Local Spotlight: Natural Home

Incorporating vintage is vital to styling interiors that feel authentic and grounded. It brings that special magical something that you walk into a space and feel but can’t quite put your finger on. It’s all about the juxtaposition of old and new that breathes life into a space. When a home is missing this piece – especially staged ones – it tends to feel a little stale and mass-produced. No one wants to be stale!

One of my go-to local vintage resellers is Deborah of Natural Home. She has a keen eye for curating both vintage and contemporary pieces. From furniture to lighting, she has a constant rotation of swoon-worthy goods.

I first met Deb through Instagram in the early days of the business; she was selling a pair of Gae Aulenti Orsay chairs via her original account Rock Candy, which specializes in postmodern furniture. They weren’t the most practical staging pieces (really specific in design, could’ve used a reupholster), but like so many of her finds, felt like too good of an opportunity to pass up.

From that day forward I casually stalked her Instagram for new inventory, and in doing so have sourced some of my very favorite pieces. Luckily for us (and my recovering social media addiction), she now has a boutique in Urbanite to shop in person. It’s a relaxed, curated, and beautiful shopping experience, which sure beats vigorously refreshing my Instagram feed.

Bollo Fogia Armchairs sourced via Natural Home

“Incorporating vintage is vital to styling interiors that feel authentic and grounded.”

-Kristina

Some of my fondest memories growing up are hunting thrift stores with my mom for hours on end – it’s all about the thrill of the search that adds to the je ne sais quoi of it all. Even if you weren’t drawn to it at an early age, I feel everyone eventually comes to appreciate vintage as they create spaces of their own. Once you find that piece that, for whatever reason, just speaks to your soul, you’re hooked.

Flex Armchair by Imgmar Relling for Westnofa, Denmark, 1960s sourced via Natural Home

While the world moves towards minimalism and social media trends, I can always rediscover individuality and artistry in vintage. It’s not only in the forms and the colors – like the unique way a sculpture is shaped or the perfectly imperfect pooling of the glaze on a hand painted ceramic vase – but also the wear and patina from being passed through hands over the decades (centuries if you’re lucky!). 

Italian Arrben leather chairs sourced via Natural Home

In staging, our magic sauce is our inventory. It slowly grows and evolves, but at the end of the day is finite. How we keep our homes looking bespoke and fresh is by turning to vintage we can find locally in Portland. There have been more than a few times where a piece we’ve sourced locally at the eleventh hour has been the thing that took a staging to the next level.

Flex Armchair by Imgmar Relling for Westnofa, Denmark, 1960s sourced via Natural Home

The vintage sellers community is a constant source of inspiration and energy for me. There are so many talented folks on Instagram and brick and mortar store owners that curate some killer collections. A lot of the ones we work with are running their businesses out of pure passion on nights and weekends after working full time jobs.

Bollo Fogia Armchairs sourced via Natural Home

At the end of the day, our goal is to put as many dollars back into the Portland small business community as possible. I’ve met some of the most gracious, generous and passionate humans in this community; a few of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends. That’s icing on the cake!

You can shop Deb’s pieces in Urbanite as well as The Brooklyn Mall. Follow her on Instagram @natural_home_pdx to see all of her awesome scores and maybe even snag something amazing for yourself!