Pacific NW Magazine Article

We had the pleasure of being featured in Pacific NW Magazine in the Sunday August 17th Seattle Times. Rebecca Teagarden did a wonderful job of writing the article and Benjamin Benschneider took great photos of my space.

You can click on the link or just scroll and read!

Small downtown condo lives luxuriously large

“I brought the office home during the recession,” says interior designer Paula Devon Raso. “It’s in the bedroom. And the bedroom came out here. It took quite a bit of juggling around.” And judging by the surroundings, Raso is quite an accomplished juggler.

By Rebecca Teagarden

Pacific NW associate editor

Nico, the current house Pekingese, relaxes on the linen cushion of an Oly Studio occasional chair. The antique daybed serves as a sofa while preserving the view. It is also used as seating for dinners at the table, left. Walls appear golden, but Raso calls them khaki with a creamy yellow.

There are many reasons to downsize.

For interior designer Paula Devon Raso it was a bum knee and a Pekingese with a bad back.

So, in 2003 Raso sold her two-story, 1,000-square-foot town house in the 98 Union building in downtown Seattle and took a 750-square-foot one-bedroom, one-floor unit there.
She gutted it and set about doing what interior designers do, carving out space and storage where none seemed possible, disguising ductwork and throwing light into even the deepest passages.

She painted and primped and made it her own; walls the color of a child’s blush in the bathroom, the rest of it old gold. There are cherubs on those walls and hanging from the bathroom chandelier, candles glimmering from tall holders set on the floor, antique silver trays, cups and bowls out and about, antique mirrors, etchings, drapes that puddle. Whitewashed oak floors cede to the kitchen’s honed limestone, substantial marble counters there adding old-world splendor to that compact space.

Outside, Raso turned the narrow wrap deck into a formal hedge garden, bay trees as green exclamation points. Beyond, in front-row views, lie Puget Sound, Alki Point, the Olympic Mountains, Pike Place Market and much of the city. (She has no need of the Great Wheel. Her view is better.)

When Raso finished, she thought her place was just about perfect, European glamour wrapped in a small gift box.

And then it was 2007. Everything shifted.

“Once I got the bed in here, that was something,” Raso says. And by “in here” she means the living room.

“I brought the office home during the recession. It’s in the bedroom. And the bedroom came out here. It took quite a bit of juggling around.”

Doesn’t show. The double bed (she sold her antique French number and bought this one at Restoration Hardware) next to the antique Italian dresser seems like the most natural thing in the world. “The silk curtains had been on the bedroom windows,” she says of her technique for separating, but not hiding the sleeping space.

“It’s been really tricky,” she says, a little weariness in her voice and Nico, the current house Pekingese, in her lap.

She takes it all in and says, “I wouldn’t call it French. The reason I hesitate is I think my love of European antiques ruins people’s perception of what I do.”

There are a few well-placed modern touches here, too. The dining table. Raso designed it; metal legs, MDF top, all treated to an antiqued golden finish.

She moved a daybed before the windows to serve as the sofa, and it does, while also keeping the view to the water wide open. Shifted, it becomes seating for three at the table.
“The designer Thomas O’Brien has his bed in his studio,” she points out. “And he uses that for his dining chairs.”

You will not find even one coaster in Raso’s home. “Oh, no. Never in this house.” Things are meant to be used and worn in, then worn out.

“With me, it’s all an evolution. What we like to say is that our work shows a timeless quality, and this holds up pretty well. Having storage (along the hallway, in double-sided cabinets in the kitchen, living room) doesn’t hurt. And the view.”

“I never would have dreamed to do this,” she says of her compressed home. “But it does work. And I’m saving at least $1,500 a month.

“I like to think of it as efficient

“A friend of mine says it’s like sleeping in a little Parisian garret.”

Rebecca Teagarden writes about architecture and design for Pacific NW magazine. Benjamin Benschneider is a magazine staff photographer

Change of Light

March is a month of transitions, changes in time, life, and light. For most Seattleites, Daylight Savings Time is a welcome relief from the endless gray.  The increase in daytime light is inspiring at the onset of spring - bursts of blooms and moments of sunshine.  In our region, the rain becomes daunting by the time March comes around,  but nature makes its debut with budding cherry blossoms, daffodils, and magnolias, plus cheery bird songs announcing the start of a brighter season.

Spring cleaning was invented for a reason, and once the cold of winter has departed, it is time to clean the house from top to bottom. Here at PDR, we've been doing a little of our own spring cleaning. We've been updating our office space with fresh paint, new furniture, and a more efficient layout (Photos will follow next month.).

After a thorough and liberating cleansing, there are several simple ways to update interiors and ring in the new season with fresh inspiration. Try exchanging pillows or their covers for lighter /brighter ones,  swapping  out wall art, and bringing out more colorful and festive china for everyday use.  Lighten the mood by rolling up heavy rugs and replacing them with sisal; or, showing off your bare floors is another easy update, along with switching heavy draperies out with something a little softer and more sheer to let the light in.  Investing in great slipcovers for primary furniture pieces has been a long time tradition in the South, and one that suits our variable climate as well. Slipcovers add a different dynamic to any room's decor and protects furniture from heat and light.

We helped a client with a variation on spring cleaning when she downsized from a downtown Seattle condo to a 400 sqft unit at Park Shore in Madison Park. The dull existing unit was transformed and freshened while maintaining the client’s personal aesthetic, allowing her to feel completely comfortable in her new space. With the exception of one additional piece of furniture, we relocated existing items. The bathroom was completely gutted so a new, aging-friendly shower could be built.  Large slip-resistant porcelain tile was used on the floor of the bathroom and a companion tile on the shower walls. Next, a vanity was designed with a stone top and under-mount sink, and the bathroom gained additional storage from a large recessed medicine cabinet.  Sconces on each side of the medicine chest, along with recessed lighting, improved visibility throughout. The kitchenette flooring continued with the same tile from the bath, and the kitchen counter tops were replaced with a limestone remnant. The client purchased a new refrigerator, and we chose a selection of updated hardware for the new cabinetry.

Although it is a small space, effective lighting was essential. Thus, the lighting plan included dimmer switches. New plush carpet and paint in the living space added to the comfortable cohesiveness.  The beautiful fabric selected for the bedcover, bed-skirt and shams was repeated on two dining chairs that made the move. This light, refreshed, well-thought out space made her lifestyle change a little easier.