Pacific Northwest Vibes
Vibe: “The atmosphere of a place as communicated to and felt by others.” – Oxford Languages
One of the many goals of an interior designer is to create a space that reflects how our clients want to feel in their space. A recent road trip down California’s Highway 1, and detour through Marin County, on our way to San Francisco helped me contextualize the vibe of northern California interiors that I so often admire in the work of Commune Design.
Returning home to Portland, Oregon had me contemplating how I would capture and translate the Pacific Northwest style into a home’s interior design. To me, PNW style is welcoming, it’s relaxing and it’s connected to the outdoors but what does that look like?
To explore these thoughts, I used my childhood home in White Salmon, Washington as my case study. The structure is a modest split-level, built in 1981. The home’s interior is similarly humble - natural wood finishes, wicker vanity sconce shades, red oak kitchen cabinets and very few updates over the last 40-plus years. What’s special about the home, and truly spectacular, are the large picture windows that flood the home with natural light and provide sweeping views of the surrounding orchards and Columbia River Gorge.
The hot summer days, playing in our great grandfather’s cherry orchards, long field grass and the peace you feel on quiet evenings evoke nostalgia, and the views will forever be imprinted on my memory. To translate those feelings into interior design, I selected materials and furnishings that complement and enhance the beauty surrounding the home. The palette of warm earthy hues, subtle texture and pattern, natural wood, and brass tones come together to represent the way I feel in the space and what I want to communicate to others about this space.
While my childhood home is neither a rustic cabin in the woods, nor a summer vacation home, it is a welcoming retreat away from the crazy where one can relax, laze with a good book, and connect to the outdoors. My nostalgia and memories of my childhood home, and this awesome photo of my grandma and the home’s view, inspire my interpretation of the Pacific Northwest style – my PNW vibe.
