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Name: Kirsten and Kyle Nieman
Location: NE Portland, Oregon
Years lived in: almost 4

Kristen is a home decor maven with an eye for upcycling and reclaiming cast away items from Craigslist, garage sales and friends. Her home is relaxed and beautiful with a predominate palette of grayish tones, whites, neutrals and pops of yellow. Join us for tea and a tour of this 1925 Portland, Oregon bungalow.

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Kristen's interest in decor and styling is apparent in every room of her home. She carefully tends to her vignettes and strategically swaps things in and out with the season. This home also exudes a slightly grown up vibe, a nice change from many young homeowners who are seduced by the price and modern look of IKEA. While remodeling over the past three years, the couple has tried to retain the charming details of the home: living and dining room built-ins, crystal door knobs, wood floors, old windows and crown molding, while bringing some rooms up to date, like their gorgeous kitchen. The home has great bones, a nice backyard and is situated a block from one of Portland's best-loved parks. The couple can walk or bike to some of the best spots in town.

Kristen's blog, Restored Style, is an excellent resource for designers and DIYers. She showcases many of her home improvements projects through easy to follow how-tos and before and after columns. Kristen's creativity and sparkle lie in her ability to make the best of what she's got, transforming objects with just a little effort, TLC and style. It's inspiring to be around someone who takes such pride in her little bungalow.

Re-Nest Survey:

Our style: Our home is filled with a mixture of vintage finds and upcycled furniture items with a few classic pieces thrown into the equation. Overall, we are drawn to curious goods.

Inspiration: If you love it, you can find a home for it. I'm inspired by things that speak to me, as well as numerous blogs, local vintage stores, fun fabrics and making a lot out of a little.

Favorite Element: Such a tough decision, but I'd have to go with our kitchen island. It unites two rooms and is ideal for parties and gatherings. It has hosted many late night chats, family potluck dinners, and often times, I use it as my makeshift desk. It's versatile and really works hard for us.

Biggest Challenge: Keeping our small home clutter-free. Even if a few items are out of place, our house appears messy. This forces us to think about storage and organization when purchasing furniture and arranging our spaces.

What Friends Say: I'm sure some of our friends think we are DIY crazy, considering we've repainted a few rooms nearly 3 times now. It's hard to find that perfect paint color! What I hope friends say about our home is that it's inviting and warm. I also hope they'd say that our home reflects us and our personalities.

Proudest DIY: Most of our DIYs aren't very glamorous, so I'm going to choose the sewing table we found on Craigslist. We refinished the table and painted it a warm white, and now it serves as our entry way table. It has style and character, and it isn't something we could have ever ordered from a big-box retailer.

Biggest Indulgence: Our custom built Rejuvenation lights throughout the house. Each light has been perfectly handcrafted for our little home, and the lights look as if they've been here since our home was built in 1926.

Best Advice: LIVE in your home. Do the renovations now, and not right before you put your house up for sale. Enjoy your hard work before it's too late!

Green Elements/Initiatives:

All of our appliances are energy efficient and a number of our furniture pieces are upcycled. Craigslist and vintage stores are my best friends.

Resources:

Hardware:
• Sink: Kohler (model discontinued)
• Faucet: Elements of Design (model discontinued)
• Cabinet hardware: Gatehouse satin nickel 1.25 mushroom knob from Lowes and gatehouse satin nickel 2.5 cup pull: Lowes

Furniture:
• Bed frame: Craigslist find
• White end table: garage sale find
• Blue end table: garage sale find
• Dresser: IKEA
• Black jewelry table: garage sale find
• End tables: IKEA
• Shelves: wood from Portland's Rebuilding Center
• Dining room farmhouse table: built locally
• Black dining chairs: Craigslist
• White dining chairs: IKEA
• White console table: Pottery Barn
• Living room brown leather chair: Target
• Wood end table: garage sale
• Sofa: West Elm
• Living room coffee table: Crate & Barrel
• TV Console: Target
• White entry table: Craigslist
• Black entry component/shelves: made my a local woodworker
• Kitchen table: craigslist
• Tolix chairs: Industry West
• White hutch: hand-me-down piece
• White bench: garage sale
• Kitchen cabinets: DoveTail Custom Woodworks
• Kitchen countertops: black absolute honed 18 X 26 granite tile from Portland Direct Tile & Marble
• Maple wood butcher block: Dovetail Custom Woodworks
• Kitchen backsplash: white subway tile reclaimed from: The Rebuilding Center

Accessories:
• Bedding: Pottery Barn
• Jewelry frames: handmade

Lighting:
• Arc lamp: Pottery Barn (in living room)
• Pendant fixtures in kitchen: Rhone 4 inch classic pendant with schoolhouse opal 8-inch and 10-inch shades: Rejuvenation
• Lighting over kitchen table: Fred Meyer schoolhouse pendant (not sold online)
• Jute Roman Shades in kitchen: Target

Rugs and Carpets:
• Guest room rug: Pier1 Imports
• Brown rug: Pier1 Imports
• Living room rug: Crate & Barrel

Window Treatments:
• Yellow curtains: Premier Prints (bathroom)
• White curtains: Target (living room)
• Kitchen drapes: hand sewn, fabric by Free Spirit (HDVP07 SourLime)

Artwork:
• Dining Room Artwork: DIY prints ordered off Etsy

Paint:
• Living room: Benjamin Moore's Copley Grey
• Kitchen wall paint: Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray HC-105
• Kitchen cabinet paint: Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17

Flooring:
• Kitchen: American Olean, St. Germain Gris

• Visit Kirsten's Blog: Restored Style
• Visit Kirsten and Kyle's Kitchen on The Kitchn: Kitchen Tour

(Thanks, Kirsten and Kyle!)

Interested in sharing your home with Re-Nest? Contact our editors through our Green Tour Submission Form.

(Images: Leela Cyd Ross)

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