Tommy and Anna Spann, their daughters Matilda and Mila, and their three small dogs recently moved from a small vintage house in Southeast Portland to a modern home in the Burlingame neighborhood of Southwest. The family had outgrown their smaller space, and also looked forward to the low-maintenance aspect of new construction. “I was working from home at our last house, and the house didn’t fit our lives,” says Tommy, who runs a consulting firm. “We moved here mostly for the house- It’s a much better space, not just for my office, but also for living.”
From the exterior, the house looks contemporary, colorful and inviting- all traits that are echoed inside the home. A small entryway and hallway lead to a bright, open great room where the family’s kitchen and living room are bathed in natural light from a wall of windows. The light and airy feel of the room was incredibly enticing to the family, “The house is designed well; it feels open, and that open model helps create more togetherness.”
Shortly after settling in to their new home, the family opted to hire Kristen Siefkin of Interior Design Alchemy to help them with the main room. “When we would have people over, everyone would always congregate in the kitchen. In the living room, we just had one couch, and it was pushed into the corner and focused on the TV, and it wasn’t really a good gathering area. One of the goals when we designed this room was to have a space where we can have people sit down and have a conversation.”
Perch thought sitting down on the gorgeous turquoise Charlie sectional and having a conversation sounded like a great idea!
Here’s what we asked the Spann Family:
Describe your home in three words.
Comfortable, practical, bright!
When i'm on my sofa, I'm usually _____.
"Watching TV!,” exclaims Matilda. Anna adds, “We play family games, that’s why we got this big table! And if I’m home and need to do some work, I sit on the sofa. We snuggle the dogs a lot here, too."
What's the element of your home that you love most?
We love how light it is, all year round. It never feels dark or dreary.
How have you incorporated your favorite color into your space? "I had nothing to do with choosing it, but the peacock-green is my company’s color!” says Tommy. “It’s also the color of our old house,” adds Anna, who is attracted to bright pops of color.
What is next on your home's wish list?
“Our bedroom! We’ve done the girls’ bedrooms, and we’ll probably just do it ourselves. We’ve already done the painting, so it’s just a matter of wall art and furniture, and we have a pretty good idea.
Why did you choose Perch?
After we moved in, we worked with Kristen and she's the one who introduced us to Perch. We all went there together, and we all sat on the sofas and went through the fabrics. It was pretty easy, actually!”
“One of the goals when we designed this room was to have a space where we can have people sit down and have a conversation.”
“It was important to be able to sit and feel,” says Anna of her Perch Furniture shopping experience.”
Line, texture and vibrant color all work well together in the Spann home.
“We had looked a lot before Perch, and had a pretty good idea of what we wanted when we showed up. When we went in, and found we could customize everything, and we saw the prices, and we saw the options; we thought, let’s just do that!”
The best spot in the house!