Anne Holbrook Interior Design

It’s a lovely evening for a poolside long dinner al fresco. No matter how you’re spending your Friday evening I hope it’s a a delightful one, good humans.



GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
📷: Zee Wendell Photography
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN

The great room in the poolhouse serves multiple functions — a kitchenette for making drinks and snacks, a lounge area, and a gaming zone where the husband’s collection of pinball machines reside. The space provides a great foundation with polished concrete floors, high tongue and groove ceilings, and wonderful natural light.

We opted for carpet floor tiles with an abstract animal print in the lounge area that would allow for a single tile to be replaced should someone spill their celebratory beverage and leave a stain. An extra deep chenille upholstered sofa with down wrapped cushions provides a perfect spot for an afternoon cat nap and the adjacent velvet swivel chairs provide flexible seating between the lounge and game zones. The black and white bone inlay round coffee table gives a nod to the market umbrellas outside while being a statement piece all its own.

With an oversized TV on a large white wall, we opted to run artwork the full length of the wall to tell a story and help blend in the large screen.

In the kitchenette we stocked the cupboards with pool-safe drinkware and dishes, selected large opal glass pendants to create a soft glow, layered a rug for softness under foot, and hung drink-inspired artwork on the wall, including designing an oversized custom graphic print.

The Dolce Vita Modern Poolhouse provides something for everyone to live their best life in style. CIN CIN!

Architect: Emerick Architects
GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
📷: Zee Wendell Photography
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN

The laundry room at the poolhouse serves the functional purpose of laundering towels and wet swimsuits to keep things well-stocked. It also serves as a pass-thru from the great room into the bathroom and this presented an opportunity for a “moment.”

The interior finishes throughout the poolhouse are clean and streamlined — polished concrete floors, warm white paint, tongue and groove paneled ceilings and wonderful light.

Given the client’s love of a leopard print, I suggested creating a bit of a delight for people in the laundry room. It inherently isn’t a room where people congregate and given that it serves two functional purposes but neither of which take a lot of time, it seemed the perfect opportunity to layer the client’s personality in a enveloping way. We had the ceiling and all walls wallpapered in a black and white graphic leopard print and sourced additional artwork in keeping with the bathing culture and Italian themes running throughout the poolhouse. We added a black and white striped bone inlay tray, glass decanter for laundry detergent storage, and found the perfect vintage brass cup for measuring said detergent. In the end, the result makes even doing laundry part of la dolce vita.

Architecture: Emerick Architects
GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
📷: Zee Wendell Photography
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN

The poolhouse bathroom can serve as both a changing room and a full bathroom should guests want to shower after their swim. We treated the space as another opportunity to accommodate guests in whatever way best served them. Entrance to the bathroom can be accessed from the outdoor living room so wet feet don’t have to walk through the whole space or via the interior.

We layered artwork in keeping with the themes of swimming and bathing culture that were used throughout the poolhouse, an elongated pill-shaped mirror over the vanity, tucked a garbage can inside the cabinet and stocked a soap dispenser with handsoap that smells like summer.

We added hooks to the tongue and groove back of a built-in bench for bathroom towel storage, added a custom bench cushion in a water resistant leopard print fabric with a faux leather black welt in keeping with the client’s affection for leopard print, and stored bathroom towels in the nook underneath.

La dolce vita for the clients and their guests alike!

Architect: Emerick Architects
GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
📷: Zee Wendell Photography
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN

The covered outdoor living room of the poolhouse provides a space for shade-bathing while still being part of the action.

In this space we paired two woven outdoor couches facing one another with matching ottomans placed between them to act as a versatile coffee table all situated on a large outdoor rug. We layered black and white striped throw pillows, replicating the pool deck market umbrellas, metal trays for placing drinks, wire baskets for easy-access clean towel storage, and a stack of custom made marine-grade poolside cushions for guests to use if they just want a leg dip versus a full dip in the pool. Wall hooks were mounted outside the bathroom door for people to place their used towels for drying, and large planters shaped like stemless champagne flutes were planted with olive trees to bring a natural element while adding vertical interest.

We discussed with the client how the space could be used in the evenings for a more quiet experience — long conversations over a glass(es) of bubbles with girlfriends soaking in the delights of the day. For these moments we envisioned layered lighting and sourced extra large glass lanterns and LED powered candles.

Every conceived moment thought through with intention, designed to bring forth the best that life has to offer. La dolce vita!

Architect: Emerick Architects
GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
📷: Zee Wendell Photography
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN

The evening light at the poolhouse is golden magic. As we discussed how the client dreamed of utilizing the space the notion of lingering meals al fresco was key.

The requirements were for the ability to seat eight in chairs comfortable enough that people weren’t springing to get up from the table while also in a material that could withstand staying outside through a Pacific Northwest winter. We selected a fabricated metal table and chairs that felt modern but with a European feel and replicated the pool deck market umbrellas in a rectangular shape.

Glassware and breakable dishes are not a good mix for a pool deck where bare feet are the norm. We sourced pool safe dinnerware in a Sicilian tile pattern, brass flatware, linen napkins embroidered with the family name, hobnail style drinkware and stemless champagne flutes suitable for stylish long family dinners adjacent to the outdoor pizza oven. This is la dolce vita!

📷: Zee Wendell Photography
GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
Architect: Emerick Architects
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN

Part of the design process at AHID is talking through the various ways a space will be used…and how it may not have worked well for the client in the past. We approach every project with function first.

In the case of the it was new construction, meaning the clients didn’t have previous experience living in the spaces prior to hiring AHID. They had their first pool party before the full install was complete. We received a call from the client the following Monday with a new use, “Anne, there are people that don’t want to get all the way into the pool but instead sit on the edge with their legs in.. I’d like some kind of seating for them.”

Our solution was a set of custom marine-quality cushions that could be stored in a stack for pool-side, leg-dipping guests to use at their leisure. La dolce vita comes in all kinds of variations.

GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
Architect: Emerick Architects
📷: Zee Wendell Photography
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN

Portland is experiencing a heat wave and I’m told the “feels like” temp is supposed to be 104. Today would be a great day to do not much of anything else but lay by the pool…which was the dream that the client and I talked about when we started working together.

Given that the vision was days spent at the pool for the multi-generational family, we talked about providing an entrance that lends itself to the anticipation most of us, but especially kids, feel gearing up for a pool day. We planted Italian cypress in oversized pots at the beginning of the pool deck to signify to visitors that you were entering a special place. The rest unfolds from there.

Architecture: Emerick Architects
GC: RightAngle Construction Oregon
ID: ANNE HOLBROOK INTERIOR DESIGN
📷: Zee Wendell Photography

project started demo last week. Super excited to see this one come to life!

New project start this week in Eastmoreland.
Great repeat client! This time we are doing the basement with a new family room, full bathroom, wine cellar and workout room.

Anne Holbrook Interior Design
Lovett Deconstruction & Salvage Shop
Hawthorne Tile

Hi. It’s a frosty Sunday morning in Portland and my heart and mind are heavy.

I am a designer who unequivocally adores my work. Yes, it is the transformation of spaces to improve the lives of my clients and at the core it’s about the people.

I am an unapologetic people person. I do my best to see the good in people, to seek out a way to connect even with the most unlikely of characters, to see the humanity in every person. My empathy and compassion are my superpowers and I believe it is part of what has made me successful in this work. I also believe that compassion isn’t a feeling, it’s an action.

In college, I majored in Spanish and International Studies — I lived abroad, I deeply studied the history of injustice and the dynamics of power. I wanted to be a social worker working with the Latina population. In my early work life I was a translator. If you are on a jobsite with me with Latino crews, you may hear me speaking in Spanish — a way to connect and be respectful to people who are helping to bring the vision to life.

The dehumanization we are witnessing within this country is haunting. It is consuming most hours of the day in my mind and I feel heartbroken. As is the case of most of us who call the USA home, my own family history is one of immigration.

What is happening is not ok. And while I have been very vocal and active personally about this, it feels important (and risky) to do so professionally. Clearly it is a risk worth taking when we’re speaking of the dignity of human beings. Let us be vigilant in looking out for our fellow humans. Compassion is an action.

With heart and courage. Anne