yesterday i shared with you a new house construction on an infill lot here in portland, today we’ll explore an old warehouse building recent converted into a charming urban live/work space for a young family and their business.
pinball publishing began with the purchase and refurbishment of an old warehouse building in the industrial southeast district five years ago. with that bright yellow, it’s always been easy to find! [image above: an old chalkboard with metal backing that was found abandoned in an alley has been given new life. magnets hold a rotating assemblage of client projects in place and make the pinball lobby a great place to wait!]
two years ago, austin and laura purchased the adjacent building to add more space for their growing business, and converted a section of the new building into their own ‘warehome’.
the single outside-facing window in the warehome section of the building is above the kitchen sink. austin made all the cabinets himself with some details from ikea, while the sink, fridge, and stove were salvaged.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Jill’s post after the jump!
curtains add to the homey feel of the living room, and disguise views into the press room next door. the dining table was made by austin’s dad.
another exciting living situation here in portland is the newly completed cyan apartment building downtown, which i knew nothing about until i attended an event under a giant tent on their faux-grass outdoor communal area a few weeks ago. i took a tour of the building afterwards, and there’s so many perks to living there it was mind blowing!
there are many newer eco/green apartment buildings here in portland, but i haven’t run across any others that have all these features: pet friendly, an on-site concierge, gym facilities, movie nights and lecture series in the community areas, a community garden area, walking distance to the farmer’s market, restaurants, and shops.
modeled on the best of efficient european and asian urban living,the apartments themselves are stunning and the entire building expects to be leed gold certified soon. wow. how’s that for apartment living?!
water-tight, these homes are ingeniously made from found materials and lots of welded and taped metal pieces. more information about brian and his bikes can be found on Bike Portland [thanks m-horton for the link!]
25 Comments
Bike house featured on today’s blog – unless it has changed hands, belongs to Dingo Dizmal; local clown/artist/performing artist -
Ooh! Ooh! Dying to see inside the bike trailer!
why is everything better, more creative in portland? sigh,
We need a sneak peek of the bike trailer!
I really love the color palette of the Bike House kitchen. Austin did a wonderful job on those inset cabinets. Very nice!
thanks jg! how can i get ahold of dizmal for a tour of his home?!
man, this is why i love Portland.
Yeah! I’m moving to Portland soon and this makes me excited!
Rock on, thanks!! Anyone interested in Cyan, give us a call at 503.802.1041 :)
The gentleman that lives in the bike trailer has been doing so for decades and has toured all over in that machine. The people at the Recyclery in SE know him and could get you in touch.
I was intrigued by jg’s comment about Dingo Dizmal the clown and did a quick search. Here is a post from Dingo Dizmal’s blog, featuring his “flop house bike” as he calls it:
http://shmanarchy.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-had-to-re-deploy-flop-house-bike.html
that’s great apartmente living indeed!!!! beautiful pics!
My husband and I have a huge crush on Pinball Publishing and I think this post might send him over the edge! Of course they’ve converted a portion of their warehouse into a home- they’re AWESOME!
thanks dw! i’ve tracked down more bike-homes here in portland and will feature them later in the week.
polly: yes, the pinball crew is pretty crush-worthy!
Thanks again Jill for including Pinball in your post! And thanks Polly for being a fan! We are so appreciative of the support!
wow! that would basically be my dream space.
The bike trailer belongs to a man named Brian, or Rasta Man. He lived in the trailer and travels around the east side of Portland. These days I see him around 7th and Hawthorne every few days. He used to live outside of my partners recording studio and is a HUGELY talented piano player, kinda nuts and very interesting. Bike Portland did a blog post on him here: http://bikeportland.org/2006/11/10/motorhome-bike-makes-portland-appearance/
If I were to chose city living, Portland would be it. Is there special zoning that allows “warehomes”, or was the building already in an area now zoned mixed or residential?
is that a hostess’ delight stove? i think i have the same one at my apartment in baltimore!
Hi Colleen –
Great question! Our warehome is technically considered a caretaker’s unit, which is an allowed usage for our zoning. Portland overall is supportive of mixed use development, but I know from experience that the building permit process can be really challenging.
I have lived in Portland for the past 3ish years and have only recently begin to experience what Portland really is. I have been truly missing out, I am excited to see more on this blog.
Yes, I want to see inside the bike trailor too! Looks like something the pedicabs need to be pulling around in downtown Austin!
Brian built that trailer, but he sold it to Dingo over a year ago. I don’t know where he’s living now; if he’s built himself a new trailer I haven’t seen it yet. (But then again I’m never in Southeast.)
For the record, there is *no* welding involved in his trailers. it’s all angle-aluminum stock drilled and bolted together. (He once showed me a drill he built himself for making the holes!) All of my bike-building friends who’ve had a close look at Brian’s designs have been really impressed. He’s kind of odd, lives on the streets and sometimes avoids people, but he’s clearly a natural engineer/architect, and seems to survive on his own terms. I didn’t even know he plays piano, but somehow i’m not surprised.
Grace/Lauren
I know this post is old but I keep coming back to that kitchen. Is there any way to find out the paint colors of the walls and/or cabinets?
Thanks!
Leslie
Oooh, I second Leslie’s request. That kitchen is saved in my “favorite rooms ever” file on my computer. I’d love to know what the paint colors were!
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