Portland, Oregon / 9.19.2017

The most important step in a kitchen remodel is finding the right professional to lead you through the process.  You want someone who is well-regarded by clients and professionals alike, experienced with kitchen remodels, professional, and someone you get along with personally.  Spend as much time (or more) finding the right person as you would picking out your paint colors and countertops.

I found my interior designer / project manager via the website Houzz.  Houzz is a website and online community that specializes in architecture, interior design and decorating, landscape design and home improvement.  Users can browse through 14 million interior design photos, home decor, decorating ideas and home professionals.  I was starting from scratch finding my professional.  My designer, Taryn Emerson, stood out first because I fell in love with her design portfolio.  I noticed too she was from the same city I live in.  What an odd coincidence.  Finally, I was reading her Houzz reviews and I saw that my very close friend gave her a fabulous review.  I had been to my friend’s house many times and always admired her style.  I called my friend and she gave me really good feedback about her experience.

After speaking with Taryn on the phone we set up a meeting.  She came to our house and looked at the spaces we were interested in remodeling and furnishing.  She asked us a lot of questions about how we live day-to-day, how we use our kitchen, the ages of our kids, and she saw that we have a small dog that freely sits on the furniture.  The meeting lasted over an hour.  In a few weeks she returned with beautiful computer generated pictures of our space, transformed.

Kitchen now

Taryn’s computer-generated design proposal:

Informal dining area now:

Taryn’s computer-generated design proposal (dining room far right):

Informal living area now:

Taryn’s computer-generated design proposal:

As you can see, everything is lighter, fresher, and brighter.  Goodbye, tans and browns!  The next step is demo.  Follow my future posts to read about the experience (and send good vibes my way!)