Some restaurants have a style that you immediately want a part of and who cares what the food tastes like (well, within reason). There are a lot of lovely restaurants in the Denver area right now that are filled with dark, reclaimed wood, bare bulbs (I do like the look – I am not knocking this!) and canning jar water glasses, but I saw this restaurant recently (Tusk in Portland) and wanted to bring it home immediately and insert it into my own tiny kitchen. Here’s the restaurant inspiration for you followed by a few kitchens that have a little of this look that I am really digging right now.
Pale paint, lighter wood, warm brass accents and Mick Jagger floating in a pool – so wonderful. Interiors are by the awesome JH Interior Design out of Portland. (Source)I like the pale green metal on the chairs and pale blue on the slatted walls – great sconces too! (Source)
Here’s a few kitchen inspiration photo’s that have some of the vibe I get from this restaurant. For all of these I would add a plant, cool art and a pretty sconce – but that’s the decorator in me.
I love the pale wood and natural light. I’m also a big fan of the task light in the kitchen. As an aside, that angle on the wall on the right is not something you see everyday. (Source)Pale and simple – the floors are unfinished oak. I love minimalism but I would probably junk this up in a hurry if it was mine and I would have fun doing it.(Source)Incredible architecture here – is that a giant pivot door?? I love the light and airy industrial, unfitted kitchen with touches of pale greenish blue (although I have a strange aversion to that color of KitchenAid mixer). (Source)Simple and refreshing. A cool piece of art in this room and a rug would just about do it for me. (Source)I like the finish of the wood floors here with the color of the tile. (Source)Super bright white (!) is warmed up by the interesting pendants, rustic stools and natural light. (Source)
My interpretation of this design style is: natural light, warm metals, pale wood, pale colors and edgy art. It’s a refreshing California/Greek inspired kitchen style (with my images leaning a bit Scandinavian) that works in sunny, yet snowy, Colorado – especially with a soupçon of rustic wood thrown in. Yes, I do realize that whole sentence sounds pretentious.
Because I’ve been listening to this song again recently and the restaurant is in Portland, here’s “Portland Oregon” from Loretta Lynn featuring Jack White:
Laura is a Denver Interior Designer who runs an Interior Design Studio based in sunny Colorado with a strong commitment to livable and interesting interiors. She also runs The Colorado Nest, a Denver blog about Design, Art and Life in the Mountain West and co-hosts the book podcast "The Inside Flap" on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play.
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