Why designer Max Humphrey believes getting settled in
your dream city comes before
buying a home.
I
t’s a pretty good sign when youvisit a city and feel compelled to dive deep into real estate before you’ve even left. “You know that feeling?” asks interior designer and author Max Humphrey. “When you’re trawling home listings at the hotel, comparing rent prices?”
For Humphrey, that city was Portland, Oregon.
Looking back, it makes perfect sense that the Pacific Northwest, all Douglas firs and rugged coastline, would resonate with him. After growing up in
New England, followed by a decade-long stretch in West Hollywood, Humphrey built his entire design career on a modern Americana
aesthetic. So much so, his upcoming sophomore coffee-table book, Lodge,
is a love letter to the history and design of our country’s beloved National Parks outposts.
“Portland feels like home; it sucked me in,” he muses. For Humphrey, settling into his new domain was so much more than packing up and moving in. “I’m always telling clients ‘Move into your house—live with it for a little while, let the house talk to you, see where the light hits. See where you spend all of your time and what rooms you’ll never go in.’ It’s the same when it comes to relocating.” Humphrey wanted to ensure that wherever he ended up not only looked like a home, but felt like home.
He admits the journey was more of a slow burn. After a year in a rental property to feel things out, the designer was ready to contact a local real-estate agent to solidify his move. (For anyone looking to take a similar step, local real-estate company Windermere has you covered.) “I ended up buying across town, on the other side of the river from my rental, in a neighborhood that would never have popped up on any of the cool Portland neighborhood websites,” the designer says, laughing. “It’s up-and-coming and it ended up being the best decision for me.”
He probably wouldn’t have landed there without his agent. “You get such a different perspective, actually talking to people in the community and working with local agents, compared to reading blogs or Reddit threads,” he says. Humphrey doesn’t recall whether it was the realtor who found the winning listing or if he did, but one thing he was certain about was that it ticked all the boxes—thanks to the professional’s sound guidance, something Windermere also proudly provides home buyers through thoughtful advice and community-driven action and support. Quiet, woodsy suburb? Check. Just 20 minutes from Portland’s thriving downtown? Check. Turn-key? Not a chance. “I was looking for a house that I would be able to fix up myself, a place that hadn’t recently been remodeled or flipped,” he shares.
Once he had the keys, Humphrey simply sat and listened to the 1,000-square-foot, single-story 1970s home, which he fondly recalls as a “drywall box,” before “turning the place inside out.” Nowadays, subtly veined marble countertops, a geometric tiled backsplash, and contrasting cabinets set the tone in the designer’s small-but-mighty kitchen, a space that veers just far enough away from “safe” to remain classic but never read boring. The banquette seating is upholstered in ballpoint blue performance fabric, bathing in bursts of morning sunshine that pours in from the window next to the breakfast area. By late afternoon, the sun warms Humphrey’s office. A neighboring grass green bay window seat cozies up to white tongue and groove walls. It’s a space that enviably spills out onto the deck and tidy backyard that Humphrey built shortly after moving in, beckoning the great outdoors inside. Admittedly, the kitchen is “the place to be'' whenever he’s hunkered down at home.
“My home has really gone through different phases, time and budget allowing,” the designer says. “I covered every wall and ceiling with unfinished wood so it would really look and feel like a log cabin. Then a couple of years ago, mid-pandemic, I freaked out and needed a little more paint and color on the walls, so I painted over everything.”
For a designer that thrives on changing things up, life in Portland offers a little bit of everything. “I like how weird Portland is,” says Humphrey. “It’s a quirky city and full of surprises.” A creative city with a cabin-cool aesthetic that never feels totally off the grid. “I'm also indoorsy; that’s sort of the subtitle of my new book. I grew up with this kind of outdoors, the forestry kind, so it feels nostalgic for me. I need that blend of both, quiet but connected.”
MOVES
SLOW
Photography by Kaitlin Green
Words by Ashley Ropati
On the hunt for a new house?
Windermere’s pros can guide you every step of
the way—making your new chapter feel like home.
In Partnership with
left. “You know that feeling?” asks interior designer and author Max Humphrey. “When you’re trawling home listings at the hotel, comparing rent prices?” For Humphrey, that city was Portland, Oregon.
He probably wouldn’t have landed there without his realtor. “You get such a different perspective, actually talking to people in the community and working with local agents, compared to reading blogs or Reddit threads,” he says. Humphrey doesn’t recall whether it was the realtor who found the winning listing or if he did but one thing he was certain on was that it ticked all the boxes—thanks to the professional’s sound guidance, something Windermere also proudly provides home buyers through thoughtful advice and community-driven action and support. Quiet, woodsy suburb? Check. Just 20 minutes from Portland’s thriving downtown? Check. Turn-key? Not a chance. “I was looking for a house that I would be able to fix up myself, a place that hadn’t been recently remodeled or flipped,” he shares.
Windermere’s pros can guide you every step of
the way—making your new chapter feel like home.