She’s worked in London, studied in Rome, and highly recommends that everyone live abroad at least once in their lives. Even her favorite curse word has a British flair.
With a great eye for detail, Interior Designer Kathryn Davis brings a worldly perspective to the EA team. When she’s not solving design puzzles, she’s playing with her baby daughter, perusing art museums, or negotiating bed space with her cat. Find out more about Kathryn below!
Name & Title at Emerick Architects
Kathryn Davis – Interior Designer
What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on at Emerick? Why?
We did a renovation of a Whidden & Lewis Tudor house in the SW hills. I love working on historic properties – they are such puzzles sometimes, challenging and rewarding at the same time. It was great to see this house come back to life with new owners.
What’s your favorite thing about being an architect?
Nerding out over details! I’m a very detail-oriented person so I love fussing over the little details that make a project sing.
Why did you become an architect? Was it something you always wanted to do?
I was always good at art and math in school. I was pushed more in the engineering direction, but that didn’t really suit my creative side very well. My grandparents took me to Fallingwater one summer in middle school and I realized that architecture could be so much more than the generic strip malls of suburban Ohio I grew up around.
Fallingwater Residence, Mill Water, PA. Photo by Yuhan Du via Unsplash.
What’s one type of project you’ve never worked on but would like to?
Every time I go to Las Vegas, I come home wanting to design a casino. The commitment to a theme and level of detail in some of the casinos there is just spectacular. It’s like Adult Disneyland!
What’s the first thing you would buy for yourself if you won the lottery?
A big old house that I could properly restore.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
Try to convince my cat that she needs to move so I can get out of bed. Usually I am not successful, and I end up awkwardly maneuvering around her.
What’s your spirit animal?
My architecture class at school actually assigned these to everyone, and I was a gazelle. That still seems appropriate.
If you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Vegetables? Doesn’t sound that appealing, but if I went with chocolate I’d be sick after one or two days.
Beach or mountains?
I’m more of an indoor girl, so I’d go with art museum. If I had to choose though, I’d say mountains. Sun and sand are definitely not my thing.
What’s the number one place you recommend to eat in Portland?
Too many options! I really like Raven and Rose, their food is great and it’s in a renovated Victorian carriage house with a cocktail bar upstairs – what’s not to love? For cocktails, I like to take people to Bible Club in Sellwood. The drinks are well-crafted and the ambiance is cozy.
What’s one thing you think everyone should try in their lives?
Live abroad, or at the very least travel. I spent a year in Rome during school and four years in London with my first job, and you learn so much about how other cultures function that helps broaden your perspective on design and life.
What’s the next place you would like to travel to?
I’ve never been to India, so that seems like a good combination of food, culture, and architecture. Or I will always go back to London!
How do you relax after a long day at work?
I play with my baby daughter while my husband cooks dinner (lucky me!) and then we all have a family meal. Then I clean the dining room since she’s at the age where most of her food ends up on the floor.
Bike or car?
Bike!
Favorite curse word?
Bloody hell.
