Designer Spotlight – Jessica Helgerson

If I had to, scratch that, if I had the ultimate pleasure of hiring an interior designer, myself, I would put Jessica Helgerson at the top of a very short list. EVERY SINGLE THING she and her team does is beautiful and just dripping with talent. Of course I’d probably want to furnish and style it myself, but man, I’d love to move into a space that has been designed by her. Over the next few months I want to feature the designers and artists that let us shoot their work/homes, because their work is a huge part of why this book is a success. So without further ado please feast your eyes on Jessica’s work.

This house is in Portland, Oregon and had I known I would have begged her to shoot this house for the book while we were up there. The tile, the island, the mix of old world and modern amenities … very few can pull this off without it looking try-hard. 

This house was designed a few years ago, too, before the whole cement tile craze began. Please note the wood cabinet inside the black built-in. Details, folks. This is why you hire a designer. 

For more on that space go here: Alhambra Kitchen

Then there is modern farmhouse that holds my family-friendly-home dreams (one level, lots of clean simple lines, soft finishes and oh-so-open).

For more of that house go here: Brush Prairie House

This space goes more masculine and urban. I’m not sure I’ll ever have the balls to paint a ceiling black, but Jessica does (and continues to).

Typically interior designers portfolios have mediocre photos that have been distorted and certainly no styling was involved. But most, if not all, of Jessica’s work has been either shot for a magazine or she had professionally shot by someone good (not your typical real estate photographer). The end result is seeing a well designed AND shot AND styled space which is rare and refreshing.

To see more of this space head over to here: NW 13th Avenue Loft

I have dreams/fantasies about living in a mid-century style house in Portland (which the trees look to be Oregon-native), so yah, this would work.

I don’t know what wood is on the walls (below) but that is how you do it. Light and simple, but irregular enough to look unique and not cheap.

See more of this house here: Saul Zaik House

This house, below, is unbelievably adorable and happy. I’m pretty sure this was years before shiplap swept the nation.

It’s a teeny tiny farmhouse on Sauvie Island outside of Portland, Oregon and she left enough character and charm to make it a total dream, but added enough modern amenities to make sure it makes sense in 2016.

For more go here: Tiny House

Lastly, is the house that we shot for the book, in Portland. This house is an old library from the early 1900’s that she turned into a home for a darling couple.

It’s striking and dramatic, at the same time totally homey and inviting. Again with the balls to paint things black. Kudos. We were only in this house for one day but all day long we would find new things to fall in love with and all of us (designers, assistants, photographers) were insanely impressed. 

It quickly became one of my top 3 houses in the book and in my dreams.

For even more photos of that house (Including the bedroom) go here: Library House

Thank you so much Jessica Helgerson, for letting us feature your work in the book. The first round of printing left off the crediting which was nauseating (thank God there have been 5 rounds since), so I want to make sure that all of you who have that first edition of the book know that Jessica and her team designed this house, and she did it beautifully. To see her whole portfolio go here. 

****Photo Sources: Alhambra Kitchen, Brush Prarie House, NW 13th Ave Loft, Saul Ziek House, and Tiny House photography by Lincoln Barbour, Library House photography by David Tsay