The last couple of days here in Portland have been absolutely gorgeous! Sunny with a light breeze – it’s the prefect conditions for a spin on the bike! Cyclists are always seen in Portland but as the rain begins to stop, more and more people hit the streets on their bikes – including me! While it can be hard to pass up my charged up little Vespa, nothing beats a ride around the lake on my beloved bicycle.
Like most bike enthusiasts, I always have my eye on the latest and greatest bikes on the market…this one is drool worthy and so sleek…don’t you think?
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Meet the Vanmoof! Fun to say and even more fun to ride this sexy urban bike is aiming to be the “car” of the future and might end up on my Christmas list…
Oh, and did you know that tomorrow is the official Bike to Work Day? Yup…so now you really have a good excuse to dig that bike out of the garage!
Here is a little sunshine & bike inspiration round up…
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Hope the sun is shining in your city!
p.s. If you are a local and want more info on biking in Pdx check out this.
bikes, Community, downsizing, Portland Love, Transportation
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bicycle, bike, candace kramer, community, downsize, downsize my space, downsizing, environmental, lifestyle, oregon, portland, transportation, vanmoof, vespa
In Portland, the first Thursday of every month is celebrated in the stylish Pearl District. Galleries, pubs, restaurants and design studios leave their doors open late to welcome Portlanders seeking out inspiration, delicious snacks and a glass of free wine! What a fabulous combination! I was in the crowd last week, my design radar was on and I found myself enamored with a new interior design firm – bright designlab. bright has over 25 years of experience in the arts of interior design, graphic design and architectural photography, plus they are LEED accredited! Gotta love that plus, who couldn’t like a company with these values:
work hard and be nice to people . design through simplicity and elegance of form . focus intently . behave with integrity above all else . always seek out beauty . never stop growing and learning new things . treat creativity like breathing.
Check out their simply gorgeous retail space…flooded with natural light and a symphony of textures, you can really feel the creative vibe in here!
bright’s partnership with local cabinetry company, Hammer and Hand, is evident and their stunning installations are seen throughout the space.
I absolutely love these retro, bright fridges from Smeg appliances! Perfect scale for smaller kitchens too! They were stocked with beer for First Thursday!
What a wonderful space!
Hope your week is going well!
architecture, Community, downsizing, Events, interior design, kitchen design, Portland Love, Resources, Small Space Design
| appliances, bright designlab, candace kramer, community, design, downsize, downsize my space, downsizing, environmental, environmental design, first thursday, fridge, green, hammer and hand, interior design, pearl district, portland, portland oregon, retro, small space, small space design, smeg
Being completely inspired by my last post, I couldn’t resist doing a pre-fab encore. Check out Homb - a fantastic line of pre-fab homes designed using a 100 sq. ft. triangular system. Go here to view more plans. It turns out, that while squares and rectangles are perfectly fine for building…triangles are way cooler! This ingenious line is created by the brilliant marriage of two amazing companies: Skylab Architecture and Method Homes – both committed to designing spectacular architecture AND respecting the environment – gotta love that! Look at how beautiful these Homb structures are…
Aren’t they stunning? Would you consider living in a pre-fab home?
p.s. Wanna see what the Skylab Architects are up to in Portland? Check it out here!
All images via Homb
architecture, downsizing, environmental design, interior design, pre-fabricated
| candace kramer, design, downsize, downsize my space, downsizing, environmental, environmental design, green, method homes, modular, pre-fabricated home, Real Estate, skylab architecture, small spaces
Green building, as you know is something I love. Recycled, re-purposed, re-used, I can’t get enough! So, when I found this fantastic California based, green, pre-fab home company – Logical Homes, I had to share some of their plans with you. Sleek and modern, they pride themselves on filling their structures with light, clean lines and plenty of feel good, earth friendly building materials.
With a huge range of plans, there is a home suitable for everyone. These structures also make great secondary buildings such as an office, studio or guest house!
This first plan (The Kara) is a sweet 320 square feet…with a lovely expanse of outdoor living (an additional 270 sq. ft.)…
This next one (The Aegean) provides a little more wiggle room coming in at 640 sq. ft. and I just love that strong cantilevered roof!
And the big sister to the Kara is the Kara 1512, providing 1512 sq. ft of living space on two levels. Check out the translucent walls of the staircase – so cool!
Pre-fab fabulous, right? To check out all their plans, visit their website here.
Could you live in one of these? I think I could!
All images via logicalhomes.com
architecture, downsizing, pre-fabricated, Small Space Design
| architecture, california, candace kramer, design, downsize, downsize my space, downsizing, environmental, environmental design, green, interior design, lifestyle, logical homes, pre-fab, pre-fabricated home, small space, small space design, space planning
Heavy title, I know…but it’s something cities like Portland, has to consider. I’m biased but the fact is our city is incredibly beautiful, rich in resources and available land. We can count on an influx of our population in the future and people will continue to flock to the Great Northwest – SO – how do we plan for it?
I recently attended one of the Bright Lights Discussions, hosted by Randy Gragg, Editor and chief at Portland Monthly Magazine and presented with the City Club of Portland. The topic: Climate Change and the Next Great Migration. (read more here) The fascinating forum took place at the fabulous Jimmy Mak’s club and was led by natural resource and transportation expert, Gail Achterman.
It was a full house and Gail held everyone in thrall with her passionate delivery. She pointed out that we can use this imminent population increase as an opportunity to restructure our land-use planning and reevaluate how we are conserving our natural resources.
With climate change, rapid growth and the threat of urban sprawl, now, more than ever, it is time to think creatively and plan accordingly so that Portland and its surrounding areas continue to flourish. Downsizing and using our land more efficiently make sense! Creating communities that offer public transportation along with eco-conscious designed residential and commercial spaces is key.
It’s tough living in a gorgeous place and it may take a little extra foresight to keep it that way…but someone’s gotta do it! I’m so glad that our city seems up for the challenge!
To read more about what is on the drawing board for the Willamette Valley go here. I highly recommend these monthly discussions, if you’d like to sign up for the Bright Lights newsletter so you don’t miss out go here and for more info visit the Bright Lights Facebook page here.
Get informed about the urban planning in your city and let your voice be heard.
Images via here.
Community, downsizing, environmental design, Events
| bright lights, candace kramer, City club of Portland, community, design, downsize, downsize my space, downsizing, environmental, environmental design, Gail Achterman, lifestyle, oregon, portland, portland monthly magazine, Randy Gragg
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