West Linn Residence

This master bedroom/bath concept is coming along nicely and we thought we'd share the piece that's driving our design direction.  Knowing the client's affinity for Chinese motifs, we looked toward Kohler's Imperial Blue artists edition to set the tone for the client's vanity space.

The combination of a modern porcelain vessel and traditional Ming Dynasty decoration perfectly describes our design direction.  This may, in fact, be the only decoration in the space, allowing it to shine among surrounding simple textures and functional details.

Norwegian Winter Retreat

 ...to combine an enclosed space for fire, storytelling and playing. - architects Marit Justine Hagen and Dan Zohar

 

 via Inhabitots

Digital Renderings

Fig Studio-designed palette for a Portland kitchen remodel

We will often create a simple digital rendering to help convey the material applications in an easily understood format.  Many clients have never been through the design process and conceptualizing how materials will look in their space is a difficult task.  For a small space, a simple rendering (see above) may only take an hour or two...well worth the effort to help aid the decision-making process!  For more complex projects, a three-dimensional model can be built to help a client relate to the two-dimensional construction drawings.  These models may also be used in the first phases of a project to describe detailed design elements and spatial relationships. 

Christmas Sweets

 

Over the weekend we experimented with some new scratch cookie recipes.  I thought the patterns present in the chocolate bar were quite beautiful and warranted a break for a photo shoot.  I hope you've had the chance to take some time out to make some homemade goodies for your friends and family this season!

Poster No. 1

Roland Tiangco via all the mountains...

Fir Face

firface.com is up and running! We've added a few new items to our Etsy Shop, so check it out!  Thanks to everyone who came out to the Mixed Media Sale.  We are very grateful for your support!

Coming Attractions

Moonlighting.  I know I'm excited.

London Calling

Wouldn't this be a clever addition to your family room?  Okay, using it as the village library is also pretty ace...

Canadian Cabin

I really enjoyed the simplicity of yesterday's Apartment Therapy Hot House Tour.  The painted white floors perfectly display this family's collection of beautiful vintage Danish wood furniture and allow for bold pops of contrasting colors. 

Design Tour & Charity Mixer

(click to enlarge)

Help support p:ear, a Portland resource for homeless and parent-less youth by contributing a little extra when you RSVP!

Event sponsored by IIDA Portland City Chapter

Peace and Plenty

We hope you are all spending the holiday surrounded by loving family and good friends

 via Woof Nanny

Pack Your Bags

Portable and compact planters via designboom

Knoll Studio Holiday Photoshoot

For all of you Oregonians!  Complimentary photos with the bright red Womb Chair at Environments NW.  Wouldn't this make a great holiday card opportunity?

Bring some canned food for the Oregon Food Bank to sweeten the deal! 

Wild Sweet Paul

Someday I will host a Thanksgiving that rivals this beautiful creation.  Thank you, Sweet Paul for your inspiring wild Thanksgiving.

It may be a wee bit soggier here in pdx, however.  Maybe a tent is in order?

This vintage Cherner armchair looks wonderfully at home amongst the leaves and fallen tree.

Thirst for Giving

Check out these beautifully designed reusable Kor bottles.  Not only will these help remind you not to buy that vending machine water bottle, but 1% of all sales go to non-profit groups focused on environmental protection.  Ok, so it's not much, but 1% for the planet is considerably greater than 0.

These would also make a unique vessel to hold your flowers, no?

You Are Definitely Invited

Update:  Check out the event's Facebook Page!

We are hard at work on our moonlighting project...not quite ready to be revealed.  It involves lasers.  Is that enough to tickle your fancy?

Smooth Bread Box

My obsession with making my own bread has been a fun journey in experimentation and frugality.  Let's face it, good bread is spendy, and at 6 bucks a loaf is hard to swallow.  We received a bread maker as a wedding gift and I've never looked back.  The elusive rustic loaf will someday find it's way to my new bread box,  a smooth design from Britain's Joseph Joseph.

The lid doubles as a cutting board, perfectly sized for my 2 pound loaves.  I originally spotted this perfect box in Brussels, but couldn't justify lugging it around on the rest of our European adventure.  My husband locked this to memory and ordered it for my birthday present!  It fits perfectly on our kitchen cart alongside our herbs and fruit.

Now that you've got homemade bread on the mind, head over to Fu Cheese and check out my friend Amanda's obsession!

We're Moving!

Fig Studio is relocating to new office space!  Excitement is brewing as graph paper is packed and new Prismacolors are sharpened.  Giulietti/Schouten Architects invited Fig Studio to join their team, and with that comes new desk space in their NW Portland office.

G/S Architects is an established Portland firm with a diverse portfolio and accolades to match.  Their work's been featured in Sunset, Oregon Home, and Luxe.  (They have a cover story in OH this month!)  I'm excited to be a part of their design team and expand my client-base while maintaining my own business.  Check out figstudiopdx for new contact information and location.  See you next week!

Our Photos Have Arrived!

We were very excited to rip open the mailing envelope sent by Tullis Photo, our wedding photographers.  We'd seen the the photos online but there's nothing better than receiving your very own disk full of great images.  Here is one of my favorite shots!

More Than Time

...wishing I was still wandering through the D'Orsay museam in Paris

Orange Crush...on a bathroom

 

This bright, smooth concrete shower/tub combination won my heart as we passed by the Couleurs Tadelakt showroom in Brussels, Belgium.  The form is beautiful and the smart combination of natural concrete and rich orange is inspiring.  Do I have any takers?

Save the Date: After hours Talent

We're participating in Portland's After Hours Talent: Mixed Media Sale hosted by Maharam, 3-Form, and Milliken Contract!  Though we're going to keep it a surprise for now, we're excited to unveil our very own crafty moonlighting gig at the event.

The Details:  Tuesday, December 8th 4pm-9pm @ Urban Studio, on the corner of NW 10th and Davis, in Portland's Pearl District.

All one of a kind products are made by the Portland architecture & design community.  Browse jewelry, artwork, handbags, metalwork, sewn goods, photography, and home accessories...perfect for holiday gifts!  More details as we get closer to the event!

Curiosity Killed the ... Guest?

I love this shoot found over at Coco+Kelly.  Perfect inspiration for a spooktacular Halloween weekend!

 

Launch!

Whew.  The website is up and running!  Check it out here: www.figstudiopdx.com

Spice Market

The Antibes market had an incredible spice and grain vendor filled with colorful ingredients.  Can you believe this guy has to set this up every morning and take it down every afternoon?

Graphics Preview

We're working on rebranding Fig Studio.  What do you think of the new blog header?  Eventually this will all roll into the new Fig Studio identity, so we'd love your feedback on the graphics and colors we've created.  Thanks!

Villefranche

Spots of color dot the sea lining Villefrance, France. 

Principality of Monaco

We took a day trip from Antibes to Monaco, a place I've wanted to see almost my whole life (thanks to my mom's fascination with Grace Kelly).  Unless you're a high roller, there's little to do than spend the day admiring the ocean view and wonder who parked their Rolls in front of the local McDonalds. 

Beautiful arch greeting us at the Monaco train station

Harbor full of yachts.  I love how they're parked in order of size (or rank, as the case may be!)

View towards the casino, an exquisite structure.

Beautiful Snack

As you know, one of the best parts of traveling the globe is eating your way through new regions and discovering new flavors.  Though cheese (brie in particular) is not new to us, somehow it tastes magical when you're sitting next to a bustling old town square and drinking wine from a nearby village.

After Switzerland...

It looks like we left off in Leukerbad, Switzerland!  We're back home now, but I'm going to get you all up to speed on the remainder of our trip, as promised!

Next Destination: The French Riviera

We were so ready for some warm weather (both caught some flu-like symptoms) and more relaxation.  We found Antibes to be the most relaxation-friendly coastal village with it's beautiful public beaches and quaint cobblestone pedestrian streets. 

 The Picasso Museum's impressive remodel really blew us away.  Beautiful daylighting throughout the space enhanced the artist's work and provided unique vantage points from which to view the village and sea.

 

Entrance framing the sculpture garden at the Picasso Museam

Leukerbad Alpentherme

As a wedding gift, Scott and Heather treated us to a surprise overnight stay at an alpine resort in Leukerbad!  We had an excellent time lounging in the mineral waters and enjoying the dramatic alpine views. 

 Our hotel was surrounded by dramatic cliffs

Our morning view of the mountains and spa from our hotel window

We took a gondola ride to the top of the surrounding cliffs and caught some dramatic view of the valley below.  I think this particular photo looks a little like Oregon!

I'm not sure these photos really do this view justice.  It was incredible.  Squint and you can see the snow-capped Swiss Alpes on the horizon.