Design With Refinement

09/25/2026

We won, and we want to tell you why this one matters.
The Armadillo was named Winner, Best in Design, in the 2026 Oregon Home Structure and Style Awards for Furniture Design. But the award is not really the story. The story is how it was made.
Instead of ordering a coffee table from a catalog, we designed one and built it here, in Portland, with local maker Kris Kirkman of KO Furniture . A single blank of continuous-grain walnut wraps its entire circumference, softened into a rhythm of triangular columns. It was made by hand, from a sustainable material, to be passed down for generations.
This is what we believe in. Choosing local trades over mass production. Choosing pieces built to last over furniture built to be replaced. Choosing craftsmanship you can trace to a person, in a shop, a few miles away.
Sustainability is not a feature we add at the end. It is how we work, and it is why a room full of first-apartment furniture became a home made to last.
Designed to last. Sourced with intention. Thank you Oregon Home , and thank you Kris.

09/21/2026

Off the mood board.

Sourcing at Z Collection and I couldn’t walk past this collection.

The Homage to the Square line by Mutina,
created in collaboration with the Josef and
Anni Albers Foundation, just debuted at
Milan Design Week this spring and I cannot
stop thinking about it.

I’ve always loved Albers and his theories
around color — how it’s never fixed, how it
shifts and changes based on everything around
it. But seeing that translated into tile?
The way the matte and gloss finishes play
against each other, the way the colors
interact across the surface, it’s one of
those moments where art theory becomes
something you can actually touch.

The composition. The color. The depth.

Already thinking about which project deserves
this first.

Z Collection

08/03/2026

Off the mood board.

I went to Dublin earlier this summer with
my daughter to meet some friends and visit Ireland for the first time. Travel has a way of opening your eyes — to what’s possible, to old ways of doing things made new again, to the
adventurous and creative parts of yourself
that daily life can quiet.

This hotel stopped us in our tracks.

Floor-to-ceiling botanical murals. An onyx
bar that glows. A powder room so considered
it made me put my phone away and just look.

Every detail was intentional from the coral doors
with aged brass hardware, a mirrored stairwell
lined with antique insect prints, a dressing
room lounge with gold leaf walls and velvet
ottomans.

Maximalism done with discipline.
Nothing random. Everything layered.

I photograph everything that makes me stop
and think about why something works.

This worked.

07/29/2026

07/07/2026

Spaces sourced with intention. Designed for the life you’re actually living.

Full-Service Design, Designer for a Day, Mini Design Sessions, and Small Business Design — every service guided by the same philosophy: quality over quantity, personal over generic, and built to last.

Explore our services at designwithrefinement.com. Link in bio.

07/07/2026

Design With Refinement is a boutique interior design studio based in Portland, Oregon.

Trade sourced. Thoughtfully found. Built for the life you’re actually living. We serve homeowners and small businesses
throughout the greater Portland area and Pacific Northwest — from first consultation to final install.

Link in bio to learn more.