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Portland OR 97232
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Archived Posts

What can I buy in Portland?

July 28, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

We had an absolute blast filming our latest series, ‘What Can I Buy?’! We decided it would be fun to take you around Portland and show you different styles of homes at different price points to get you an idea of what you can buy in this great city! While the homes here aren’t as inexpensive as say, Ohio, we are still the most affordable metropolitan area on the West Coast!

The first season of our new series is 6 episodes and we visited each of the 6 quadrants of Portland. We know 6 isn’t called a quadrant, but Portland likes to keep things weird, so let’s just go with it. You can click on any of the photos below to be taken to the page with our series video and full details on the home!

series episode 1
The Royal, SW Portland
Chown Pella, NW Portland
series episode 3
Alberta Arts, NE Portland
The Strand
The Strand, S Portland
series episode 5
Hawthorne, SE Portland
Arbor Lodge, N Portland

Jessica’s favorite property that we toured was the New York style condo in the Chown Pella building. She loved the exposed brick, open floor plan, Pearl District living, and private roof top deck! For under 1 million, that condo is truly a great deal!

Tekela’s favorite was the Royal, the stunning contemporary home in SW Portland. She loved the floor-to-ceiling pocket windows, the gorgeous open kitchen, and the location that felt like living in the treetops! At 2.25 million, it’s a bit aspirational, but a girl can dream!

We hope that you enjoyed going on this tour with us! If you want to stay up to date on everything we are doing, follow us on social media, subscribe to our Youtube channel, and/or sign up for our newsletter!

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Paint Palette

April 1, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher 1 Comment

Color is such an important part of personalizing a home. But it’s also key in making your home a space others can see themselves moving into. We know you probably have lots of extra time on your hands, so here are our 4 tips to whip your home into shape!

*Not a fan of videos? Keep scrolling for the written version!*

Today we are going to be talking with you all about the power of paint and how it can make a huge impact in the home selling process for a very small investment.  We are all stuck in our homes for now, so if you have any plans for selling in the future, why not take this extra time to spruce things up?  Or, maybe you are just bored of your house colors in which case, this will provide a nice refresh!

We want our homes to feel like us, so often times we tailor them to suit our own tastes. Things like cozy furniture, bright and textured rugs, wall art and the right light fixtures can really reflect a style and personality. Sometimes we even go a little risky and do accent walls. Things like painting our children’s bedrooms to mimic night sky. or We will add a little DIY wallpaper. While these are all AMAZING ways to customize spaces, when it comes to preparing your home for resale, these colorful wall colors can really start to restrict your buyer pool. If you’ve never tried selling a home with bright orange walls, then you probably don’t even know the power a simple color change can make. We want to do everything we can to sell your home as quickly as possible. 

The good news is that a fresh coat of paint can change everything.  Here are our top 4 tips! 

Tip 1: Your Door

 First things first, let’s consider your front door. It’s a smaller project and might offer you a little more creativity. You have probably seen black, gray and white doors, but this is actually where we want to see a pop of color.  If you have a lighter palette of colors on your home, try a rich navy blue or vibrant red.  If you have a dark color palette, like a grey or navy, try a bright color like sunny yellow or a lively teal.  You want to wow people before they even get inside. 

Tip 2: Keep it Uniform

Secondly, When it comes to interior walls, the trend here is to keep everything flowing with a neutral color. The idea is to create a blank canvas to help people envision themselves living there. You also want to think of it like flooring… We want it to be uniform throughout the home. Choose a neutral that you love.  You don’t have to carry that color through the whole home, just make sure that every room is in the same color family. You can do slightly lighter versions of the color in the bedrooms and hallway, and slightly darker version in your dining room or family room.  Exceptions to this are your smaller, tighter spaces like bathrooms without natural light. Those will benefit from whiter brighter paint that helps bounce light around and make the room appear wider and taller.

Tip 3: Keep it Neutral

Now that we know the look we’re going for, let’s talk color. The biggest trends right now are any and all whites, soft grays, and taupe. These might not seem like exciting choices, but they are all incredible popular. And that’s probably because they are so versatile and suit a variety of house styles from modern to traditional. Here you can see the colors that Sherwin Williams sells the most of, notice a trend?  If you hate the idea of painting everything white and grey, go for a greyed out version of your favorite color. Blue-greys will still look neutral but offer a bit more color and personality. 

Tip 4: Know your finishes

Lastly, another thing about paint is that not all textures are created equal. Usually when you go to Home Depot, Lowes or your favorite local home improvement store, you will be able to select a finish. Keep in mind the location of the room that you’re painting. Since kitchen’s are such a busy part of a home, go with a satin or semi-gloss finish.  Bathrooms should be in a semi-gloss or gloss, and all the other rooms should be in an eggshell finish.  

We have seen it many times, beautiful homes go on the market with crazy colors. Prospective buyers just can’t see past them.  Having a realtor that understands the current trends is more important than ever.  We can’t currently come to you, but, if you need some help picking out colors, we are happy to do a video chat and give you some tips. Just reach out to us!

Bullard

February 20, 2020 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher 1 Comment

Hot spot of the week is the wonderful Bullard, a downtown brunch through dinner locale ‘where Texas meets Oregon’.

The first thing we noticed upon entering for a recent brunch visit was the cozy study/ sitting room at the entrance. It wasn’t something I would have anticipated right inside the front door of a Tex-Mex place, but it set the tone nicely for what to expect at this unexpected spot. You will have to head over there for a cocktail to see what I mean, as I neglected to snap a pic.

We started with some delicious brunch cocktails. A grapefruit mimosa, a bellini-esque concoction, and a Pimm’s and peach drink that was marvelous. Of course, after the first round we switched to a bottle of delicious bubbles to share!

bullard cocktails 
Portland Hot spot

Something I love about my people is that they are always down to share several things and to ‘over-order’ when we are trying out a new place. In this case we ordered 4 brunch entrees and took home several leftovers. The Shrimp and Grits were more of a shrimp and polenta cake combo with roasted garlic, chili, and a poached egg and was very tasty. The Loaded Hashbrowns are a must-get as a share for the table, and they really are loaded! We also enjoyed some fried chicken tacos and some crazily fluffy flapjacks with smoked butter and maple.

Our service was excellent and friendly and we are already planning a visit ro try out the dinner menu! Have you been to try out Bullard yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

Check out the website and full menu Here

Coquine

July 29, 2019 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

This week we decided to treat ourselves to something extraordinary. I have had Coquine on my “must try” restaurant list since it was named restaurant of the year in 2016. It has remained one of the highest rated restaurants in town year over year and it did not disappoint.

We chose to do the 7 course chef’s menu to get the best idea of what offerings the James Beard nominee had. Everything we tried was fresh, seasonal and full of flavor. One of the biggest surprises of the night for me was our very first salad. There were fresh sugar snap peas, spring greens, black sesame seeds and toasted nori all topped with shaved Oregon wasabi. the wasabi gave a unique bite to the very crisp salad.

We continued on with a calamari salad with fresh radishes and cucumbers and a lovely piece of halibut with oyster mushrooms and herb oil. We continued on with a pasta with a rabbit ragu that was my favorite dish of the night, multiple small desserts, and the cutest candy tray.

To end the night we had to try one of their famous cookies. The smoked almond, salted caramel and chocolate chip cookie was as delicious as it sounds. It is no surprise that they won cookie of the year. You can even order these cookies in advance, or just get one to go! We will definitely be back to this incredible restaurant!

Where do you think we should try next? Let us know in the comments!

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