Thanksgiving Wishes 11/25/2010
"He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving Comes from the heart." ~ J.A. Shedd Add Comment Barn loft - Material selections 09/18/2010
Photos of this space may be found here Red Ikea cabinets for kitchen. Stainless steel countertops and backsplash. Dragon's Breath for ceilings of kitchen and loft, truss, and bump-out wall. Shenendoah for great room ceiling and wing walls, front of kitchen wall, and upper hallway. Pumpkin Spice for great room wall with windows and sliding door, three walls in loft, and outside entry/stairwell. Corrugated tin on left stairwell wall, both band walls in great room, front of bar counter, and back wall in loft. Galvanized pipe handrail for stairs, foot rail for bar. Dal tile for hallway, kitchen and bathroom floors. Bamboo for great room, and cork for loft floor. Threshold to sliding glass door - galvanized tin. Straight grain hemlock with clear finish, galvanized flashing as casing/trim. Slight reveal. Hex screws added as detail. Fun 'n Games for bathroom wall color. Brass counter and window trim for bathroom. Possibly added above (fiberglass) shower surround to ceiling. Additional elements: - "Floating" closet / room divider wall with locking caster wheels. - Solid plank sliding barn door to bathroom. - Straight grain hemlock with clear finish as baseboards. Camper Re-Vamper 09/06/2025
I'm a firm believer in the power of paint. Case in point: the dated, drab interior of a camp trailer gets an uplifting make-over with color, texture and pattern. Detail shots City Loft in a Barn 09/02/2026
In a little over a week, I'm flying to Eastern Washington to consult on the new design of a studio apartment located on the upper floor of a barn. Love all the angles in this space. This is going to be a great project! Cove Palisades Resort - Makeover 08/03/2025
Recently, I was asked to help choose paint colors, lighting and cafe tables and chairs for the newly reopened Cove Palisades Resort marina store/cafe. I need to take some pictures of the tables and chairs, as well as the bar counter I collaborated on the design of with a local woodworker, but I have a couple before/after shots to show off. We got rid of the stark white walls, adding rich color from Yolo Colorhouse (Clay .03 and Clay .04), industrial looking light fixtures and corrugated tin accents. More photos may be found here Pool Side Bath Redo 07/24/2010
I've been asked to help redesign the pool side bathrooms at Crooked River Ranch...both the men's and women's. (Rumor has it the golf ladies refuse to use the current bathroom as they don't consider it nice enough.) The local Lions Club is taking this on as a service project. The budget is tight. Certainly, the rooms could use some color. The combination of no windows and a cement floor painted dark gray isn't helping the lack of light. I'm recommending repainting the floors a sand color, and the walls and ceilings a beachy blue; specifically Yolo Colorhouse Water .03. For both rooms, a teak bench to replace the cheap, plastic bench, and a striped shower curtain for a bit of fun. A larger mirror above the sink will help bounce more light around the room. Ideally, I'd also like to add a backsplash for a punch of color, but that may not be in the budget. These bathing beauties to adorn the walls of the women's bathroom. Actually, I'd like the bathing cap photo up high on the larger mirror with Hello Beautiful painted over the lower portion. A little positive reinforcement never hurts. The men's bathroom is smaller. Just one vintage photo for the boys. Sometimes simple designs are the best. Life and Design 07/15/2010
Years ago, I came across a design book by architect Sarah Susanka called The Not So Big House.  Susanka put into words what I had been thinking for years. She believes in designing homes “that favor the quality of its space over the quantity” not "the notion that houses should be designed to impress rather than nurture.”I’ve always loved small spaces. The home we lived in for almost 18 years was a cottage built in 1925. 840 square feet on the main floor. I loved the intimacy it provided. When we decided to move to the desert, we knew we wanted another house with a small footprint. We looked at house after house for almost 10 months. Half-way through the process, we realized moving to the most expensive part of Oregon, wanting acreage, a house, and no mortgage was going to be a problem. We had to compromise somewhere.With much grinding of teeth, we began looking at mobile homes on acreage. My husband asked me, “Can interior decorators really live in mobile homes?”Living in a trailer, with fake paneling, plastic cupboards, shag carpeting, vinyl flooring, aluminum siding and metal slider windows held absolutely no appeal to me.But after watching our formerly quiet country road in Silverton, sprout 200+ McMansions over the last 10 years, we knew we wanted the peace and quiet acreage would provide.We bought 5 acres with views of the Three Sisters (3 - 10,000'+ mountains) in Central Oregon’s High Desert. We have 300+ days of sunshine a year, along with so much privacy I’ve yet to meet any neighbors....and we have a double-wide trailer. Which all makes me realize, life's funny, isn’t it? Before and after photos here  Collaboration 06/30/2010
 I just finished a charity design project full of collaborators. The High Desert Design Council, specifically Mindy Lyman & Martha Murray, plus a handful of wonderfully talented volunteers and generous business owners, transformed the great room/kitchen of a women's and children's shelter.We only had one week. And we had zero budget. Amazing what can be done when people come together. The biggest visual impact came from paint. Such a simple thing, really. But the WOW factor definitely comes into play when two gorgeous color are paired. No more white walls!See more images here.  Dana's Bath 06/27/2010
I was hired to help fix up a small bath on a tight budget. The cosmetic fix: Dana and her father installed bamboo flooring. Paint: walls and ceiling a cheery yellow.  Cabinet, doors and trim: off-white. Shower curtain hung over glass door for color/interest. Bamboo ladder for additional storage/visual interest.  One cabinet removed (hard to tell in this shot, but the larger cabinet was so deep, Dana would bang her head on it.) The smaller cabinet has a much slimmer profile.  New cabinet hardware.  Still to do: Finish second coat of paint on doors Paint mirror frame off-white Paint or find vent that blends better with bamboo floor Choose pendant lights for vanity New towels and rug Artwork Color makes a big impact! | 
Random design thoughts...
"Nothing is in good taste unless it suits the way you live. What's practical is beautiful...and suitability always overrules fashion."
~ Billy Baldwin 
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
~ Albert Einstein 
Photo credit: Blackstone Edge, Philip Clayton-Thompson
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| Interior Design | Charmaine Manley Design | Bend, Oregon |
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