This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

The second-floor living space of this garage apartment features rich hardwood flooring, dark painted walls for a modern feel, and ample natural light from a wall of windows. The open layout allows flexibility for living, working, or music rehearsals, creating a versatile retreat above the garage.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. After converting the building into a livable loft space, Hammer & Hand returned to remodel the existing kitchen with design by Risa Boyer Architecture.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

ARTISAN CULINARY LOFT VENUE SPACE Private kitchen and dining event space for culinary exploration. A custom culinary event space perfect for corporate events, dinner parties, birthday parties, rehearsal dinners and more. The Artisan Culinary Loft is the perfect place for corporate and special events of any kind. Whether you are looking for a company team building experience or cocktail reception for fifty, meeting space, entertaining clients or a memorable evening with friends and family, we can custom design a special event to meet your needs.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. After converting the building into a livable loft space, Hammer & Hand returned to remodel the existing kitchen with design by Risa Boyer Architecture.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

This drawing from an Impressionist master shows dancers in costume rehearsing in front of the scenery. Light, shadows and graceful movements are the hallmarks of Edgar Degas paintings. His works capture subjects, such as dancers and singers, doing everyday activities, yet Degas imbues the pictures and prints with high drama. He uses color and the magic of suggested motion to capture endearing vignettes.

PRIMARY COLORS The Noakeses are not afraid of color, which found an outlet in the brilliant red, orange and blue of the Tufenkian Borealis Pacific Fire rug anchoring the living room. On the following spread, the homeowners’ art hangs on a dining room wall and is the soulmate to the living room rug’s deeply saturated colors as well as to the bright oranges in the wool and silk rug under the dining table. Glamour is a driving force in the house, but it never overwhelms. As a backdrop in the dining room, golden Lori Weitzner wallpaper lines the display shelf where Perry and Suzy Noakes display treasures from their travels. In the kitchen, a grouping of seeded blown glass cylinder pendants illuminates Bright Group stools and a generously proportioned island that’s big enough to seat eight guests. The entry’s bright-red lacquered console is a place for the homeowners’ Buddha collection to get attention. Pieces from Laura Britt’s sustainable furniture line Vervano populate the bedroom, including the Noakeses use for media storage. Pieces from Laura Britt’s sustainable furniture line Vervano populate the bedroom, including the chair underneath the windows The gray theme continues in the master bath, where vein-cut travertine slabs on the floor set off the sculptural flair of the bathtub. “Homes didn’t mean anything to us,” says Perry Noakes, “except as a place to put our keys and get ready for the next journey.” The retired high-tech company executive and his wife, Suzy, are avid globe-trotters. The couple had also lived in Asia for 15 years as part of Perry’s work. Finding a place to live was a well-rehearsed exercise that figured into their system for settling in to a foreign country. But all that changed when Perry and Suzy decided to downsize to a new house in Austin. A friend told them about a spec house under construction, the project of a dream team of Austin-based design professionals that included builder Keith Husbands, architect Bob Wetmore of Cornerstone Architects, and interior designer Laura Britt and her staff. “We went to see it,” says Perry, “and loved it.” The couple quickly bought the framed-out 5,800-square-foot building. The fact that the two-story dwelling was near a golf course was a bonus for the two golfers, but the low-slung four-bedroom, four-bath house also backs up onto a nature preserve. “The land offered us great opportunity to nestle the house into the topography, giving us both privacy and stunning views,” says Wetmore, who had to negotiate his design for the native stone, stucco and metal house to fit onto the steeply sloping and oddly elongated lot. The Hill Country contemporary house stretches out just below the rim of the slope, comfortably settled into the topography courtesy of terraced landscaping that defines the front approach to the house. “We turned a negative into a positive,” says Wetmore about the difficult site. The rough-and-ready landscape accounts for the building’s quiet dynamics, which Wetmore chronicled with the roofline, a series of horizontal areas that correspond to transitional spaces inside, interrupted by a clerestory that caps the entry and living room. The process of taking a house from the framing stage to completion was a new experience for the couple. “We had never participated in the building process,” says Suzy. They threw themselves into it as if it were just another one of their adventures. “I think of it as my first project after I retired,” says Perry. The budding design enthusiast so endeared himself to Britt that she and her staff awarded him with a beret to wear to design meetings, in honor of his artistic verve. “We were able to redesign a lot of the house since we came into the process so early,” says Suzy. “The house started as a spec house,” says Britt, “but it quickly became a custom home with the Noakeses’ involvement.” Britt started the process by helping the couple select materials and lighting, opting for an earthy glamour that became the touchstone of the house. For pure wow factor, the living room’s stone and steel fireplace—sliced horizontally by three massive wood beams—is a tour de force of drama. In the kitchen, an oversize island (big enough to seat eight) is topped with a slab of dramatically veined marble; the countertops are a quieter quartzite. In the master bath, bold vein-cut travertine pavers on the floor are a counterpoint to the linear-cut mosaic tiles that back the vanity and reach all the way to the skylit ceiling. The pièce de résistance is the shimmering white pebble wall behind the free-standing tub that creates the effect of water frozen in free fall. Britt used contrast as a backdrop to all the drama, opting for a forged metal chandelier in the shape of a lotus leaf in the entry—a worthy match to the darkened-steel front door. She designed a dining room table (through Vervano, her furniture design company) topped with patinaed steel; overhead, a massive steel-framed drum pendant with mica panels casts a delicate glow over the room. The designer was careful to leave wall space for the homeowners’ art collection, as well as to add space wherever possible. The dining room’s asymmetrical built-in is a place to display Buddhas and other pieces the couple has collected in their travels. “We wanted this house to be about us and who we are,” says Suzy. That’s understandable since, after 16 previous homes that were really just places to live, the freedom of expression is obviously a thrill. Maybe even too much of a thrill—although this house is the couple’s dream home, they were completely enthralled with the design process. Could house No. 17 be the best and last? Maybe not. But if there is another house in the Noakeses’ future, one thing is certain, says Perry: “We won’t make a move without consulting Laura first.” https://modernluxury.com/interiors-texas/story/smooth-move

Brian Kellogg
Inspiration for a timeless dining room remodel in Sacramento

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. After converting the building into a livable loft space, Hammer & Hand returned to remodel the existing kitchen with design by Risa Boyer Architecture.

An Opera Singer's Rehearsal Room. Kips Bay Decorator Show House
Mid-sized eclectic home design photo in New York

Create an unbelievable space with gorgeous appliances! Having a built-in dance studio in your garage is the perfect way to set up a rehearsal space that can function for you at all times! Customize your garage to your liking and add blue cabinets that will surely stand out impress neighbors!

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

This commercial-to-residential remodel took an abandoned commercial building in southeast Portland and transformed it into an open, light-filled celebration of simplicity. Architect Elizabeth Williams of Pencil Work Studio designed the remodel of the building, which in its hundred-year life had served as nickelodeon, school, place of worship, and dance hall. The loft living space occupies the second floor, while music and rehearsal space occupies the first. Photos by Sally Painter.

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Living room - transitional medium tone wood floor and brown floor living room idea in San Francisco with a music area and blue walls