As you know, I took my team to the new luxury property in Oregon Wine Country for my last retreat in May, and as our first guest, we were blown away. Now, what you may not know is that it owns one of my best friends (25 years). So, I write today’s post with extreme pride, despite having nothing to do with design. That’s what we’ve talked about since they closed the property four years ago and I’ve gone out to visit it many times to see progress. So I’m very emotionally invested in Carly (but not) actually investment). The design of it is so great, and I just want to scream it from the rooftop – group retreats, corporate retreats, bachelorette trips, family reunions, weddings – this is a very luxurious place to stay in the most beautiful surroundings. Max Humphrey Designed with my friend (and the architect) BB Skidmore), and the results are great. So today we spoke more design elements, pointing out what we love, how they broke the rules, and layered them in the way that surprised us, creating a truly unpredictable, homely and completely stylish vibe. If you like Soho House designs (who doesn’t love the designs, not yours, but the members?), you’ll love Carly.
It is located in Carlton, Oregon, just an hour away from Portland (and the drives are generally luxurious rather than highways). There are large ponds (for soaking and swimming) and several out-of-buildings for fun, and huge fields for weddings and large events.
Sterpen Lodge
Sleeping includes two main buildings: Sida Lodge and Hummingbird Cottage. Pistil landscape design I did landscaping and it’s pretty amazing. Fern Lodge has 5 suites (10 Sleeping) and all have king beds with private bathrooms. It has a commercial style kitchen that is still very cozy on pizza nights, and a media room for movies and presentations.
I was blown away by all the hard finishes. It’s not drywall vision. All surfaces have panels, tiles, and/or trim work, making it a lot of fun to absorb the details (we’ve been nerds for hours looking at how many hours and how we did it all).
That’s the entry. It’s a huge window with small, cozy vignettes that are styled like home (but the butler is perfectly set for you).
kitchen
The kitchen is great – you can mix many patterns (floors) and colors (Robin’s egg blue black is so amazing). If guests want to take a private chef like us, they can stop at the huge barn door. It’s well stocked and feels very homey. What you can’t see is Skullie (the dishwasher is hidden and closed). Curtis (the owner and my friend) really thought everything for every style of guest/stay.
I love mixing island pendants and mixing small flush mounts on the ceiling with small flush mounts on the picture lights. It looks very special and customary. The ceiling panels are fantastic details, a hack of great design. Because it is located in semi-gloss, it has a high impact, so it catches light beautifully.
It’s completely classic and timeless, but still interesting and warm. Max really nailed it (I also love the leadglasses and decorative shelf brackets).
Main Lodge Lounge
This is where you close out most of the retreat, including the ripping room and a large dining table. Such an incredible mix of textures, patterns, and styles. Eclectic and cohesive ftw.
That spectacular lighting fixture was one of the first to buy, Rejuvenating vintage collection – Italian works from the 1960s. It was originally located in the iconic Portland bar on NW 21, known as Gypsy Restaurant & Lounge, which closed in 2014.
This was one of my favorite places to sit in the morning with a laptop and coffee. Watch out for seasonal streams right out of the giant photo window. Custom Green Leather Banquets add a huge number of dimensions. I love how I chose such tight bunches to catch such light.
The change in the ceiling of this room adds such contrast in both style and light. Architect Beebee Skidmore really knows how to shrink and expand a space in a dynamic (and still very quiet) way. The niches do the same – among them you are cozy, but there is still a lot of light in the rest of the room, creating an unpredictable and good atmosphere. Many inspiration at this lodge.
One of the most powerful moments throughout is not a table or chair, but a chandelier of beams, the windows above, and at the same time a sense of comfort and comfort. It’s really special to sit there.
Doors are open on the premises, with 26 acres of hiking trails and fields offering future glamping opportunities. We quickly did some big team training on the back deck. Even on cloudy mornings (something typical in spring), they are very beautiful, lush and green.
The bar area offers this fun patterned tile on the floor, as opposed to the reclaimed wood in the ceiling (from the old Portland race track). The unexpected pink sofa delighted us all.
The bar is extremely incredibly designed. That dark wood cabinet chunk is classic, but unexpected, with huge hinges and hardware pop. Not to mention the stop counter and backsplash. They didn’t spare the costs. I love how the mirrored tile backsplash reflects the warmth of the ceiling.
Media Room
I want to see it The secret life of a Mormon housewife Just as we did as a team (or maybe cast work presentations or family slideshows), their media/TV rooms are out of the kitchen, offering something like that cozy within a more industrial space.
Max designed this big custom section and mixes the fabric again, which is why we do customization. Customizing something to design is risk-taking and guaranteed. Otherwise, there are 1 million great sofas/sections on the market. I love the way he made all their furniture really special by playing with fabric patterns.
Head upstairs and you can walk under this incredible mirrored chandelier – well played!!
The biggest suite – Pembridge Suite
Curtis said I had to get the best suite, so this is where I stayed. It was so cozy and warm, and due to the bathing habit I became the first person to baptize this tub in the room.
The window treatments in all rooms are spectacular. I powered the shade with both cafe curtains for privacy and textures, and light switches for night blackouts.
Fun fact: All suites are named after a place my friends often visited when they lived in London, when their children were born. Places such as parks, tube stops, pubs, etc.
Netherlands Park Suite
This room was my favorite thanks to its windows (original) and colour palette. I have to say I was nervous about putting up the wood and wallpaper that was reclaimed. It’s progressing well enough to feel balanced, your eyes move around, land, and again move in a truly enjoyable way.
We liked the hard lantern plug thanks to the night on the shelf. The bathroom was very filling with textures and patterns between the panels, floor tiles, wall tiles (contrassing grout), marble and wood. Again, a lot is happening, but the right amount of balance and tone shift continues to flow.
Primrose Hill Suite
Another room with a huge king bed and cozy paint colours. Fun fact, they picked up that tufted wingback 12 years ago shortly after I won the design star 🙂 The wall-to-wall carpet here is very chic and cozy.
All bathrooms were different with a great mix of stones, tiles and unexpected trimming work. Everything felt very habitual, but there were some clear lines. I asked myself over and over again, “Did you do this?” And the answer was often “no”, because it was more risky than I wanted. The next project (not the house we live in forever), I am going to take inspiration from this project.
This room is ADA-friendly and on the ground floor (in fact, a secret door).
The cleanest ADA-friendly floating vanity. I think that’s my favorite bathroom design.
Through the entry you can see other homes on the property, the “Hummingbird Cottage” that you actually visited. Both buildings can be rented. This allows you to provide a family atmosphere with four additional suites (9 in total).
Hummingbird Cottage
The pistils were landscaped. It’s a very exceptional job with many dynamic rocks and prairie atmospheres.
This cottage has another large hangout space downstairs (screams at the coffee table I got for the living room I reside here), and is cozy and folded. Compared to the lodge, this cottage has the “quirky little sister” vibe.
There are big hangout spaces and small kitchens with the intention of being self-sufficient, but if you have kids, for example, throwing tantrums or crying at night, there is more privacy.
I loved the paneled hood with brick and plywood cabinets. It looks like a more youthful, apartment vibe, but very functional and well planned.
Upstairs there is the first suite of green I’ve never chosen, but I actually really love it! This is why being in a design that really inspires is so valuable. I have to shake the “goat” when designing a carriage house (don’t shake my tastes).
This bathroom made us feel very “Max Humphrey.” The whimsical tree tile elements are the appeal of the extreme Pacific Northwest. I love the checkered mosaic flooring in the greenery of that bright grass.
We also liked this suite with two-tone walls and simpler panels. Obviously, I’m pleased with a colour palette, a continuous cozy atmosphere and my second favorite bathroom.
The tile combinations and panels felt very sweet and cottage-like in a contemporary way (with many updated, luxurious amenities).
Nap Cabin
There are two other small fielders for guests to explore – the nap cabin and the game room (I don’t think I’ve filmed it yet). We didn’t even go to the nap cabin, but you need to see it.
It is a sweet little shed near the pond, transformed into a quiet place and you can spend time alone. Or if you got married here, it’s a really nice picture.
Inside, there is a Sunbrella/Pindler Max fabric and a true analog feel.
If you’re interested in renting Kali, here are some fun facts:
- You can rent the entire house. You can rent both homes or, if you have a small party, you can rent just the lodge.
- Of course, yes for weddings, but mid-week work retreats (like us) are a way to experience that at a lower rate.
- It’s a gorgeous real estate, so planning ahead to bring your group together is definitely a great idea, but they just opened up so they have a lot of this summer and fall (this is the magical season). However, winters are very comfortable.
- They have many extra amenities you can choose – auto service for wine tasting, private chefs and massage therapists come to the facility. A complete concierge program for special occasions.
He screams loudly at Max Humphrey for designing Carly. Architect: BB Skidmore. The general contractor is Owengabert LLC. In the landscaping of Pistils Landscape Design, all photos by lovely Caitlin Green with additional styling and art curation by Rodeo Queen Kate and Colleen Mort.
*Architect: BB Skidmore
**General contractor: Owen Gabbard LLC
***design Max Humphrey
*** Style by Kate Webb, Rodeo Queen and Colleen Mort
*****Landscape Pistil landscape design
******photograph Caitlyn Green
Source: Emily Henderson – stylebyemilyhenderson.com
