Today I'm excited to share a new MyDomaine feature that I photographed and styled last year in Portland, OR. I ventured West to shoot this incredible project by Kaemingk Design, a husband-wife duo who began as house-flippers and have now cemented their place in the design and remodeling world of the Pacific Northwest. Their trademark aesthetic features bright neutrals, natural wood elements, and the occasional hint of industrial hardware. Needless to say, my camera and their spaces get along quite well.
When Brandt and Chelsea Kaemingk came to me to discuss the space and how it would photograph, I offered a few of my go-to styling tricks to really photo-finish out their space. I suggested draping the entire living area in a barely-there sand linen cotton blend to add visual interest and coziness to the white-walled space. You'd think wall-to-wall fabric would scream fussy, traditional, and don't-touch-anything, but with neutral panels draped from floor to ceiling, it creates a soft non-invasive layer adding an element of comfort to the walls like a good hug from a sweet new Southern friend (wink wink). One look at this shoot and you'll know that its laid-back, comfortable air integrates seamlessly into #TheNewSouthern. It's open, inviting, full of space but also a unique energy, and is the absolute perfect balance of newness and rustic charm.
Throughout the home, we incorporated (and suspended from the ceiling) original art on the walls for character, and I styled these great olive jars with branches and greenery to bring the lush Oregon outdoors into the space. Here and there, I created little moments to catch the eye—a sweet arrangement on the raw wood chair-turned nightstand in the bedroom, a collected moment of modern plates with vintage candle holders in the kitchen nook, and fresh blooms between the bathroom sinks.
It's projects like these that remind me just how far, literally, the aesthetic of The New Southern can reach.... and here I was in Portland, OR. These little vignettes, the warm neutrals, the light-filled space, the raw and unfinished woods...... it's all reflective of an inviting space, relaxed into the Southern influences that helped mold the Kaemingk's vision for this home.... I immediately connected to this home and when I first walked into the space, I intuitively knew the Kaemingk's had also experienced the thick summer air and creative magic brewing in the South of Charleston and Alys Beach (where they vacation) mixed in with their European inspirations. They confirmed this when they shared their long list of Southern architectural and design influences. I felt at home although I was 2,400 thousand miles away.