{"id":3005,"date":"2025-04-18T23:22:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T15:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2025\/04\/18\/urban-cottage-designer-and-creativepreneur-angela-medlins-chic-victorian-in-portland-or\/"},"modified":"2025-04-18T23:22:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T15:22:26","slug":"urban-cottage-designer-and-creativepreneur-angela-medlins-chic-victorian-in-portland-or","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/de\/urban-cottage-designer-and-creativepreneur-angela-medlins-chic-victorian-in-portland-or\/","title":{"rendered":"Urbanes Landhaus: Das schicke viktorianische Haus der Designerin und \u201cKreativunternehmerin\u201d Angela Medlin in Portland, OR"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Vicky, as I affectionately named her, is a soulful lady with a little edginess,\u201d says Angela Medlin by way of introduction to her 1906 Victorian cottage in Portland, Oregon\u2019s Sunnyside. Medlin is a fashion designer and self-described \u201ccreativepreneur\u201d specializing in sportswear: a series of job overseeing apparel collections for Adidas and Nike\u2019s Jordan Brand are what led her to relocate to Portland, Oregon\u2014three different times. She\u2019s currently staying put, living and working in Miss Vicky.<\/p>\n

Medlin bought her house five years ago\u2014\u201dI was  renting a place around the corner and drove by as the broker was staking the For Sale sign in the ground\u201d\u2014and what began as a purely cosmetic remodel ended up, as they so often so, requiring unanticipated structural work. Seven months later, Medlin came away with a new kitchen (and foundation under it) and an entirely different looking house: in place of the \u201cmustard and ketchup\u201d exterior, she introduced a stately, unifying charcoal black.<\/p>\n

We discovered Medlin first as fans of House Dogge, her stylish dog toys company, and then via a blog post in Schoolhouse Electric. Intrigued, we came (digitally) knocking and she welcomed us in.<\/p>\n

Photography courtesy of Schoolhouse Electric, unless noted.<\/p>\n


Above: The exterior is painted in Graphite with Onyx trim, both from Benjamin Moore  (to see the transformative powers of paint, scroll to the end for a Before shot). <\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends and family will tell you, they were not convinced by my vision,\u201d Medlin tells us. \u201cHa ha, Miss Vicky just needed some love. As a non-traditional designer, I followed my instincts and chose color to reimagine the look of this traditional house.\u201d<\/p>\n


Above: Medlin and her beloved, late dog Wubbi, an Olde English Bulldogge. Medlin is wearing a sweatshirt of her own design\u2014currently not in production but she makes a Hoody Fleece that\u2019s \u201cthe equivalent for dogs.\u201d,<\/p>\n

Medlin grew up in Hamlet, North Carolina. Her mother and grandparents encouraged her love of drawing\u2014 and she went on to study fashion and environmental design at NC State. In 2017, after 25 years in the corporate world\u2014designing and directing creative teams for among others, The North Face and Levi Strauss\u2014she founded the Functional Apparel and Accessories Studio (FAAS), an educational program that\u2019s now part of Portland\u2019s Pensole Design Academy, where Medlin is currently busy teaching and mentoring: \u201cThe school nurtures and promotes diversity,\u201d she says. \u201cWe prepare the next generation of specialized designers to enter the apparel arena.\u201d<\/p>\n


Above: The back of the house has new tall glazing and a patio for outdoor eating.
\n

Above: \u201cWhenever I move\u2014this is my sixth home\u2014the first thing I do is build shelves,\u201d Medlin tells us, adding that this time, she narrowed down her book collection down from 900 volumes to 500 (mostly hardcover novels and design books). <\/p>\n

Here, she had shelves built on the dining room wall and painted them white \u201cso the books looks like they\u2019re floating.\u201d Of her horizontal stacks she says: \u201cIt\u2019s easier to look at them this way\u2014you don\u2019t have to turn your head sideways to read the titles. I\u2019m a very logical person.\u201d The house is approximately 2,5oo square feet, and as a contrast to the exterior, the interior is just about all white\u2014Sherwin Williams\u2019 White Duck, a shade Medlin settled on after testing 15 options on each wall. \u201cI like that it adds perceived space and it\u2019s the canvas that brings everything together in a relaxed way.\u201d<\/p>\n

,

Above: The existing kitchen, Medlin\u2019s contractor discovered, was a long-ago addition that got added onto the back porch with \u201cnot much under it\u2014it was falling off,\u201d so that\u2019s what ended up requiring extensive structural work and all new fittings. <\/p>\n

On the back wall, Medlin used subway tiles in a running bond pattern set off with a dark grout to match the new slate floor (for more ideas, see Remodeling 101: White Tile Pattern Glossary).The handy Wall-Mounted Paper Roller and brass Nicolai Utility Rail, are both from Schoolhouse Electric.<\/p>\n


Above: Medlin displays art all over. \u201cI\u2019ve never been someone who wanted bright, shiny objects; I like things that are soulful and that tell a story.\u201d The cabinets have Knurled Pulls in natural brass.
\n

Above: A orderly open pantry created with a Black Walnut Coat Rack and Foundry Cart, inspired by the rolling shelving in French bakeries.
\n

Above: In her home studio, Medlin uses old school lockers for storage. The yellow standing light is the Studio Floor Lamp and the domed pendant is the Ostara, both by Schoolhouse Electric.,

Above: Medlin launched House Dogge three years ago as a passion project devoted to making sustainable, made-in-America dog accessories, including the biodegradable Vegetable-Tanned Leather Tug Toy.
\n

Above: A 1960s surrealist painting\u2014passed on to Medlin by an older friend when she lived in Seattle\u2014leans on the second floor landing. The house\u2019s fir floors are original.
\n

Above: There are two bedrooms downstairs and this one upstairs. The Hamilton Bed is modeled after classic, turn-of-the-20th century iron bedsteads.
\n

Above: The bathroom came with its claw-footed tub, hung here with a Painterly Stripe Shower Curtain. <\/p>\n

Vor<\/h3>\n


Above: The house came with a \u201cmustard and ketchup\u201d paint job. In recent months, Medlin has converted the garage into her home design studio. For more dark exterior paint options, see Architects\u2019 Favorite Black Exterior Paint Colors. Photograph courtesy of Angela Medlin. <\/p>\n

Here are some more inspired historic updates:<\/p>\n