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The wooden panel walls, black brick fireplace, logs all ready for a fire and a thick rug create such a cosy atmosphere in this living room. The shapes and tones in the artwork above the fireplace are beautifully reflected in the rug. -
‘The living room has gone through a lot of changes in the seven years that I’ve lived in this house, but I do think that it’s finally at a place where it feels calm and warm and welcoming,’ explains Teresa. -
The black and white poster is by an artist named Debbie Carlos. She makes large-scale prints of her original photos on plain bond paper. ‘I think the scale of them is really great. This one is just weird enough to be perfect,’ Teresa comments. -
Maker Spaces: Cosy Portland Home
WORDS Emily Quinton IMAGES Helen Cathcart
Jewellery designer Teresa Robinson lives with her black-and-white dog Marcelle in a sweet little red range house that was built in 1954 in North East Portland, Oregon.
Since moving here seven years ago, Teresa has made this house her dream space and completely changed it from the ‘clown house’ that she originally bought, with its crazy coloured walls and hideous carpets, into a stylish, sophisticated and welcoming home. The interior has a mid-century modern feel with calm but cosy and warm colours, wooden panels and plenty of lush greenery.
Being in a space that she feels happy and comfortable in is incredibly important to Teresa. ‘I am such a visually sensitive person that if things aren’t right, then my mental state is really affected by it,’ she explains. ‘When everything is in line and I feel good about that, then I am happy and able to create.’ Passing from one area of the house to the next, you can really feel how she has carefully put the house together over time.
Teresa’s connection to the revival of the Modernist craft movement is apparent throughout her home. Beautiful weaving hangs on the wall, pieces for a patchwork quilt sit in a corner ready to be stitched together and a small weaving loom and yarn peek out of a basket. ‘They are all such great mediums and the movement left such a strong legacy,’ says Teresa, ‘and I think it’s important to try to preserve and continue it, even if I’m just doing that in a small way.’
This is an excerpt from Emily Quinton’s Maker Spaces (R577, Ryland Peters & Small). The book is available from Exclusive Books.
