Julie’s Cozy & Vibrant Revisited

updated Dec 19, 2019

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Name: Julie Thompson
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 410 square feet
Years lived in: 4

You might remember Julie’s Cozy & Vibrant home from this year’s Small Cool contest. She was gracious enough to let us stop by and take more photos of her eye-catching place. This small space is teaming with personality, yet has a great balance of bold and calming attributes.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Julie is a real estate agent living in SE Portland. The old apartment-complex-turned-condos in which she resides is a perfect fit for her vintage style. Not shying away from vibrant color, Julie has managed to tastefully pull off a bright pink dining room.

In order to fully utilize her tiny kitchen she remodeled it and replaced the never-used dishwasher with a tiny fridge for one, thus freeing up the space where the old full size fridge was. She replaced the original built-in ice box with custom built cabinets that mimic the other original cabinetry. She was also able to salvage some vintage cabinetry from another unit in the building that was undergoing a remodel. Though the space is fairly sparse (neat as a pin) there are several thoughtful details that didn’t go unnoticed. Lots of sweet little vintage planters sport succulents throughout her home. Many of the paintings that grace the walls are family portraits that contribute to the overall cozy vibe.

This space is a great example of a person conveying their own sense of style into their home. Julie has a couple of blogs where she muses on style and things she likes in Portland: iheartlivinginportland and iheartfancyshoes!

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My style: vintage mostly, with a dash of whimsy and rather bold

Inspiration: glamorous silver screen stars, grandmas, Agatha Christie films, and crafters

Favorite Element: I think my place has good bones. My kitchen is my favorite room.

Biggest Challenge: Finding furniture that is to scale with the size of my rooms.

What Friends Say: Your place looks just like you!

Biggest Embarrassment: The cadet heater in the wall. I wish the building had old radiators. They’re much cuter!

Proudest DIY: Removing the tracks for the awful storm windows that were mounted inside and refurbishing my steel casement windows. I’m not quite finished with that yet, but almost!

Biggest Indulgence: I try to be rather thrifty. Additionally, I prefer buying things that are made well, so if that means that I buy something that will last vs. something that I’ll have to replace in the near future, I usually will spend a little more for quality. that is a form of thriftiness, in my opinion. I guess my biggest indulgences are my white concrete countertop in the kitchen and my Caldera lavender pine cleaning products.

Best advice: Buy furniture that is made of actual wood…even if that means that it’s old and you have to paint it. Don’t be afraid to take risks!

Dream source: : This is difficult, but I choose an estate sale where the lady who lived there liked the exact same things that I do and that had fantastically reasonable prices.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Favorite shops in Portland:
Flutter, Noun & Monticello Antique Marketplace
Vintage style figure planters: Clayflower 22

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Thanks, Julie!

Images: Molly Anderson

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