Deepali and her family recently renovated their Portland home and we are so excited to share the changes with you room by room. First up is our office, photography studio and showroom space.

As the owner of a textile company, with a background in interior design it was only natural that Deepali decided to lead the design of the renovations. Get the inside scoop on the process below.

Q & A with Deepali

C: Hi Deepali! We're so excited to hear more about the renovation process of the Filling Spaces office. What were your initial goals when you set out to design the office space? 

D: My main goal with the office space was to create a space that would be ideal for working from home. My dream of having an in house creative studio started back when I decided to close my brick and mortar shop in Portland and focus more on product creation and wholesale. I wanted to have a home based business in order to spend time with my two growing kids. Designing the new office was really about creating the ideal live work space.

C: What was the inspiration behind your design for the office space?

D: I wanted a space that would be great for photographing our products and depicting how they can be used in real life scenarios. I also wanted to create a showroom space where designers and retailers could see our textiles in person. With trade shows being postponed and commerce moving more and more into the virtual realm it is also happened to work out well that we now have a great space for showcasing our new collections digitally.

C: What were some things that you didn't love about the original office?

D: The original space felt more like a home office rather than a creative and inspiring studio space. It had carpet flooring and wasn't well organized. Now it's more of an open and airy studio space where we can display art, create mood boards, and style photos.

The Plan

C: Tell us a bit about the process of choosing a contractor.

D: Finding the right team was the hardest part of the renovation process. We went through a lot of interviews and some people wouldn't return our calls or give us bids. There was a point where we even thought of doing it ourselves and sub contracting but then we found Cooper Design. The owner of the company was available at the first meeting and he listened to our needs from the start. They were very professional with giving us estimates and responding to e-mails. They really understood our creative vision. 

D: With my background in interior design I was able to draw out the initial plans and the team at Cooper Design turned my sketches into CAD drawings. We went back and forth a few times and made it perfect.

C: What was it like navigating renovations during the time of COVID-19?

D: The renovation process itself went smoothly but of course with everything going on in the world I was impacted emotionally. While I had worked hard to achieve my dream of renovating, it felt like a strange time to be investing in the business, especially since our production facility in India was shut down for two months. We just had to stay hopeful and keep going.

Our family didn't stay in the space while it was being renovated. We would do weekly visits with the contractor and walkthroughs every other day with social distancing. With my design background, I was able to be really on top of progress and involved throughout the whole process.

First Steps

Behind the Scenes Progress

How did it feel to watch things start to take shape?  

D: It felt terrific to see our vision come to reality. We had dreamed about renovating our space for years, so to see the space that truly fit our needs coming to life was so gratifying.

C: Can you tell us a bit more about the wood floors and paint colors you chose?

D: The original wood flooring that was already partially in the house was oak. We liked it, so we decided to go with the same oak flooring with a clear stain throughout the entire house. Anywhere there was carpet before, including the stairs and the upper level of the house, got the oak flooring. 

The paint color we chose was Simply White by Benjamin Moore. We considered a few other colors from Benjamin Moore like White Dove, Swiss Coffee, and Chantilly lace, but we ultimately decided on Simply White because it was a softer tone that we felt worked best with our house's natural light.

The Final Reveal: Showroom Space

The Final Reveal: Office Space