NW Johnson Street House in Portland by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design has restored a 1907 Craftsman-style house in Portland to a cosy, forest-inspired family home. The 370sqm house showed signs of an awkward conversion from several apartments to a single-family dwelling, including an unnecessary back staircase and phone booth space encumbering the main landing.

In order to make sense of the layout, Helgerson and her team reimagined the primary circulation. The back staircase was removed, and the kitchen was opened up to the dining room with the addition of double-sided walls with glass-fronted storage. A master bath was added where a closed-in balcony used to be, featuring an old-school dark timber twin sink and brass wall lights.

Much of the original elements had been removed from the house over multiple renovations. To restore a sense of charm, Helgerson layered architectural elements such as coffered ceilings, columns, ceiling rosettes and other details typically associated with older homes.

Herlgerson says their aesthetic direction was an “ode to the Pacific Northwest”. The palette is heavy on western walnut timber, accented by mossy green upholstery and moody shades of teal. Modern, decorative lighting and furnishings bring a lightness reflective of the youthful family who lives in the home. Plush sofas are a notable feature, one curved and pink in the formal living room, and another upholstered in green velvet, built-in in the family room.

The standout space in the renovation is in the kitchen. The project’s lead designer, Mira Eng-Goetz, hand painted a mural of sword ferns seamlessly across each wall, even covering the cleverly tiled built-in fridge. The designers conceived the mural as a way to create a garden view in a room with windows that look out onto the urban façade of a neighbouring apartment building.

See more projects by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design on Yellowtrace here.

[Images courtesy of Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photography by Aaron Leitz.]