Sauvie island river house
This project was a complete interior and exterior redesign of a house that everyone deemed to be a complete tear down, but that we saw some hope for. Built in the 1970’s and remodeled badly over the years, the basic shape of the house felt promising to us. We re-imagined the circulation through the house to be as simple and clear as possible. We divided the long great room into kitchen and living room with the help of a two-sided fireplace, tiled in an earthy glazed brick.
Perhaps in reaction to their last, fairly white house, our clients asked us for lots of warmth and playful color. All the walls are either paneled in douglas fir, painted, or wallpapered. A recurring palette of terra cotta, mustard, teal, and blue, reminiscent of the era when the house was first built, is repeated throughout, coming back in different ways in the different spaces. The ceramic shades throughout are by artist Heather Levine. We had initially specified them years ago for a restaurant project. When the restaurant eventually closed, our client purchased all the shades and we created sconces, table lamps, and the dining room chandelier to incorporate them into this design and give them a second life.
JHID team member for the Sauvie Island River House was senior designer Andra Padilla.
Featured in
Architectural Digest Elle Decor Italia Homes & Gardens
Photos by AAron leitz