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Giving gifts is fun, but not when you're out of ideas. So we thought we'd share a few of our local favorites. Enjoy and hope you have a terrific holiday season! ••• SEEK & SWOON • travel-inspired throws Modern and geometric, Seek & Swoon throws are lots of fun. We're particularly taken by Sol inspired by Madrid. MANTEL • curated housewares Mantel has a great selection of sleek, minimal gifts with something for just about everyone, including these cork and wood candle holders by Melanie Abrantes. CANOE • beautiful + functional everyday objects There is much to love at Canoe and their objects are all designed to be used + last a lifetime. Check out their gifts for kids, including these

Like many Portlanders, our clients for this project live in a historic home in need of an update. While they love the character and details of their 100-year old craftsman house, they realized that the rooms could look and work better and be more coherent. So, they got in touch with the Introspecs team to reimagine their home. LISTENING CAREFULLY As usual, we begin with a home visit and a leisurely conversation about needs, desires, and constraints. We ask lots of questions and look carefully at your space because it helps us create the best possible solutions. We want you to love how your new space looks. But equally important we want it to be perfectly functional

Happy summer solstice from the Introspecs team! Hope you enjoy the longest day of the year. In honor of the solstice, we're sharing some ideas for outdoor lighting, in case you want to linger outside even longer. It's a great time of year to enliven your outdoor living spaces and lighting can have a huge impact on functionality and atmosphere. Above: Elegant and simple. Balad Lamp from Fermob available at yliving.com in standing and portable versions. Above: A perfect sphere of light. Globe Portable LED Lamp available at DWR.com Above: Extra special string lights. From Pigeon Toe Ceramics, Portland, OR. All the best wishes for a terrific summer!

  We’d like to share some modern outdoor furniture inspiration in honor of summer. It's a great time to rethink your outdoor spaces so you'll be able to spend more time outside socializing and enjoying the long summer days. Here are a few ideas that span quite a few styles and that will work well in many outdoor spaces. Classic modern lines by way of Mexico. Acapulco Lounge Chair (shown above) by Mexa Design. Photo: Mexa Design. Delicate, leggy, and a time-tested classic. The Fermob Bistro Chair (1889) (shown above) is available at Rejuvenation. Photo: Rejuvenation. Fun colors, stackable, and a low profile = perfect for sitting around a fire. Spark Lounge Chair (shown above) by Knoll. available at

  We're thrilled to have our work featured on Houzz! As you may already know, Houzz is a terrific and growing hub for design and architecture. Our Modern Farmhouse was included in a feature on living rooms that focus on the fireplace. For this project, we helped a young couple redesign their Craftsman-style home, updating its look and enhancing its functionality. Allisen explains, " One of the things that makes this space so successful is the natural layering and visual balance through the different finish selections.” You can read more about the project details on Houzz. Save

Do you need something to help you relax during the busy holiday season? Maybe something productive AND fun? How about a few holiday design DIYs! Crafting is a great way to keep your hands and mind occupied; which can help to reduce stress and increase motivation around busy times of the year. Plus you can cozy up to a fire with a glass of wine and play holiday tunes while you work! Introspecs has handpicked a few stylish crafts to help you get started. We collected most of these DIY projects from Pinterest (you can find the Introspecs’ DIY board here) and all of these make great holiday décor items as well as homemade gifts. We

It has been a busy summer thus far! In June, Kelsey had the opportunity to attend NeoCon 2015 and view the newest trends hitting the corporate interiors market. Here are her notes on what is new and what to watch out for: There is so much to see at NeoCon (in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago) and the whole experience is sort of a whirlwind of seeing products and meeting product reps and then going to social hours. There is so much to see that it is almost impossible to remember everything! But there were some overall trends and some neat products that stood out. STANDING IS THE NEW SITTING: A new phrase being used in the corporate

Following up on our color theory post from last month about light and color systems, this month we are posting about color terminology and color schemes. This post focuses on the practical application of color in interior space and helps illustrate why we are drawn to certain combinations when it comes to picking out color! The Principles of Color – Basic Terms: The Munsell color system specifies colors based on three color dimensions: hue, value (or lightness), and chroma (color purity). This system was the first to separate color into three dimensions and visually diagram it and is used in color theory and education. In the diagram below, Hue moves cylindrically around the vertical access of Value

We wanted to share some inspiration and eye-candy with you all for this post and decided to feature a growing trend in interior design: patterned, dynamic flooring. There are many ways to do this with carpet, tile, wood, luxury vinyl tile or by using a blend of several materials. Patterned floors work well in otherwise neutral spaces and give a room a hint of the eclectic, funky and unique. It can also be used as a way to highlight spaces within open plan homes (like a permanent area rug). We really love a fun floor for bathrooms; since they are a small spaces and usually informal which means you can have fun with them! Check

[vc_row fullwidth="yes" css=".vc_custom_1471897434269{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: repeat !important;}"][vc_column][vc_column_text] (image from huffingtonpost.com) Color is an incredibly important part of the interior environment. Color choice can change the overall mood, affect balance and spatial harmony and create emphasis in a space. Color can also have an effect on people who use the built environment: it can make people calmer, more active or can act as a way-finding/navigation element that guides users through space. Because color is so important to interior design, we will be featuring a three-part color theory blog series: first introducing light and color systems (part I), followed by color theory terminology and schemes (part II) and ending with