustling neighborhood and is blocks from loads of great restaurants. The views from the unit are fantastic – Mt. St. Helens and the industrial area on one side and the West Hills from the back of the unit. The sheer amount of natural light in the space is amazing and will go a long way to keep the winter doldrums at bay.

While the unit was nice, it wasn’t perfect. The fits and finishes were nice, but already showing age even after just a few years. There were some missteps in the selection of materials in the bathroom specifically. And, to further complicate matters, my client has some mobility issues and requires two canes to get around. You’ll see from the “before” picture that the existing bathroom would be problematic for him to use on a daily basis. And, the kitchen was outfitted with an apartment sized refrigerator/freezer. Makes daily living less than practical.

So, based on a referral from a work friend, Jason Ball Interiors was brought in to help with the overall design of the space. Once we started the process, it was clear that my client wanted a very streamlined, contemporary space. Our mantra was no clutter, no extras, no wires, everything must have it’s place. The key in this contemporary design was to focus on textures, contrast and materials, with an overarching goal to increase the function of the space. Here are the before and after pictures to show how we accomplished these goals.

BEFORE: This is a “nice” unit, but lacks any real sense of design and character. The white laminate cabinets blend into the white walls. We focused on bringing in materials that would add dimensions and texture to the space.

BEFORE: The existing main living space of the condo

AFTER: The walls were painted a sophisticated shade of blue gray, with the new, custom cabinetry gets a similar shade of gray (but a tone darker). Black granite and a stone mosaic are used for the main surfaces. Open shelving made from white oak complete the contemporary, European look.

AFTER: The look is contemporary, clean and uncluttered

The bathroom was a similar story to the kitchen – nice materials, but nothing to write home about. The floor and shower tiles were both grayish, but two completely different tones. One was bluish gray, other was yellowish gray. They completely clashed with each other. Plus, because of mobility issues, the tub was impractical, so that had to come out. The major problem in the space, besides the mismatched, was the wall between the tub area and the vanity. This wall blocked the light from flowing through the space and made the shower a dark “cave shower.”

BEFORE: Condo bathroom with mismatched materials and closed-off shower

AFTER: Now, completely opened up, with a frameless glass enclosure around the shower, improved lighting, open vanity and consistent materials throughout, this bathroom is a study in contemporary design. We focused on warm tones in the hard surfaces with layered textures. The custom vanity adds an additional wood element and sits in front of an entire wall of tile mosaic, which reads a little like birch bark. Even though everything is open, we designed a space for all the necessary accessories you might want in a bathroom. Open shelving around the corner (in the left of the picture) adds additional out-of-sight storage. This bathroom is now set up perfectly for my client to make his new home in Portland.

AFTER: Open, clean and uncluttered

Jason Ball Interiors partnered with Olson & Jones Construction (website) and King’s Cabinets (website) to complete this design. Visit Jason Ball Interiors for more design inspiration (website) or to contact Jason to start your next project.

This ideabook is all about using dark colors. I’m talking about navy, dark chocolate, black, charcoal — all colors we typically shy away from because we’re not sure how to use them appropriately. Here are 9 ways you can use these rich paint choices to great effect in your next interior design project.

For Part 1 of the Amsterdam series, we’ll look at mixing eras and styles in the same space. Europeans, in general, are very adept at mixing contemporary and old-world styles. A few years ago, while visiting Berlin, I came across an old building near the Reichstag. This building still showed signs of damage from World War II, but they had covered the entire facade of the building in glass panels. It was as if they had pulled a glass curtain across the front of the building – simply the most amazing juxtaposition of styles I’d ever seen.

Amsterdam, like Berlin, is an old city with clear direction for the future. Just walking through the canal district, you see numerous buildings in process of being renovated or updated. It is also a common site to see a building from the 1800s next to a contemporary building. While this idea can be jarring to some, I find the juxtaposition of eras and styles refreshing and interesting.

Train station built in the 1880s with modern light rail system

A perfect example of when old and new are mixed in the same setting. The Amsterdam Central Train Station, built in the 1880s serves hundreds of thousands of people a day. The fact that a modern light-rail system runs directly in front of the grand building shows the modern direction of this city constantly on the move.

Contemporary, artistic foot bridge

In what is a more modern section of the city, the traditional canal houses are replaced with contemporary versions. An artistic foot bridge brings a whimsical touch.

The bar in our hotel - the Arthur Fromer Hotel

One of my favorite mash-ups of style is to take a traditional shape (like these chairs) and use modern fabrics and colors to turn everything on it’s head. High-gloss black and royal purple turn these chairs into real statement pieces.

A bold, modern statement on a traditional canal building

There are two aspects of this scene I absolutely love. First is the use of bold red for the shutters on this traditional canal building. This makes a statement like no other color could (although, to be honest, I don’t know if this is a traditional shutter color or not – it’s still way cool!). Second is a little harder to notice. The building to the right is another example of a contemporary rendition of a canal house. The straight, clean lines are not typical of the gabled shapes found throughout the canal district.

Modern building and reinterpretation of traditional shapes

Like any other modern city, the need for office space sometimes encroaches on the traditional parts of the city. Here, old-world style clashes with modern office buildings. Additionally, the two buildings on the right also take the traditional gabled shape of canal homes and revise it into a modern version. This allows these buildings to sit perfectly with the old part of the city, without causing too much of a stylistic clash.

Serving Up Style: Designers Fighting Lupus is Portland’s premier design event. This year, 12 prominent design teams were invited to create fantastic, stunning, and whimsical dining environments for a four-day showcase during the Portland Fall Home & Garden Show. Serving Up Style culminates with a fundraiser gala, auction, and awards ceremony. All proceeds from the event benefit the lupus awareness and service initiatives of Molly’s Fund Fighting Lupus. Please check out www.mollysfund.org for more information on lupus and how you can make a difference.

Jason Ball Interiors was honored to receive the Creativity Award for Metamorphosis: Raw to Refined at this year’s event. This room is an homage to all the local artists, craftspeople and builders we have in Portland, OR. The sheer amount of talent available in this city to the design community is amazing and inspiring. Additional pictures of the other rooms coming shortly.

In the meantime, here is Metamorphosis: Raw to Refined.

A fantastical dining room setting showing materials in both a natural state, as well as a refined version

A turned piece seems to magically grow out of a tree

A centerpiece filled with greenery and wonder

A stump is given a glass top and lit from within

A section of this tree is replaced with a glass portion

www.homerejuvenation.com.sg
Enjoy the article!

By capturing the pantry as part of the kitchen, we can correct several problems. First problem is a unification problem. By building the pantry as part of the kitchen cabinetry we make the space feel larger. More cabinets equals a feeling of a larger space (assuming the overall design is done correctly). Second problem is an efficiency problem. A cabinetry-based pantry allows the use of storage accessories like pull-outs, pull-out shelves, lazy susans, etc. The added functionality provides home owners more storage options which are a more efficient use of space. The third problem is an image problem. No longer does the pantry need to feel like the poor step-child of the kitchen. With a new look, new purpose, it can join the rest of the family with pride (of course, this last one is tongue in cheek).

The two pictures below show a reconfiguration of a walk-in pantry to a modern butler’s pantry.

Pantry before the remodel - functional, yet separate from the kitchen

The reconfigured pantry to be a modern butler's pantry

A wide angle shot of the kitchen showing the position of the new pantry (off to the left) and its effect on the overall design

I was working with a client recently on furniture selection for their condo in John’s Landing and we were having issues agreeing on the sofa style. I just happened to stop by their old house (that we’re in the process of remodeling to sell) and saw a sofa in the living room. We started talking about the sofa and it ends up that it was a custom sofa they had built in the mid 1980s. There was really nothing wrong with the sofa except some tattered parts and over-used cushions. That led to a conversation about having the sofa reupholstered in a more contemporary fabric. But, some stylistic aspects of the sofa were getting in my way from totally agreeing. A few sketches later and we had a plan – let’s just remodel the sofa!

As you can see, this sofa was well used (and abused by the cats). The roll arms and oddly shaped back were altered – rolls arms cutoff and back leveled off all the way around. The “new” piece is ready for a more contemporary setting and will continue to serve my clients for years.

Before - sofa in much need of an overhaul

After - remodeling to a piece fitting of a contemporary condo setting

Before you throw out that old piece of furniture, consider remodeling it. You might just give the piece another 20 years of life, and it won’t end up in a landfill.

The challenge when designing a stairs is how to get all the elements to work with one another – balusters, handrail, risers, treads, etc. The stairs below show some interesting design choices. Some of these are ones that I worked on, others are examples I found online. What role do you want your stairs to play in your homes style?

The first set of stairs used to be standard, builder-quality stairs you could find in any suburban home. We remodeled the stairs completely with new treads, risers, balusters, and handrail to a dramatic staircase. Some minor adjustments (like widening the bottom stair and using a larger post at the bottom of the stairs) adds crucial design elements.

Traditional stairs by Jason Ball Interiors

Balusters don’t have to just be vertical pieces of wood or metal. They come in all shapes and sizes and materials.

Amazing Fretwork by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design

Steel cable railings by Jason Ball Interiors

Steel handrail and balusters with wood treads by Cary Bernstein Architect

Then sometimes you find a stair design that absolutely blows you away. I love the sculptural and architectural nature of these stairs. The architect clearly found it important to show the structure of the stairs. This uses all the elements – glass, wood and metal to create a truly stunning staircase.

Modern stairs by Mark English Architects

Most homeowners don’t give a second thought their stairs ~ they’re just there. With a little design assistance, stairs can become an important part of the design of a home.

Check out our full portfolio to see other great remodel projects: Jason Ball Interiors