“As my home turns 100 this year, it is a testament to a century of architectural wonders,” says interior designer Anna-Marie Spence. “I’m excited to celebrate these with layered, eclectic furnishings and vintage treasures from this era and beyond.”
Her home is tucked away behind a large Pacific Northwest fir tree in the King’s Heights neighborhood of Northwest Portland. “I was particularly drawn to the expansion of the first floor, where each room offers a view of either Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, or the downtown city skyline,” she recalls. “Then, there were the sunsets and sunrises, along with the views of storms rolling in on a spring or fall day. I instantly fell in love with the natural light and brightness of the home in a city that can be rainy and cloudy.”
Built in 1926, the exterior gives the impression of a Tudor-style home, but the interior takes a surprising turn with its Italianate details, including arched windows and doorways, a domed ceiling in the original sunroom, and the staircase landing. There are also subtle Mediterranean influences, including textured plaster walls throughout the entry and up the stairwell. “Initially, I was tempted to change these textured walls, thinking they looked outdated and that the late ’80s were just around the corner,” Anna-Marie admits. “However, after some time, I realized that this was part of the original design. It was from 1926, and it felt more fitting and better complemented the old European feel I was trying to capture.”
Anna-Marie set out to furnish the space for her family of three—and while she hopes to eventually update spaces such as the kitchen and basement—she notes that it is timeless enough to live with as is. It’s an approach she takes with her client projects. “I often start client projects by playing around with fabric patterns and wallpapers that complement the home’s architectural motifs,” she shares. “We can fall in love with the perfect wallpaper pattern and then build from there.”
This was the same approach in her dining room, where wallpaper was the first step in dialing in the look and feel of the first floor. “After a lot of thought, my husband and I chose Angels Trumpet by Cole & Son,” she says. “The dark green backdrop with the rich, creamy floral motif and distinct edges gives off a Mediterranean-meets-Latin feel in a classical English stripe!” A modern concrete table is paired with rich redwood leather-upholstered chairs found in a Southeast Portland antique store. “These may be older than our home, but we use them daily, even after repairing one after my second-grader’s knee wore out the final piece of leather,” she laughs. “It is always a story for whichever guest gets the honor of sitting in this chair.”
The Italian Murano light fixture above was snagged at an estate sale down the street. “I offered to dismantle it piece by piece, pack up each piece of glass, and carry it down the alleyway to its new home,” Anna-Marie laughs. “I was thrilled. The blown glass edges mimicked the edging in the Angels Trumpet wallpaper; and while I may be the only one who noticed this detail, it brought the space together in a way everyone could feel, even if they didn’t notice why.”
The last piece of the puzzle in the dining room was a family heirloom. “I made the phone call to my parents, and said, ‘I am ready for the Bavarian ivory chest,” she shares. “I subconsciously knew that this ivory chest was all part of the plan while creating the dining room palette. This family heirloom was a childhood favorite.”
The living room features a dentil-molding fireplace, original to the home, with a lion’s head motif flanking each side. “The tile is the infamous Batchelder tile that migrated up here from California,” Anna-Marie says. Given the room’s shape, it lent itself to multiple seating areas. “Narrowing down a fabric palette and furniture layout was the most difficult part! Even for me! I came up with seven different fabric palettes. I became my own worst client with decision-making.”
Eventually, the space took form with a vintage sofa found at the old Lafayette Schoolhouse outside of Portland. “I dug through and climbed over piles of furniture to come across this diamond in the rough,” Anna-Marie recalls. “My husband and I grabbed it for next to nothing, and then I had it reimagined and reupholstered in John Derian’s English Tea Rose fabric.”
Next, they wanted a piece to display their cocktail glass collection. “We both fell in love with the story of the Frenchie, an early 19th-century French rosewood hutch,” the designer notes. “We sourced it from a local vintage furniture importer who tells the best stories about each piece he finds. Dating it to the early 1800s, we can only imagine its origin story and travels before it finally made it into our home. The dark rosewood finish and vintage dining chairs were the perfect tie-in to both the living and dining spaces.”
Anna-Marie admits the home may never feel ‘done.’ “But I have been taking my time by slowly curating different mediums of artwork for our home,” she reflects. “We have Italian lithographs, vintage jazz festival posters, a first-edition Picasso print, and original oil paintings. Art is a slow curation that reflects your personality, style, and interests. I will be ever evolving.”
