Young House Love

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House Crashing: Elegant And Fresh

We shared a smidge of Kirsten’s amazing house in last week’s Portland post just to get you excited, but here’s the whole House Crashing monty for ya. The exterior of her and her husband Kyle’s house is a rich gray color and the porch has the most amazing over-sized white corbels on either side of the door (note: house numbers have been changed to protect the innocent).

Kirsten Front Door

Here’s a shot o the outside of the house from further away (wish we had been able to see it in all of its spring/summer glory when more is in bloom).

Kirsten Exterior

When you walk inside, there’s a charming little entryway directly across from the door between the dining room and the living room. It’s such a sweet (and functional!) area that Kirsten squeezed into the room. They were actually made by a local woodworker (she said it saved her lots of money in comparison to some ready-made systems that she saw) and the awesome giant N is from Anthropologie.

Kirsten Entryway

Aside from immediately going crazy over everything from the awesome paint colors (this room’s Benjamin Moore’s Copley Gray) to that genius oversized map (from Schoolhouse Electric, by the way), we just snapped our way around her house – oohing and aahing the whole way.

Kirsten Living Angled

The wood-burning fireplace actually works (so cozy) and Kirsten mentioned that the patterned rug from Crate & Barrel has been an awesome choice since sometimes a bit of soot or ash can get on it down at the end there, but it blends right in. Oh and that mirror above the fireplace is a craigslist find.

Kirsten Living Straight On

This wood-chest turned side table (found on craigslist!) was such a fun pairing with the colorful ikat chair from Urban Outfitters.

Kirsten Living Trunk Sideta

Oh and the coffee table was a wedding gift that a number of relatives went in on from Crate & Barrel.

Kirsten Living Coffe Table

Directly across from the living room is the dining area, complete with a cool slightly arched doorway…

Kirsten Dining From Living

… and an awesome fixture from Ballard Design.

Kirsten Dining Room Full

Everything from the thin black frames on that back wall to the table made from reclaimed wood that has special meaning to Kirsten and her hubby Kyle (it’s from a barn that was taken down in his hometown of Sweet Home, Oregon) had us threatening to move in on the spot. Oh and the paint color in here is Quill by Olympic.

Kirsten Dining Room Table

For more on those frames and the art within them, you can check out Kristen’s blog here (the prints have a really interesting origin, and the frames were garage sale finds). Even the little console table behind the dining area was really sweetly accessorized. I remember telling Kirsten that she has a serious knack for decorating, as in: she should do it full time – and I meant it!

Kirsten Dining Room Buffet

Check out their amazing kitchen! It used to be a narrow galley kitchen (where those hanging pendants are was once a wall). Kirsten and her husband got their wood counter handcrafted by a local woodworker for a steal (a serious steal- like a few hundred dollars for the entire thing, including the hole for the sunken cooktop).

Kirsten Kitchen Full

She said they had repainted the walls quite a few times, just to get the perfect color – and this putty color (Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray) was the bee’s knees. I loved how rich it made the cabinets look without feeling dark at all.

Kirsten Kitchen Counter Clo

Here’s the sweet eat-in area on the other side of the room. Is that yellow poster the bomb.com or what? It’s from here (and the amazing yellow peppermill is from Anthropologie).

Kirsten Kitchen Bfast Nook

Oh and I had to share this shot of a small staircase right off of the kitchen that leads to an exterior door. Kirsten wanted to dress up the stairs without spending a ton, so she just used Benjamin Moore’s porch and floor paint (in White Dove and Van Cortland Blue) along with a stencil to give them a pick-me-up.

Kirsten Staircase

Here’s the guest room, complete with a charming metal bed and the coolest old wood dresser we’ve seen in a while.

Kirsten Guest Bedroom

It was totally something you’d see at Anthropologie for a cool grand, but it was actually a free hand-me-down that Kirsten inherited, painted, hated the paint, and then stripped and sanded. Isn’t that an amazing “accidental” effect that she ended up with? It’s so weathered and cool. Oh and the drawer pulls are from Anthropologie and the wall color is Behr’s Pebble Stone.

Kirsten Guest Bedroom Dress

Here’s the backyard, which was so lush and green thanks to all that Portland rain. That little deck that you see is off of the kitchen, and there’s a fence and some pretty bushes behind where we stood to take this picture.

Kirsten Back Yard

All in all: a super charming house, with a super charming owner. Thanks so much for inviting us to crash your house Kirsten!

Kirst Front Door With Sherr

For more on Kirsten’s paint colors, click here, and for more on her house/neighborhood, click here. And click here just to check out her awesome blog in general. Now let’s play the what’s-your-favorite part game. I am completely obsessed with the giant map in the living room, the dining room chandelier, and the wood trunk in the living room. And of course John wants to fight me for the map, and also loves the yellow sign in the kitchen along with the wood counter in there. Your turn.

Psst- Check out over thirty more House Crashing features right here.

Comments

  2. Stephanie says

    I love the kitchen! Does anybody know the fabric or curtain resource information for the kitchen curtains?

    Reply

  3. Ekaterina says

    We have quill in our dinning room/kitchen as well. Looks so different with out dark cabinets/floors. Wow!

    Reply

  4. Katie says

    I painted our old bedroom Copley Gray by BM and it is one of my favorite colors – it goes with everything! Looking at these beautiful house pics makes me think I should use that color again..

    Reply

  6. Sarah F. says

    Love this house! I’m in Seattle and so many houses up my way are similar in design. I can’t wait to buy something with similar bones, and now I have inspiration to dress it up a little! It’s amazing how the grey paint actually brightens things up with the clouds, instead of bogging everything down! I think the pops of yellow really help though.

    I also love the little entryway, especially with the local-made furnishings!

    Reply

  9. steph :) says

    I would want to move in on the spot too! You know it’s awesome when you want to redo your entire house and not just one element. Great job, Kristen!

    Reply

  11. Kasey M. says

    The industrial pendent lamp in the photo with the print you admire Sherry. The crate side talbes. The glass vases on the white buffet stand in the livingroom. OH and that amazing wood dresser.

    Actually, can I just move in?

    Reply

  12. LC says

    You might want to warn Kristen – pretty sure all your readers are essentially crashing her blog – it’s going SUPER slow and barely showing the pages.

    Reply

  13. Stancie says

    LOVE this house tour! What an awesome home. Any idea what size the Ballard Eldridge Pendant is in their dining room….medium or large? Thanks :)

    Reply

  14. Katie says

    I love that entire house! I’ve been watching that Ballard Designs light at the outlet (Roswell, GA) for a while and trying to figure out if it would work in our house… I may have to go back and get it now!!

    Reply

  17. Hanna says

    I love the whole house — amazing! My very favorite thing, however, is the front porch. So many fixer-upper houses I’ve seen have puny little concrete or wooden steps that look totally out of place, or like they’vejust been stuck onto the house. This porch a GREAT way to address the problem. Tons of space, looks great, and also looks potentially do-it-yourself-able.

    Reply

  18. Michelle says

    I loved that pendant light so much that I ran to Ballard’s backroom to get it. They had them for 50% off! LOVE the home crash :)

    Reply

  19. Rosemary M. says

    Hi Sherry,
    This is completely random but do you have any siblings? I follow your blog religiously but I cant remember if you’ve ever mentioned any siblings. I know John does!

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, I grew up as one of five (I lived with my brother, half-brother, and two cousins who were raised with us because their mom has MS so we all sort of had a Brady Bunch thing going on).

      xo,
      s

  20. keepitneat says

    Wow what a great house. I absolutely love her color palettes in each room. Especially love paint colors in living room and kitchen. I’m bookmarking this one for inspiration!

    Reply

  22. karen says

    very charming!!
    i love the framed they used for the map! did they DIY it?
    the kitchen is awesome. great textures and colour!

    Reply

  23. Anna says

    Love this! I started reading her blog just a few weeks ago. She has impeccable taste. I live in PDX, too, and plan to buy a house next year…I think I might have to hire her to help me out! And I LOVE the area that she lives in! Maybe I’ll just befriend her and move on in :]

    Reply

  30. Jennifer says

    Thank you for including the little detail of the painted stairs- I am tired of the chipped brown paint of our basement stairs, but didn’t know how to freshen it up just so. The painted runner look is perfect.

    Reply

  31. Wom-mom Ethne says

    I love how the wood kitchen countertop doesn’t clash with or darken the white cabinets at all. She’s done so much with what appears, from the outside, to be a super teeny bungalow.

    Reply

  32. Evan says

    LOVE, love, love this!!! But, tell me true, how the heck do you guys all keep white kitchen cabinets looking clean if you ever actually cook in your kitchen? Or have dogs… Or children or both…. Which I know you do, Sherry.

    Reply

  33. Renae says

    Love their house! Perfect colors, perfect size, awesome back yard, lovely little entry way! Might be dying of jealousy right now! Major props!

    Reply

  34. Kirstin says

    Oh man! Loving on the reclaimed wood table and cursing my house for not having stairs! How fun are those! Love all her paint choices!

    Reply

  35. Lindsey says

    I love it all!! The yellow sign in the kitchen rocks and I really like all the decorations on the console table in the dining room. How easy to put empty wine bottles in a cute little wooden bin?! So doing that!:-)

    Reply

  37. Kate says

    LOVE IT ALL SO MUCH! Beautifully decorate in that amazing way that it looks EFFORTLESS. I want to be at there :)

    Reply

  38. megan says

    my favorite house crash EVER. I love the dark richness with bright pops. This home has SUCH a good balance. Great find and great style. Thanks for sharing it!!

    Reply

  41. Artsy Forager says

    Portland homes like these are exactly why I keep bugging my hubby to forget downtown condo living in Seattle.. we can have a wonderful little bungalow in Portland! Thanks so much for sharing, going to check out her blog now!

    Reply

  42. Sarah J. says

    i’m totally thinking of copying the wood countertop, but i am also digging everything about that little kitchen table area. so pretty and imperfect, making everyday life a little easier on the eyes and mind (with 2 boys i always worry about things getting banged up ;)

    Reply

  43. Ashley says

    Hi there! This is kind of a general question inspired by the post. I LOVE that kitchen and would love to pin it to pinterest for my inspiration but I’ve heard some bloggers don’t like pinterest because it infringes on they’re copyrights or something? Do you guys give permission to pin as long as the website is linked to? Or is it no pinning? Thanks!! Feel free to message me personally if you don’t want to post.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we have a pin it button on the bottom of each post (when you click into it, like you do to comment). Generally looking for a Pin It button and only pinning things when you see them is a good indication that the site owner is into pinning!

      xo,
      s

  44. Victoria says

    Love the house! Thank you for sharing it with us all.

    I have been reading your blog for just a short time and love the pops of yellow (horse head bookends, etc) you guys are putting in the house. I was wondering if you share anywhere what color yellow spray paint you use? I know yellow is a hard color to get right and your yellow looks beautiful!

    Reply

  45. Blair M. says

    this house inspires me SO MUCH! Just pinned a bunch of your pictures to use as inspiration. Our new house looks like it is about the same size – can’t wait to try out some of their styling techniques to make the most of our space!

    Reply

  47. Debbie says

    I really love this house…the layout, the accessories, the colors…it all works so well. When do I get to move in?

    Reply

  48. Megan says

    I LOVE that you did another House Crashing! It’s one of my favorite parts about your blog and blogging in general. One of my goals is to get my house “crash” worthy some day… it has a long way to go but I know it can look good with some more work and details. I want her kitchen… so nice to see a pretty grayish color mixed with white, black and wood tones!!

    Reply

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